Thank you!

Ah, here we are. The end of the first semester. As my second period journalism 1 students are hunched over their tests, only the sound of striking pencils and the rattle of the heater can be heard.

I'm going to miss this class. All of my journalism 1 classes for that matter. I feel as though each journo class has bonded more in just four months than some of my other classes will do in a year. Perhaps it is the age. I know not all of you are underclassmen, but most are, and I feel comfortable with that age group for varoius reasons. Typically, you aren't jaded. You are fairly certain you don't know everything. You are eager to participate after getting to know one another. You are open to ideas or strategies that your other teachers use. You don't get defensive when criticism is given.

Thank you for that. Don't lose your curiosity, spunk and willingness to participate. Take newspaper and yearbook (shameless plug)!

Thus far what I've learned from your comments and discussions is that to improve journalism 1, we should have more visual aids --- something I am totatally capable of providing you with, so thank you for sharing! And we should blog more, which pleases me. I know many of you were timid to blog at the beginning but the responses and thoughtfulness that went into most posts were fantastic to see.

Among my teacher friends we often discuss questions we have about teens. One of which is, "Why are kids so arrogant? They are convinced they know everything about everything and have no desire to further their education." Now, I know that doesn't apply to all of you, but what many of us have concluded is that social networking has made many teens feel as though their every thought,every teeny tiny emotion needs to be broadcasted to the world ... Because, to them, they are the world.

Most of the time this troubles me, but when you guys share your thoughts on real issues, it's great to read your perspectives. You have a lot of insight to offer, so I encourage you to continue sharing ... just remember to listen to others as well and choose your comments wisely.

I hope you all have a great break and second semester. In exactly one week I'll be in NYC and promise to post photos.