When Middle School Director Reed Farley noticed younger students were eager to join upper school publications, he brought up the possibility of a middle school class to Head of Scholastic Journalism Kristin Taylor.
This semester, Taylor started teaching a newsmagazine elective for eighth grade students who were interested in journalism. Taylor teaches the students elements of print design, photojournalism, interviewing and writing to give them a taste of both publications.
“The newsmagazine made the most sense to me, and also because our goal is simple,” Taylor said. “We’re only trying to put out one edition by the end of the semester. I could spend the first quarter and go into it — learning those basic skills, and then let them really start learning how to tell those stories.”
At the start of the semester, the class created a mission statement for the magazine. Having a mission statement is crucial for any new endeavor because understanding the “why” behind a project serves as an important motivator to deliver a quality product, Taylor said. Recently, the students settled on a title for the publication: Iris’ Insight.
“As a middle school publication, we strive to tell the untold stories of and for the middle school community. Through photography, reporting, interviewing and design, we connect with a wide variety of people and highlight their perspectives,” Iris’ Insight mission statement reads. “We collaborate to deliver forthright and factual stories in an organized fashion while keeping the publication entertaining and relatable.”
Mapping out and condensing a large amount of content into a one-semester course was a challenge, Taylor said. She has been teaching journalism and photography concepts by breaking them down into small units, focusing on one skill per rotation and then assigning a mini project associated with the concept.
“At the end of the semester, we’re going to make our own magazine, which I think will be fun,” Lila Berg (’29) said. “We’re going to combine all the work that we did, and we’re going to put all of our best stories together into it.”
Before taking the newsmagazine elective, Berg did photography. She said she hopes to continue improving her photojournalism skills along with her writing and storytelling.
“It’s definitely a more academic class than other electives, but I think that’s what makes it fun,” Berg said. “It’s nice because it’s a smaller class—everyone has at least one friend from their friend group in the class—so there’s no one person who’s singled out.”
Gianna Marliani’s (’29) favorite part of the class has been the photography unit because there is a narrative behind each photo. She said she is excited to report on the hidden stories that might not have been shown solely through photography.
“You can capture something, and then there’s always a story to tell behind it,” Marliani said. “My friend Bella was taking a picture of me and Paige, and I had made a joke, and we got the exact moment when Paige was shocked about the joke. I think that’s pretty cool how we were able to capture that, and then how there also is a story behind it.”
Taylor said that, as a teacher, she learns something new every day and is constantly reevaluating the flow of lessons to determine what works best. The challenge of a first in any new project is the unknown, but she is adapting and taking feedback as the semester progresses. She said seeing her students show passion and excitement in their work is always a pleasure.
“It’s just exciting to see kids get excited about journalism in whatever form. I’m excited to see that passion grow throughout the course of the semester,” Taylor said. “Obviously, the big thing will be when they get their magazines, when they actually have the print magazine in their hands. It’s a really exciting experience.”
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