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I'm not fighting any more

I know it has been a while since I last posted, but camp and grad. school have taken precedence the past two weeks. I now have my priorities straight and should post in a more timely manner from now on (at least until school starts).

I must begin by mentioning that my son Joel has taken over second place in my fantasy baseball league. The only thing I have to say about that is my boy is very good at following directions. I wonder what the rest of the managers in the league think when they wake up each morning and have to look up in the standings to see a 15-month-old trouncing them?

I received a phone call this morning from a representative of the Student Press Law Center. He was following up on the story that was written last month. As I spoke to him, I realized that I'm tired of fighting the decision to kill the journalism classes at Pebblebrook.

With the exception of a handful of fellow teachers and few dedicated students, I have received very little encouragement. I have never felt as pessimistic about the future of the student press. I miss the support I used to receive from my colleagues at Berkmar. (That is not saying much for my Pebblebrook coworkers). I should have paid better attention when the Knight Foundation released their findings on high school student and faculty perceptions of 1st Amendment rights. I hope my (former?) students decide to fight the decision, but I'm certainly not going to push the issue.

I have decided that the best thing I can do is to advise the best high school journalism web site/blog that has ever been developed. I fear that there will not be enough staff members and revenue streams to support a print publication, but it will take only a few dedicated students to run a really effective web site. I'm beginning to believe the limitations of having no formal journalism classes will push me and the students that stick with it, to produce something that will be even better. The students' success with their underground blog has inspired me. The possibilities with Cobb County's 1 to 1 laptop initiative are unlimited. Imagine a school in which every student and faculty member has a wirelessly connected laptop 24 hours a day and a motivated bunch of journalism students who are dedicated to keeping those students and faculty informed. I can't wait to start harvesting screen-names and email addresses.

Obediently yours,
~jon

Posted by Jonathan at July 8, 2005 5:13 PM

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