Education leader inspires students, teachers
Commentary
By Charles L. Overby
Chairman and CEO, The Freedom Forum
01.15.99
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We are only one generation away from losing the First Amendment and a
free press.
That is not a doomsday prediction. It's a sober reality. Each generation
must pass on to the next generation the value of a free press in order
for that freedom to survive.
That is one of the missions of the Newseum. Visitors of all ages learn
about the complexities and imperfections of gathering the news. But we
also have set aside space and created special programs for students from
the sixth through 12th grades.
Our first expansion after opening in 1997 involved building classrooms
adjacent to the Newseum for those students. Now we're adding a
lunchroom.
Our Newseum is becoming a school.
That's where Judy Hines comes in.
For the past 25 years, she's been trying to help students learn about
newspapers. A former schoolteacher, she joined the American Newspaper
Publishers Association Foundation in 1974 as manager of the Newspaper in
Education program. Back then, only 100 newspapers participated in that
program. Now more than 1,000 sponsor newspaper programs in classrooms.
When she became head of the foundation for ANPA (now the Newspaper
Association of America), her responsibilities expanded to include First
Amendment and diversity issues.
The Freedom Forum turned to Judy in 1993 for help on a book about high
school journalism, called 'Death by Cheeseburger.' The book — named for
a high school student's column about cafeteria food — chronicled the
state of high school journalism through research as well as anecdotes
about the highs and lows of students working to produce quality school
newspapers.
Judy's longtime national commitment to high school journalism and her
flair for making ordinary subjects lively and interesting made her the
obvious choice to head our student education efforts at the Newseum.
Many school groups visit the Newseum, and an increasing number of
teachers are taking advantage of the specialized teaching offered by
Judy Hines and her dedicated staff.
'We talk with teachers before they bring their classes to the Newseum to
learn what the students are studying,' Hines said. 'Then we tailor the
experience to fit the class.'
Popular classes include energetic history lessons and hands-on projects
involving photography, front-page layout, political cartoons and online
design.
For example, the popularity of the movie 'Titanic' has given Hines and
Co. the chance to explain how daily news reporting is not always
perfect. Students learn that the Titanic struck an iceberg and then sank
on April 15, 1912, killing 1,517 passengers. But the next day, most
newspapers around the world printed that although the Titanic had hit an
iceberg, the ship was fine. The question discussed with students: How
could those newspaper reports have been so wrong?
Games involving current events and the First Amendment also are popular.
You have to see 'Newsmania' to believe it.
In short, Judy Hines has put in place an environment for learning and
having fun that is rarely equaled.
Instructor Carol Knopes, who delights students with her teaching style,
credits Judy for letting the teachers and students move beyond the
routine.
'Long before empowerment became a buzzword, Judy understood it,' Carol
said. 'She lets you go, and she lets you fly.'
The reward for all of this is seeing the smiles on young people's faces
while they're talking about a free press and the First Amendment.
It's one small step toward passing these fragile freedoms on to the next
generation.
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