ISSN 1532-642X October 2001 Rural Roots

Volume 2, No. 5October 2001

ISSN 1532-642X

Rural RootsNews, Information, and Commentary from the Rural School and Community Trust

Wisconsin’s YouthPress: Hands-OnMedia Work

By Alison Yaunches

hen Mary Caton-Rosser teaches her“hamburger model” of writing to thestudents of Wisconsin’s Youth Press,

composing a news story is no longer intimidating; instead, students findthe process straightforward … and even fun. By constructing a burger—looking at the meat as the story line, the top bun as the introduction, thebottom bun as the conclusion, and the condiments as story enhance-ments and explanations—students approach their writing project usingmethodical, logical techniques.

Youth Press does not stop at trainingand educating—they insist on doing.The program provides participants withdirect, hands-on experiences in the re-cording studio of a radio station, on theset of a public access television station,and behind the keyboard writing storiesfor Youth Press and community publi-cations.

As an organization, Youth Press isensuring that the youth of Wisconsin,particularly in its rural areas, have influ-ence in the community, an opportunity

to effect change, and a chance to havetheir voices heard.

To Make a DifferenceChuck Ericksen, coordinator of the

Rural Trust network site New ParadigmPartners (NPP), along with Rosser andothers initiated Youth Press almost fiveyears ago. “The idea was to give youngpeople an opportunity to describe, in-terpret, and express their own reality andhave a variety of public audiences so thattheir voice [would be] heard. The sec-ond idea was to emphasize the impor-tance of media and journalism as a wayto make our communities and schools abetter place. This isn’t just writing in avacuum—it’s writing to make a differ-ence,” says Eriksen.

“They’re looking at a hamburger in amuch different way … all of a sudden,writing a story makes sense,” explainsRosser, the director of Youth Press. “Westress writing as the basis for all of ourmedia work, and so we try to make it asfun and interactive as possible.”

The burger model is just one waythat Rosser and her team of mentors atYouth Press train middle and highschool (and some elementary and col-lege) students in real-life media/com-munications skills and techniques.

Students producing a public access television show.

continued on page 8

W

2 Rural Roots The Rural School and Community Trust October 2001

November 12–13, 2001

Brokering School andCommunity Resources forOne VisionRural Trust Northeast (Maine,New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont)Regional MeetingNew England Conference Center,Durham, New Hampshire

Contact Rural Trust Northeast StewardJulie Bartsch at (978) 779-0047, or bye-mail at [email protected].

Rural RootsVol. 2, No. 5 October 2001

ISSN 1532-642X

Rural Roots is published six times a yearby the Rural School and CommunityTrust, a nonprofit educational organ-ization dedicated to enlarging studentlearning and improving community lifeby strengthening relationships betweenrural schools and communities and en-gaging students in community-basedpublic work.

Through advocacy, research, and out-reach, the Rural Trust strives to create amore favorable environment for ruralcommunity schooling, for student workwith a public audience and use, and formore active community participation inschooling.

Founded as the Annenberg RuralChallenge in 1995, the Rural Trust todayworks with more than 700 rural elemen-tary and secondary schools in 35 states.

National Office

1825 K Street, NW, Suite 703Washington, DC 20006Phone: (202) 955-7177FAX: (202) 955-7179

To subscribe, visit our website at:www.ruraledu.org

Director of Communications:Kathryn E. Westra

Editor: H. Alison YaunchesDesign: Gerry Cervenka

Printed on Recycled Paper

RuralDatebook

October 26–31, 2001

Rural Trust Native SitesWorking Group/NationalIndian Education Association(NIEA) ConferenceBoothill Inn, Billings, Montana/Holiday Inn Grand Montana,Billings, Montana

The Rural Trust Native Sites WorkingGroup will meet on October 26–27, 2001immediately prior to the annual NationalIndian Education Conference that will beheld from October 27–31. The NativeSites Working Group meeting will focuson finalizing a three-year work plan anddiscussing fundraising strategies.

Representatives from Rural Trust net-work sites, including Alaska Rural Chal-lenge, Navajo Nation, Santa Fe IndianSchool, and the Rural Education Ad-vancement Program (Lumbee Tribe),will participate in the meeting. Thesegroups also will be hosting a conferencestrand at the NIEA conference in whichthey will share their work with other In-dian educators from across the country.Contact Rural Trust Steward, Elaine Sali-nas, for more information at (920) 497-3602 or [email protected].


The Odyssey of Learning:The 29th Annual Associationfor Experiential Education(AEE) International ConferenceCharleston Civic Center,Charleston, West Virginia

Workshops will cover: school curricu-lum, facilitation issues, outdoor educa-tion research and evaluation opportuni-ties. Other topics include: adventure-based programming and outdoor edu-cation program administration.

For more information or to registeronline, go to www.aee.org/conferences/2001intlconf.htm. Or contact CherylSchwartz at (304) 440-9581; [email protected].


23rd Annual Ruraland Small School ConferencePresented by the Centerfor Rural Education & SmallSchools, and the College ofEducation at Kansas StateUniversity

Kansas State University,Manhattan, Kansas

Presentations will highlight current re-search or exemplary programs involvingrural education. Emphasis on leadership,technology, school-to-work, standards-based education, and practices that en-hance classroom learning, increasedachievement, address cultural and lan-guage diversity and promote connectiv-ity with the community. For more in-formation, go to http://www2.educ.ksu.edu/organizations/cress/ or contactBarbara Havlicek at (785) 532-5886,e-mail [email protected].


Wisconsin Rural Challenge(WRC)/Youth ConnectingCommunities Fall GatheringWisconsin Lions Campnear Rosholt, Wisconsin

At this meeting, WRC will unveil“Youth Connecting Communities,” ajoint initiative with the Wisconsin De-partment of Public Instruction to en-gage students and the technological re-sources of schools in addressing the“digital divide” within Wisconsin’s ru-ral communities. The program will alsoinclude workshops on place-based learn-ing, social and economic entrepreneur-ship, youth involvement in rural policyadvocacy, and the development of ayouth leadership plan for the Wiscon-sin Rural Challenge. Contact ChuckEricksen of the WRC for more informa-tion at: (715) 986-2020 or [email protected].

October 2001 The Rural School and Community Trust Rural Roots 3

Classroom ResourceOffers Lesson Planson Community Heritage

Middle- and high-school teachers across the country have a new place-basededucation resource in a poster just published by the Rural School and CommunityTrust and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Called “Explore Your Community,” the colorful 23 × 34-inch poster featuresexamples of community heritage—mu-sic, dance, cultural festivals, traditionaloccupations, games, and more—on thefront. The back of the poster containsinformation and lesson plans for teach-ers who want to use the community as aclassroom by involving their students instudying community heritage. This in-formation is contained on six panels thatcan easily be photocopied by teachers forclassroom use. In addition to document-ing how community heritage studies canenhance students’ academic learning andtechnical skills development, the panelsaddress how to:

• Identify examples of communityculture;• Identify the “community culture”of your own school;• Document examples of familylore, community celebrations, andoccupational traditions; and• Create community maps, tours,cookbooks, performances and othercommunity heritage projects.The poster also points teachers to nu-

merous online and published resourcesin folklore, folklife, oral history, and

Three Rural Trust network siteswith extensive oral history websites willbe featured as resources for educatorsand students on the “Explore YourCommunity” link accessed through theAmerican Folklife Center’s website(www.loc.gov/folklife/). MariposaMiddle School (with the MariposaCounty Unified School District inCalifornia), the Llano Grande Cen-ter for Research and Development inTexas, and the Rocky Gap High School(with the Appalachian Rural Educa-tion Network in Virginia) are the threefeatured projects.

place-based education, including thewebsites of the Rural Trust (www.ruraledu.org) and the American FolklifeCenter (www.loc.gov/folklife/).

Single copies of the poster are avail-able free to teachers. Send your name,grade-level, school name, and address to:Explore Your Community, Rural Schooland Community Trust, 1825 K St. NW,Suite 703, Washington, DC 20006, ore-mail this information to [email protected].


REFC DirectorJoins Rural Trust

The Rural School and Community Trust has namedGregory C. Malhoit as the director of the newly cre-ated Rural Education Finance Center (REFC), estab-lished in August to provide services to rural groupsacross the nation who are working to improve fundingfor rural schools and the children they serve. Malhoit

joins the Rural Trust after serving as the Executive Director of the North Caro-lina Justice and Community Development Center, a statewide organization fo-cused on economic and legal issues that impact poor and rural communities.

“We are delighted that this project will get off the ground under the directionof someone with the impressive legal and advocacy credentials of Greg Malhoit,”said Rachel Tompkins, Rural Trust President. “His experience as an advocate forsocial and economic justice in the fields of public education and civil rights lawmakes him an ideal leader in our efforts to assure educational equity and ad-equacy for rural schoolchildren.”

During his tenure with the Justice Center, Malhoit led its education reformprogram, which focused on equity and adequacy in the state school finance sys-tem, the racial achievement gap, the needs of Limited-English Proficient stu-dents, and high stakes testing. From 1974 until 1990, he served as ExecutiveDirector of East Central Community Legal Services, a legal aid program servinga five-county region of North Carolina.

Malhoit is a 1973 graduate of the University of Nebraska School of Law whohas litigated cases at all levels of the state and has served on the faculty of N.C.Central University School of Law. He has also lectured on a broad array of edu-cation topics both in North Carolina and nationally.

Greg Malhoit can be e-mailed at [email protected].

Echoes in the Hallway:Students’ Views of TestingGone Awry

By John Eckman

As a teacher, Joe Hiney was muchloved by his students because he listened,he cared, he pushed, and he was willingto be their friend. The teachers portrayedin Hiney’s play, Echoes in the Hallway,are just the opposite. As a result of thekind of emphasis on standardization androte work that Hiney saw influencingVirginia’s public school system, his stageteachers have become droning automa-tons, dispensing and testing factoidsdevoid of context. They ignore their stu-dents’ needs and forge ahead through acanned curriculum. Echoes in the Hall-way, now available as a video producedby the Rural Trust, offers a provocativeview of what education could become ifwe ignore the human element of stu-dents’ lives and the challenges they face.

I first saw a production of Echoes inFebruary 2000, when it was used to be-gin a meeting of over 300 teachers andparents in the Shenandoah Valley whowere concerned about the direction ofhigh stakes testing in Virginia. The shortplay produced by Hiney’s students fromTurner Ashby High School brought tearsand laughter to the audience, making allof us reassess how much time we can giveto real human interaction with youngpeople. After talking with other educa-tion advocates about how the show couldbe useful to other audiences, Hiney andI were discussing plans for making avideo. Sadly, Joe Hiney died in a bicy-cling accident in May 2000 at the age of32. This video and his many studentscarry on his work.

Starring the original student cast, the30-minute video provides a powerfulconversation starter for meetings withanyone concerned about education is-sues—faculty, administration, parents,community activists, and students. Theplay, which includes several originalsongs by Hiney, touches on tough issuesincluding school violence, discrimina-

tion, teen pregnancy, and domesticabuse. Audiences are left to sort throughthe meaning of these quick glimpses intostudents’ lives and to ponder how theirschools’ policies and practices supporttheir students as individuals.

The Rural Trust’s primary goal inmaking the video is to stimulate dialogueon education issues. The show presentsa very one-sided view of standards thatdoes not recognize that some teachersmay be able to take advantage of a uni-form system of instruction. Showing thevideo to a school faculty could offer achance to discuss how to work withinsuch constraints and to turn them into

opportunities. The same showing couldalso spark people to talk about state as-sessments and to consider what actionsmay be needed to change them.

Our second goal is to encourage fur-ther productions of the play. Live pro-ductions bring immediacy and relevancythat video cannot muster. As many art,music and theater programs around thecountry are threatened by a narrowing ofthe curriculum, Echoes provides a chanceto address the situation directly, openingthe door to influence students, teachersand policymakers. Some audiences may

continued on page 11


Introduction by Ray Barnhardt

or the past 14 summers, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in con-junction with the Cultural Heritage and Education Institute of the

village of Minto, have been offering an opportunity for educators in se-lected summer courses to spend a week at the Old Minto Cultural Campon the Tanana River under the tutelage of the local Athabascan Elders.The program is designed for teachers and others new to Alaska who en-roll in the UAF Cross-Cultural Orientation Program.

Teachers are able to immerse themselves in a new cultural environment in anon-threatening and guided fashion that allows them to set aside their own predis-positions long enough to begin to see the world through other people’s eyes. Forthis, most of the credit needs to go to the Elders of Minto, who have mastered theart of making themselves accessible to others, and to Robert Charlie, the CampDirector who makes it all happen.

Except for a few basic safety rules that are made explicit upon arrival, everythingat the camp is learned through participation in the ongoing life of the people serv-ing as our hosts/teachers. Volunteer work crews are assembled for the various projectsand activities that are always underway, with the Elders providing guidance andteaching by example. Many small clusters of people—young and old, Native andnon-Native, experts and novices—can be seen throughout the camp busily work-ing, visiting, showing, doing, listening and learning. Teachers become students andstudents become teachers.

At the end of the day, people gather to sing, dance, joke, tell stories and playgames. On the last evening, a potlatch is held with special foods prepared by thecamp participants and served in a traditional format, followed by speeches relatingthe events of the week to the life and history of the area and the people of Minto.By the time the boats head back upriver at the end of the week, everyone hasbecome a part of Old Minto and the people whose ancestors are buried there. It isan experience for which there is no textbook equivalent. Rural Trust photographerRob Amberg and his family participated in the 2001 Old Minto Camp. The photoessay he has assembled captures some of the people and events that make OldMinto a unique and treasured place.

Cross-CulturalOrientation atOld Minto Camp

Ray Barnhardt is a Rural Trust boardmember, a Co-Director of AlaskaRural Challenge, and also a Professorof Cross Cultural Education andRural Development at the Universityof Alaska, Fairbanks.

FFFFF

PHOTOS BY ROB AMBERG

Photos and text by Rob Amberg

ld Minto is not down on manymaps. It’s the site of an abandoned

Athabascan (Native Alaskan) village on thebanks of the Tanana River in interior Alaska.For the last 14 years, the Athabascan Eldersof the “new” village of Minto, in conjunc-tion with the University of Alaska Fairbanks(UAF), have been using the former villageas a setting for a Cultural Orientation Campfor rural teachers. I’ve arrived at Old Mintoafter a 75-minute cold, fast ride in a flat-bottomed skiff, with a group of faculty andstudents from UAF for a week of cross-cul-tural interaction.

The Tanana River is powerful and big.Elder Neal Charlie tells me that the riverhas shifted over the years and what is nowthe middle was once the site of the villagechurch. It’s glacier fed, cold, and silt-laden.While the river is surely dangerous and com-mands respect, it has for centuries been thelifeblood of villages like Old Minto, pro-viding food, clothing, shelter, transportationlinks, and spiritual sustenance.

We are met by the Elders and staff peopleand go over camp rules. New cabins are be-ing built for the Elders by a group ofAmericorps volunteers and our participationis encouraged. We set up our tents and eatsupper. As the sun skirts the horizon alongthe river, we listen to the Elders sing tradi-tional Athabascan songs until Virgil Titus,

a middle-aged man, breaks out a guitar andwe all sing along to renditions of countryand blues songs.

I wake to the loud calls of the trumpeterswans that live in the swamp beside thecamp. It goes on for minutes, followed by agreat flapping of wings and then silence.

A group of us join Bill Pfisterer in hisboat and head five miles downriver to Ligeand Susie Charlie’s fish camp. With silenthand gestures, a young Athabascan manguides Bill through a maze of submergedlogs, sandbars, and other obstacles. Thecamp has a well with hand pump set closeto the river that is the closest place to getdrinking water. There’s a cabin, some dry-ing poles for fish, and a storage shed. Thereis a tall straight spruce tree on the bank ofthe river with its limbs sheared that Lige usesto spot moose. We pump 150 gallons ofwater, which will sustain the camp for a day.

Spent a long afternoon with Sarah Titusin the vestibule of her tent. She has a firegoing, and a mosquito coil lit, and it’s com-fortable sitting and visiting. She strips thebark from spruce roots which will be usedto tie the pieces of a birch bark basket whilewe talk about the many changes that havecome to the village during her lifetime. TheElders grew up in and continue to practicea hunter/gatherer lifestyle. People movedfrom hunting camp, to fishing camp, togather-up camp, to winter camp, and de-pended on following the movement of game

Old Mintoo

for their needs. Travel was by boat, or onfoot, or dogsled. Now, there is road accessfrom New Minto to Fairbanks, permanenthousing, and a greater dependence on themainstream economy. The Elders speak oftheir young people not eating the rightfoods, watching too much TV, and losingcontact with their language and traditions.

Riding back from collecting spruce rootswith Neal and Geraldine Charlie, Nealguided the boat up a narrow, shallow chan-nel. We paddled and poled our way in. Nealexplained it was at this seemingly insignifi-cant spot over 100 years ago that theAthabascan Elders decided to place the origi-nal village at Old Minto.

In the evenings, we often sit around thecampfire, or by the river, with the Elders.The younger children play basketball, orwith Pokemon cards. Some people carve ondiamond willow branches they’re fashion-ing into walking sticks. The midnight sunkeeps your body working overtime and weoften work late on the cabins, hauling andfiltering water, gathering firewood.

The village has a permit to kill a moosefor a ceremonial potlatch and two of theyounger men have found a moose willingto offer itself. The carcass is brought in largepieces and the whole village participates inthe butchering. The meat is hung in thesmokehouse where a smoky fire will cure itand keep it insect free. Some of the meat iscooked that night and eaten as hot chunksright from the grill.

Donations of food for the potlatch havecome from other villages, and ducks, bea-ver and salmon all make their way to thebutchering table. The butchering is done bythe younger men with the Elders instructing

on technique. One of the salmon containsan enormous egg sac full of bright red roe.Three Japanese students from UAF separatethe eggs from the membrane telling us theyare a national delicacy in Japan. Virgil saysthe Athabascan would freeze small balls ofthe concentrated protein and carry them asenergy sources on hunting and trappingtrips in the Arctic winter.

I walk today with Sarah, her husbandBerkman, and some of their grandchildrento the site of the village cemetery. It’s a milethrough the mosquito-infested forest andswamp. Berkman says the mosquitoes are asure sign there is a moose close by and car-ries a loaded rifle on the walk. The gravesare spread out along a high strip of groundthrough the forest. Sarah knows most of themany generations of deceased and tells theyoung people stories about them.

Potlatch day and the once tranquil campis one of hyperactivity. Food is being pre-pared in the kitchen and on a number ofcampfires. Blue tarps are laid out on theground and duct-taped together as a cer-emonial family table. People arrive through-out the day, all in boats, some from villagesfar to the North. The students are instructedon proper serving etiquette and the food ismoved to the center of the potlatch diningarea. The Elders are served first. After weeat, camp director Robert Charlie and theElders speak about the symbolic importanceof the potlatch and the village itself. HowOld Minto is memory, a reuniting of people,both young and old, with their history. Butthis year, with new energy and vision, andnew facilities, everyone also understands thevillage is moving forward as a living bodyon a new path.


Since its beginning as an NPP pro-gram, Youth Press has gone through vari-ous incarnations and funding partner-ships while achieving tremendousgrowth, originating as a regionalizedproject and burgeoning into a statewidenetwork. Today, the program is primarilyfunded and run through the Center forCommunity Outreach at the MarshfieldMedical Research and Education Foun-dation in Wisconsin.

Although once concentrated innorthwest Wisconsin, Youth Press nowworks with students and communitiesacross the state providing training, tech-nical assistance and guidance. WithYouth Press serving in a “resource” ca-pacity, it is the local communities thatmust fund and support their students’programs. Through Wisconsin RuralChallenge, another Rural Trust networksite, NPP continues to be involved withthe organization by helping to coordi-nate “contracts,” or outside paid workthat Youth Press students carry out forother organizations.

In addition to the contract work, thestudents who work with Youth Pressand the Center for Community Out-reach at the Marshfield Clinic publisha quarterly, statewide newsletter entitledYouth Press of Wisconsin News (circ.20,000). The newsletter focuses onhealthy teen lifestyles and other issues

important to youth. The students alsomanage the organization’s website(www.youthpress.com) and run originalradio shows, the most notable of whichis Rebel Radio. They produce an elec-tronic magazine, M.ZINE, and are in-volved in countless other communitymedia programs and internships.

Community ConnectionsStudents do all of the actual work to

produce these materials and completeassigned jobs, with adult mentors urg-ing them on and teaching when appro-priate. “Adults serve in more of an advi-sory position than anything else. Theyare supervisors, they are encouragers …they back you up. But, mainly, they wantyou to do the work. That’s the wholething, getting youth involved. They’llteach you how to do it, then leave youon your own,” said student Becky Schaff,a junior at Chetek High School.

As Youth Press students work withadults in the community who are mediaprofessionals, learning becomes intergener-ational and collaborative across, andwithin, communities. Adults help withtraining and also help pave the way for stu-dents to get their voices heard. Their rolecan involve training a student in com-puter-based film editing or helping to co-ordinate an interview with a local politi-cian. They have found that, at times, some-thing that seems as simple as setting up aninterview can be surprisingly difficult.

“There are times that we have theissue of adults kind of blowing kids off

for interviews. I guess they think, ‘Whatgood could a kid really do?’ That’s wherethe adult advisor has to build bridges andexplain what we’re about,” said Rosser.

However, this response from just afew interviewees is hardly the norm.Other reactions from the community areoften more positive. As a training mem-ber of Youth Press, Carol Moon enjoyswatching students see their work pub-lished and finding that their voices trulydo matter. “People are interested in whatthey have to say,” she said.

Student VoiceEricksen and Rosser believe student-

led community journalism has impactedthe thinking of Wisconsin’s citizens.When students cover grassroots projectsand help disseminate the news theydeem important, be it bad or good, fromrural communities across the state, com-munity members are forced to take no-tice. “I think people are coming to real-ize kids are capable of much more thanmost generally assume … They are alsoseen as more insightful and serious aboutcommunity issues than most people hadassumed,” Ericksen said.

With the community-at-large as theiraudience, students must present theirissues in a polished, newsworthy fash-ion. “Observing and writing about is-sues important to them, [students] learnhow to learn. They are accountable. Theyare obliged to reflect and evaluate whatmatters and set priorities that help definetheir world. Learning journalism skills

Wisconsin’s Youth Press:Hands-on Media Workfrom page 1

Top: Students working at WRLS Radio in Hayward, WI.Right: Students with an adult advisor at WOJB 88.9 FM inWisconsin, producing Youth Press’ Rebel Radio show.


and understanding the impact of mediaare extremely valuable approaches tobecoming a productive, articulate andresponsible citizen,” notes adult train-ing member Richard Brooks.

An example of student autonomy isYouth Press’ Rebel Radio show on WOJB88.9 FM on the Lac Courte Oreilles res-ervation. There, youth have two hours onthe first Saturday of each month to coverthe tough issues teens deal with on a dailybasis. With the guidance of adult super-visors (and parental permission), studentsshare their thoughts with their communi-ties on such topics as gun safety, teenpregnancy, abortion, school violence, andtolerance and diversity. Students meetbefore each show to decide the agendaand assign research. The result is a rivet-ing radio show that, because it is live, re-ceives automatic community feedback—both positive and negative—from callers.

“On Rebel Radio,” Rosser explains,“some adults call in and challenge theneed for students to actually tackle toughtopics. In reality, youth need to talkabout these issues and ideas. They needto understand and grapple with theirpeers on issues of concern, because thisis the world they face—these ‘tough’ top-ics are all a part of their culture.”

When the show elicits criticism fromthe community, Rosser sees a silver lin-ing: professional learning experiences forher students. “There is always going tobe controversy in media; there are alwayspeople with opposing opinions. Beingassertively respectful is something thatall teens involved in Youth Press learn.”

Through programs like Rebel Radio,students are realizing that their voicesmatter. One student wrote to Rosser: “Ilike it when people respond to hearingme, and tell me what they think of whatI say.” Another writes: “I have becomemore confident in expressing my opin-ion.” Still another writes: “Through thework of the media, you can changepeople and influence the communityand even the world.”

Learning by Doing GenuineWork

The work done through Youth Pressis, for the most part, an extracurricularactivity. Students often are paid for theirwork and their assignments are not justfor a grade, but are broadcast or viewable

by the public at large—not a token as-signment by any measure.

“If it’s good quality work, we get paidfor it. One of the standards they usuallytry to hold to is having middle and highschoolers write at a level that might beexpected from college students. They ex-pect that if you are going to get paid, youshould show something that you put a lotof work into,” said student Becky Schaff.

Ericksen is working on another way ofkeeping the work genuine, and within thecontext of community change. He hopeshis search for contract work for YouthPress students will also help the YouthPress organization gain some sustain-ability. “Our kids can provide services inand beyond our local communities,” saidEricksen. “We want foundations and or-ganizations to look to our kids whenthey’re thinking about putting togethermarketing or public relations strategies,designing a website or creating a video.”

One current example of the contractwork for students involves Youth Press’work with Wisconsin Rural Challenge’spolicy program. Students are helping theinitiative gain visibility within the com-munity by engaging citizens around theformulation and advocacy of public poli-cies that value and support rural schoolsand community life.

Developing a MediaCurriculum

“Learning how to communicate well,with resolve, compassion and good judg-ment—this is what we teach,” explainsRosser. However, students involved withYouth Press do not just learn how towrite well. They also learn life skills,media skills, social skills, and manage-ment skills. Rosser likens the work donethrough Youth Press as a “project basedin general studies.”

When NPP began Youth Press, theidea was for the subject to be fully inte-grated into the curriculum. While therehas been some success at that, full inte-gration does not occur often enough,according to Ericksen. “We see this as anatural opportunity for our schools andteachers and we need teachers to em-brace it,” he said.

“There isn’t anything you don’t comeacross or get involved in. [Students] reallylearn about the people and the world

around them through this work,” saidRosser. With this belief, she is now work-ing to make information on teaching me-dia studies more accessible to all teachers.While working on her Masters of Educa-tion at the University of Wisconsin-EauClair, Rosser has developed a full-blownmedia curriculum for teachers to use inalmost any class, across subject areas. Sheintends to promote it and spread theword that teaching and learning aboutmedia work can meet state-imposed stan-dards … and can actually be fun.

Hamburger—ReduxWhich brings us back to the ham-

burger model. The program has becomeso successful within the organization thatstudents are clamoring to become “certi-fied” teachers of the model. Students arejudged by a series of criteria, including apeer review and a presentation to a panelof adults before becoming fully certified.

“It’s fun work, but it’s also got someaccountability to it. If they think it’sgoing to be real, and if they feel like it’sa job that they are working on to make adifference, it becomes a goal for them.And, they don’t really mind that at all.It’s a challenge,” said Rosser.

In the world of Youth Press, it is thechallenge that makes the work worthdoing.

Mary Rosser can be contacted [email protected]. Chuck Ericksencan be e-mailed at [email protected]. The Youth Press websiteis www.youthpress.com; in September,a new, interactive website began: www.youthpressmedia.com.

FeedbackDo you have any questions, com-ments or feedback? Something gotyou jazzed up? Think we should coveryour story? Have an idea for us? Havea rural education need that we are notfulfilling? We greatly value yourthoughts and opinions. Write to theEditor at the Rural School and Com-munity Trust: 1825 K Street, NW,Suite 703, Washington, DC 20006.Or e-mail: [email protected]. Welook forward to hearing from you.


By Jessica Mincoff of Youth Press

I can recall the day I got involved inYouth Press as though it was yesterday.It was a blustery fall day; the air hungheavy with the scent of burning leavesas I was tucked away inside FlambeauHigh School located in rural Tony, Wis-consin. I was taking a leisurely walkthrough the halls when a club advisor,Bob Hindal, approached me with aproposition to participate in a mediaexchange with students from Austin,Texas. Naturally, without thinking twice,I accepted and before I knew it I was ona plane with 14 other students from Wis-consin. During our four-day expeditionwe learned how Austin students utilizetheir technology and talent to producefilm, radio shows, and newspapers. Thatis how I got involved in Youth Press,nearly four years ago.

Two months after returning fromAustin, I graduated and lost touch withYouth Press. I attended the Universityof Wisconsin in Menomonie for oneyear, and then took a year off to soulsearch. Though I missed the welcomingatmosphere of Menomonie as a town, Iknew it was only a place for me to visit,but not to live. I spent a year working,trying to find my “real knack.” My “realknack” had always been with me—mypassion for writing, informing and me-dia. In high school, I was involved withthe student newspaper and loved it. Iwrote my own column and thrived, as awriter, from the love/hate relationship Ideveloped with my readers. With that

FirstPerson

revelation, I enrolled at Mount SenarioCollege in the small town of Ladysmith,Wisconsin and declared myself an En-glish major. I grew up approximately 10miles from Ladysmith; making the movehome was comfortable and a good deci-sion.

One day during com-position class in late Oc-tober 2000, my Englishprofessor Kathy Ducom-mun, asked if anyonewould be interested incopy editing for a youthnewspaper. She then men-tioned Mary Rosser; thatname rang a bell. I metMary when we went toAustin for the media ex-change. Within the weekI was meeting with Maryand soon after, I was re-ceiving material to copyedit. After copy editing two editionsof Youth Press of Wisconsin News, Maryoffered me the Editor position forYouth Press’s electronic magazine,M.ZINE. I gladly accepted the newchallenge and freedom to develop a cre-ative outlet for youth. Mary has be-come my mentor. My first edition ofM.ZINE hit cyberspace September 1,2001 at www.youthpressmedia.com.

The Youth Press network is housedby Marshfield Clinic’s statewide ProjectForward program at their Center forCommunity Outreach, based in ruralMarshfield, Wisconsin. The Center isthe publisher of the Youth Press of Wis-

consin News, for which I copy edit.While editing with Youth Press, Iwas offered the Project ForwardCoordinator position for YouthPress from the Center. As ProjectForward Coordinator I continuemy editing, copy editing andYouth Press Advisory Council du-ties, but also work on statewideinitiatives promoting preventionto youth. I work closely with

youth and have a youth assistant,Melanie Rosser, who manages the YouthPress website and is actively involved inthe youth editorial board for the news-paper as well as writing for the newspa-per. Being involved with the Center hasnot only been a great network connec-tion for me, but for Youth Press as well.We are able to connect statewide, nation-ally and, sometimes, globally.

My involvement in Youth Press hasbeen a transformative experience becauseit has confirmed my love for writing …my love for broadening my horizons …putting myself out there to write how I

feel and think. I’ve alsolearned how to appreciatethe viewpoints of othersand to really listen to whatthey’re saying. I have usedthe qualities gained to en-courage youth to do theirbest. I have become a firmbeliever in positive rein-forcement as well as con-structive criticism. When astudent looks to me for ad-vice on a writing project, Iknow they are looking forcompliments, but there isalso a larger part of them

that wants me to tell them what can beimproved in their work to make it moreeffective. Being valued by youth is all thecompliment I need in this job to stayfocused. I am working to promote highself-esteem of youth and to show themthat what they’re thinking and feeling isimportant.

Imagine a community where every-one is accepted, virtually equal. Every-one’s opinion is heard and really listenedto and thought about. That is the imageYouth Press presents: equality in theworld that portrays inequality. YouthPress encourages realistic thinking whilebeing creative at the same time. Promot-ing this idea and watching youth thriveon it is probably the best thing aboutworking with Youth Press. I feel honoredto be working toward a better society …toward tomorrow’s future with a won-derful group of highly respectable youth.I know I’m making a difference in thelives of youth and families and that is anawesome feeling. Thus, a quote fromWilliam James, “Act as if what you domakes a difference. It does.”

A First Person Account of Wisconsin’s Youth Press

Toward Tomorrow’s Future

I am working topromote highself-esteem ofyouth and to

show them thatwhat they’rethinking and

feeling isimportant.

Youth Press students contemplate a writing project.


Youth Council’s StrategicPlanning Focuses onYouth/Adult Partnerships,Communicating Message

YouthCouncil

By Cara Cookson

Note from the Youth Council: The Ru-ral School and Community Trust’s Na-tional Youth Council is proud to present itspremiere column in Rural Roots. Throughthis regular offering we plan to share withyou not only the work of the Council, butalso grassroots efforts in schools and com-munities throughout rural America, allfrom the perspective of students.

Charged with the task of preparinga strategic plan for the next two years,the National Youth Leaders Forumtransformed into the Rural Trust Na-tional Youth Council during a three-dayretreat in Winter Park, Colorado fromJuly 27–29. The 15-member Council,representing regions from Maine toCalifornia, reached consensus on thename change in order to reflect theCouncil’s focus on place-based learningand youth and adult partnership on anational level.

On the first day of the retreat, return-ing Council members welcomed fournew members: Kay Schwader fromHoward, South Dakota, Crystal Narchofrom Sells, Arizona, Maria Hernandezfrom Eldorado, Texas, and Desiree Has-ten from White Castle, Louisiana.Though the schedule provided ampletime to enjoy horseback riding, hiking,and other outdoor activities amidst thecalming mountain scenery, the Counciljumped right into each day’s activities,which required mounds of chart paperfor brainstorming and patient discussionduring group deliberation. Every hourthat passed brought new clarity and en-thusiasm for the upcoming year.

The second day began by establish-ing common understandings of place-based learning and youth and adultpartnerships as the core principles ofthe Council’s strategic plan. Anotherround of brainstorming ensued as smallgroups considered methods for capac-ity building and advocacy for each prin-ciple.

After careful thought and discussion,the Council chose five focus areas anddrafted action steps to complete eachtask. The strategic plan for this year con-centrates on communication, bothwithin the Rural Trust and beyond in-cluding presentations by council mem-bers; teacher development; creating anassessment tool for expanding under-standing of youth/adult partnerships;and a two-part institute on youth andadult partnerships. A conversation ongovernance structures and responsibili-ties within the Council led to the for-mation of five committees, one for eachinitiative, and an executive committeethat will include a representative fromeach committee.

Despite the intense and often meticu-lous nature of the planning process, theCouncil members left Winter Park forthe Denver International Airport with asense of pride in the enormous amountof work accomplished, a renewed feel-ing of camaraderie and optimistic energyamong old members and new, and witha common vision for the next year. Overthe next month, the various committeeswill finalize their action steps, and inOctober, four Council members will at-tend the Rural Trust Board of Trusteesmeeting in Washington, D.C. to presenttheir strategic plan.

feel that the original, homogenous, ru-ral Virginia cast production does notrepresent the diversity of faces or issuesin their areas. For them we hope theoriginal show can be simply a startingpoint from which others can add theirown monologues and vignettes, tailor-ing the production to their concerns,their culture, and their place. TheRural Trust will collect new scenesfrom local productions and provide alibrary of alternatives.

We hope that many student actorswill be able to enjoy the powerful ex-perience that staging this show canprovide. As Annie Mishler, an origi-nal cast member recalls:

“Although I was involved in sportsand other fine arts groups, nothingcan compare to the experience I hadperforming Echoes. Not only did Ilearn a lot about defeat and victory,but I learned what it is like to touchpeople’s lives. Not just make them feelemotions, but to have them change,and make the education system bet-ter, if only for one person. I remem-ber the times Mr. Hiney read aloudsome letters from students and teach-ers concerning our show. One teacheradmitted acting like the teachers weportrayed, and [began to] see that stu-dents’ needs go beyond learning alge-bra and history, and that their indi-vidual lives should always come be-fore a state-mandated standardizedtest.”

Videos are available for $20 (in-cludes shipping and handling)through the Rural Trust. For moreinformation about Echoes in the Hall-way, including video clips, scripts, anddiscussion questions, please visitwww.echoesinthehallway.com orcontact John Eckman, at [email protected] or by calling (540)432-6962.

John Eckman, information officer forthe Rural Trust, lives, works, and enjoyslocal theater in Virginia’s ShenandoahValley.

Echoes in the Hallwayfrom page 4

All Roads Lead HomeEdited by Sharon Bishop, CarolMacDaniels and Miles Bryant

This book, funded by Nebraska’sSchool at the Center, includes poetry,biographies, essays, fiction and visualsproduced by high school students acrossthe state. The collection shares what stu-dents in rural Nebraska value about theirhomes and heritage, what they noticeabout the people and places where theylive, and how they interact with friends,family and community members. Thebook is $15.00 and is available from theUniversity of Nebraska. Contact MilesBryant at (402) 472-0960 or [email protected] for more information.

If you would like your publication to beconsidered for Publications of Note, pleasesend the book, along with ordering informa-tion to: Editor, Rural Trust, 1825 K Street,NW, Suite 703, Washington, DC 20006.

1825 K Street, NW ♦ Suite 703 ♦ Washington, DC 20006www.ruraledu.org

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Rural Roots

Nonprofit Organization

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PAID

Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Permit No. 75

Radical Equations: MathLiteracy and Civil RightsBy Robert Moses andCharles E. Cobb

This book draws striking parallelsbetween mathematical competency andthe civil rights movement, while provid-ing a short history of the AlgebraProject, Moses’ organization that aimsto nurture collaboration between par-ents, teachers and students in order toteach middle-school kids algebra. Mosesand Cobb argue that algebra is a cru-cial stepping-stone to college level mathand thus, lifelong economic opportu-nity. The authors show how the grass-roots organizing efforts that made thecivil rights movement so successful canbe applied to bring about change in theclassroom—and why the Algebra Pro-ject’s success rate is so high. The bookis $21.00, and is available throughbookstores.

Living Traditions—ATeacher’s Guide: TeachingLocal History Using State andNational Learning StandardsBy Mark Shelding, Martin Kempleand Joseph Kiefer

This well-organized and easy-to-un-derstand book guides teachers througha step-by-step process for developingstandards-based curricula, projects andactivities focusing on the living tradi-tions of the community surroundingtheir school. Through dozens of worksheets, sample activities and checklists,this book helps teachers develop theirvery own place-based integrated units,drawing on their unique local resources,including libraries and communitymembers. To order, contact Food Worksby e-mail at [email protected] orcall toll-free (800) 310-1515. The bookis $19.95, $13.97 for 10 or more copies.

Publicationsof Note

ISSN 1532-642X October 2001 Rural Roots

Documents

Transcript of ISSN 1532-642X October 2001 Rural Roots