It’s a big week in scholastic journalism! It’s award season!
๐ BIG CONGRATS ๐
to all the publication staffs, editors, and advisers named as finalists!
Click below to view the finalists.
Awards are super exciting and a wonderful validation for all the hard work that student journalists do, BUTโฆ
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When talking about awards, I think it’s always important to include a disclaimer:
What we do is NOT about the awards.ย
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It can be super intimidating to look at these award-winning books and wonder how they do it, howย kidsย are creating these publications, and doubt that you’ll ever get to โthat level.”ย
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Please know, and make sure your kids know, that awards are a nice perk on top of producing a high-quality, journalistically-sound student publication. They serve as great example, encourage creativity, and celebrate staffs who are creating excellent publications.
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Winning or not winning does not mean that the work happening in your classroom is any more or less important, valuable, or needed.
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If you are new to the journalism advising world or just haven’t dabbled into submitting for awards yet, I encourage you to first look at getting your publication critiqued.ย
I know, I know – submitting for a critique can be super scary, and you may feel like you’re not โready.โ Getting negative feedback can be crushing – but only if you let it. It gives you a goalpost. It gives you external perspective. It allows you to see the publication’s strengths and areas of growth. Using the critique and showing your staff exemplar publications can help you create a roadmap for improvement. Critiques provide specific standards for your publication and working towards them produces a better product for your community.
I know, I know – submitting for a critique can be super scary, and you may feel like you’re not โready.โ Getting negative feedback can be crushing – but only if you let it. It gives you a goalpost. It gives you external perspective. It allows you to see the publication’s strengths and areas of growth. Using the critique and showing your staff exemplar publications can help you create a roadmap for improvement. Critiques provide specific standards for your publication and working towards them produces a better product for your community.
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You can find the NSPA publication guidebooks inย their online store.
The CSPA fundamentals are available onย their website here.