INNISFAIL – One of the most cherished freedoms all citizens of Canada have in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the freedom of the press.
That is what Grade 8 students at Innisfail Middle School -- prior to yesterday's announcement prohibiting kindergarten to Grade 12 student attendance at schools -- were learning about in their annual class Journalism Project, facilitated by the editorial staff of the Innisfail Province.
“I think this really aligns with something that I push in my language arts with integrity of writing,” said Grade 8 teacher Amanda Oslund prior to the March 15 announcement. “I focus a lot in Grade 8 about citing their work and using reliable sources and being honest with their writing and this ethics piece aligns with that really well.”
A total of 96 students in three Grade 8 classes were participating in the project. The project, divided into two parts, was to conclude with students writing their own opinion piece or column revolving around freedom of speech and ethics in journalism.
“There’s a lot of aligning outcomes that work with persuasive writing and citing our work and personal writing pieces,” said Oslund, adding how she appreciated the learning challenges created by Province editor Johnnie Bachusky that were put to the students. "I like how Johnnie challenged the class this year with something that definitely takes a little bit more thought and some higher level thinking and being able to apply the concept of the movie The Post, which he based the piece on.
“I think it’s really important to bring community members into the classroom and have students learn from other adults from the community," added Oslund.
“In the past, the kids have been really excited about what they can produce and have some of their work published.”
Grade 8 classes taught by teachers Tom Stones and Ericka Yates were also participating in the Journalism Project.
“I think if (students) can start to look at something from multiple points of view, sort of an outcome for Grade 8s, that they can not just take facts but make their own point of view and look at from multiple sides of the story,” said Stones prior to the school's closure, noting what he hopes students learn from the experience.
“We’re always looking for something that will engage them and something to make them think,” said Stones. “I think this project can do that.”
