Get Connected: How to engage with other journalism advisers

One is the loneliest number, and many high school journalism teachers know the feeling of being a singleton in their buildings.  For most of us, there is not another teacher in the building who completely understands the challenges of producing a broadcast, or prepping for publication.  There is no one to offer advice on where to find the best printing prices, or how to troubleshoot an Adobe inDesign error, or the multitude of other unique niches that only journalism advisers understand.

The good news is, you don’t have to be alone.  And, although you can’t just hop on Tinder, and look for potential “matches,” there are many ways to connect to other advisers and become a part of the larger journalism community.  

Here are my top 4 ways to get connected.

1. Become a member of  the national Journalism Education Association.  A $45.00 yearly membership to this organization nets you with several valuable resources.  You will receive the quarterly journal Communication: Journalism Education Today that covers a breadth of timely topics and tips you can put to use right away in your classroom.  There is brand new curriculum to help you in all facets of your program.  It is the best place to find complete lessons including practice exercises, models, and evaluation tools that are aligned to standards and the Common Core.  And, possibly the best feature of your membership, is getting connected to the JEA Listserv, that allows you to network with thousands of advisers nationwide.  You can see a digest of the topics that advisers are discussing on the daily.  You can even submit your own questions and solutions to become part of the conversation.  And, if you want to research on a particular topic, you can search the listserv archives.
2. Get involved with your State Journalism Association.  The state associations provide a great way to meet advisers close to you, and can help you get involved in local initiatives.  In Nebraska, our state association is the Nebraska High School Press Association (NHSPA).  The organization provides contests for students, sponsors a summer workshop and fall convention for students and advisers, and organizes the critiques for school publications. Not sure how to find your state association?  I would suggest contacting your state’s JEA state director.

3. Look for professional development opportunities.  Some of the most important connections I have made to other advisers came through devoting some time to professional development.  The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) – Reynolds Institute and The CSJ Advanced Advising Workshop provided time to train exclusively with other journalism educators across the nation, and a new network of people that I can look to for advice and resources.  There are certainly opportunities for you, no matter what state you reside. Doing a quick search using the kewords “Journalism teacher” and “workshops” a few hits that I got back include: The Academy of Scholastic Broadcasting Workshop, Southern Connecticut State Journalism Workshop, Iowa Summer Journalism Workshops  And, don’t forget JEA’s Summer Advisers Institute, and the Fall and Spring Conventions.

4. Be Social. Twitter is a great place to stay abreast of news for journalism educators, and to follow top professionals in the field, or find the experts that specifically relate to your area of interest.  A few accounts that I recommend include: @nationalJEA, @JEADigitalMedia.org, @NSPA, @journtoolbox, @BestofSNO, @manfull, @classintercom, @StrivTV

How do you get connected?  I’d love to read your suggestions in the comments!