When signing up for the newspaper class last year, I had no idea what to expect. I only had a brief idea about studying journalism is like. I thought it only consisted of newspaper and on television. However, there is many forms of journalism, ranging from newspaper to radio. Writing for the newspaper and taking the class is one of the best decisions I have made regarding my schedule. It is not only a fun and interesting course to take, but it is extremely beneficial as well.

Taking the class opens you up to learning and improving upon many beneficial skills that people need in life. An example is your writing and editing skills. Being able to write well is necessary skill to know in life. While writing for the newspaper, you have almost unlimited amounts of practice with writing. You also have many other people to help and provide insight on how to improve.

Editing is also very important to understand in life. If you become a proficient editor, your writing will improve exponentially because you will be able to see the errors you make as quickly as you make the. Taking newspaper this year has allowed me to move out of my comfort zone. It has forced me to interview strangers for articles and to learn about current events that affect me as a student and as a citizen. Taking the class also allows students to have a voice, they are able to express themselves in ways that other classes do not allow. It also provides the student body with a place to voice their opinions and ideas.

It forces you to meet deadlines, an important skill to have when in the workforce because you avoid overworking yourself because you haven’t met the deadlines given. If you constantly miss deadlines, you will start getting larger and larger amounts of work. Having the ability to meet deadlines forces you to have better time management to avoid last minute surprises and subpar work. Being able to finish work before a deadline is extremely critical in the workforce.

Newspaper is also a good way to learn new people. The class is relatively small, however, because of this size you became very close with your classmates. In a small class you bond more closely with your classmates then a larger class.

Working for your school paper will often make you feel more confident about interviewing people. Being a journalist can also help increase your sense of responsibility because you’ll be meeting deadlines, presenting stories in an unbiased way and neutral way, and respecting and listening to all the people you interview, even if they have different opinions than your own.

When taking the class, you become more interested about current events in the news. Learning and writing about these events improve your knowledge about current events which make you a better citizen, but you also learn about trusting sources and how their bias or misinformation can change the way a story is told.

Taking the class has had numerous benefits on my high school career. It was the right class for me to take. It’s not just a class where you can just sit around and you will receive an A. You have to put effort into the class, but when you see your work on the website, it is worth it.