Finding Your Voice

Ric Anderson and I waving to our Buhler friends - Ric is a 1983 Graduate from BHS!

I was invited to be part of a new committee for KNEA called the Media Response Team. This is a new effort of KNEA to help teachers find their "voice." They are encouraging and training a group of educators to how to respond to educational issues, advocate for our profession, and get more vocal through writing and blogging. We were trained in message framing, delivery, and discipline. If you are a member of KNEA, this information can be found on their website and it is great information for English or Journalism instructors. We also heard from various media outlets on how they would like to receive information from us - which is electronically. When communicating with media, be short (1 page or less), frame your message, share some data, and tell a story of how the issue is affecting students or yourself.

The people that shared information on news vs. opinion, how editorial boards work, what an Op Ed piece is, and how editorial opinions are formed. We heard from:

Christina Hansen – Online Editor at the Cap Journal (pictured left)

David Powls – Editor, Holton Recorder

Jon James – News Director, WIBW (pictured left)

Stephen – News, Kansas Public Radio

Ric Anderson – Editorial Page Editor - Cap Journal

Our homework is to write a letter to the editor welcoming back teachers and students as the school year begins. I have writing on my blog about teachers needing to find their voice and start advocating for our profession and about getting "teachers to the table" on issues. Well, it looks like this is where the "rubber meets the road" for me as I am going to have to start walking my talk! It is hard and scary to put your opinion out there for everyone to read, judge, disagree with, agree with, and comment on. It is easier for me to advocate quietly behind the scenes in one on one conversations with policy makers but I have been asked to get outside my comfort zone. As I have written before, budget cuts and the Race To The Top make this an exciting and critical time for educators - we can no longer sit on the sidelines waiting and hoping for policy makers to just know what to do and how it affects students. We MUST get to the table - invited or not - we need to knock on the door and ask to be let in!

Some of the Media Response Team: Dave Sherrer, Anna Moon, Jean Goodman, Mary Masters, Lori Goodson, Jennifer Holt and Cyndi Menzel (KNEA Communications)