Let’s Face it

By Jeanne Acton, ILPC Director

What do students read?

I know, students definitely read …

• Juicy notes from their boy/girlfriend• Menus at fast food restaurants• The Inquirer, People Magazine, Tiger Beat• Cliff notes (maybe if a big test is coming

up)• Street names (how else would you get to a

party)

Why do students read …

• It affects them.• It’s about them.• It’s about their friends.• It’s a good story about someone.• It’s funny, embarrassing, sad … it’s

emotional

So, if we know this.

Then, we just have to make sure our stories do just that.

Easier said than done.

This is what I’ve seen this year ...

The school board voted to end block scheduling next year. Because of budget constraints, the district will resume the seven-period day in the fall of 2009. “We just can’t afford to have eight periods anymore,” superintendent Bill Boring said. “If the state changes the funding system, we may be able to bring back block scheduling in the future.”

More interesting stuff …

To get money for clothes, cars and fast food, many teenagers have jobs.

“I work at my dad’s office after school three days a week,” Bud Boring, a senior, said. “I spend all of my money on my car stereo system. It rocks.”

How about this one …

Every teenager is faced with the question, “Do I want to use drugs?” Many say yes.

But some say “No” “I don’t do drugs,” said Carol Boring.

“Drugs can hurt you.”Her best friend, Cathy Bland, agreed that

drugs were harmful. “We learned in health class that they were addictive,” she said.

Or this drug story…

Deep in the underground of Seaweed High School you can hear whispers of scandalous weekend plans. No, not your over-hyped double date — drugs!

Even the most innocent student knows that drugs and alcohol are a problem at our school.

What is so incredibly amazing about that story is not one single student who used drugs was interviewed.

Pretty amazing.

How do we put a face on a story?

Throw out ….

(drum roll, please)

The inverted pyramid. The straight news lead. The boring fact-driven story.

People should drive your stories.

It’s simple …

• Find someone who is affected by the story.• Find someone who is affected in a

UNIQUE way.

How do we do that????

• TALK TO PEOPLE !!!• LISTEN TO PEOPLE!!• Eavesdrop. Be nosey. Put your ear to the

ground.

Let’s look at a few examples

Non-profit groups across the country have been hurting for years because of the lagging economy. Government funding is down, as are private grants and donations.

The closure of Eloise’s Home, a day care facility for seniors with Alzheimer’s, is one of many non-profit groups that is closing its doors at the end of the year.

What can we do to improve it?

Carol Hale sits on her cream-colored couch, babbling softly to herself.

“Da ba da ba da ba,” the 78-year-old chants, wiggling her peach-painted fingernails in the air. Then she peers at a guest she had greeted moments earlier, “Hoo, hoo, who are you?”

This is the new Carol Hale, the one Alzheimer’s made.

A little more than a year ago, Carol’s 87-year-old husband, DeWitt, began driving her every day to Eloise’s House, a day care facility for seniors with Alzheimer’s. But in November, the non-profit home closed because of funding problems.

Since then, Hale’s verbal skills have deteriorated, and she is losing the ability to perform simple tasks, such as dressing herself.

Though Alzheimer’s gets worse with time, Carol’s husband blames her deterioration partly on the closing of Eloise’s House.

“Now she wanders around like a lost sheep,” he said. “She doesn’t know what to do with herself.”

What is the difference in those two stories?

Here’s another …

The largest local provider of free and low-cost counseling for families and children, Lifeworks is kicking off a $1.5 million public fund-raising campaign that will allow the nonprofit group to help more teens.

Here’s the story with a face …

Aaron Fain knows what it’s like to need help.

At 17, his mother, a heavy drug user, disappeared with her latest boyfriend. That left Aaron broke and homeless, too old for foster care, too young to make it on his own.

Lifeworks helped him get his life back together.

“The helped me get food when I was hungry and gave me shelter when I needed a place to stay,” Fain said. “They really helped me through some tough times.”

Lifeworks, the largest local provider of free and low-cost counseling for families and children, is kicking off a $1.5 million public fund-raising campaign that will allow the nonprofit group to help more teens.

Let’s look again at the scheduling story.

The school board voted to end block scheduling next year. Because of budget constraints, the district will resume the seven-period day in the fall of 2009.

“We just can’t afford to have eight periods anymore,” superintendent Bill Boring said. “If the state changes the funding system, we may be able to bring back block scheduling in the future.”

Chances are everyone at your school already knows the schedule is going to change. Rarely, does a high school newspaper break a story … it’s just hard when it’s not a daily paper. (So again, throw out the inverted pyramid.)

So instead of telling an old story, put a face on the story. Weave together the news facts with someone’s story.

It was his counselor’s words that finally hit home for Jamie Hersh, a third year freshman.

“At the rate you’re going, you’ll be 27 years old before you graduate,” she said.

After three years in high school, Jamie managed to get only six credits, and none of them were core classes.

“I just wasn’t into school,” Jamie said. “I hung out with my homeboys, and we chilled.”

But his counselor’s words changed everything.Jamie started summer school and with his

counselor made a plan to graduate. At the end of this summer, Jamie will be eight credits shy of graduation.

“No problem,” he said.But there is a problem. Next year the school is

changing from block scheduling back to a regular 7-period day.

Jamie won’t be able to get his credits for graduation. “I can’t believe they are doing this,” Jamie said.

“Everyone in my family was so excited about my graduation. I will have to go to summer school or come back the following year.”

Find a face … A student who no longer can graduate because of the change.

A student who has to give up a beloved elective to meet graduation requirements.

A teacher who because of time constraints will no longer be able to do creative science labs.

A common mistake …

Using the first face you see.

Let’s revisit one of the drug stories…

Every teenager is faced with the question, “Do I want to use drugs?” Many say yes.

But some say “No” “I don’t do drugs,” said Carol Boring. “Drugs can

hurt you.”Her best friend, Cathy Bland, agreed that drugs were

harmful. “We learned in health class that they were addictive,” she said.

Let’s revisit one of the drug stories…

It was the worst day of his life.Jeremy West had to explain to his 4-year-old sister that

he was the one who stole her piggy bank.“I’ve done a lot that I am ashamed of, but that was the

worst,” he said. “She had been saving for a pink huffy bike.”West took his sister’s $23 and bought crack cocaine.“When I told her, she just cried and said she wanted me

to get better,” he said.And that is exactly what West is trying to do.West’s confession was part of his recovery from alcohol

and drug addiction.“I’ve been clean for six week now,” he said. “There is a

long road ahead of me, but it’s a road worth walking.”

Look for the unique story.

Look for the untold story.

Look for the face that will make other faces smile, cry, frown, etc.

What do we do once we find our face?

Get a great interview …• Be prepared• Take time, go to a good location• Build a relationship - explain why you’re there• Start slow• Don’t be afraid to veer from your questions• Take GREAT notes• Use more than just your ears

Then …

Narrative - tells a story

Descriptive - describes a scene, person or subject

Direct Quote - use sparingly. Must be very powerful quote.

Startling statement

Contrast and Compare (then and now)

Twist

Write a powerful lead …

She thought he was going to kill her. He had been angry before, even punched his hand through a window once, but he had never threatened her, never scared her like this.

Now he was out of control. He pushed her into a corner and then shoved her back down when she tried to escape.

“All I could think was ‘I have to get out of here.’ I just started crying,” Julie, a senior, said.

Then weave the facts into the story.

Julie’s story is not too unusual for teen girls. Sarah Parker, the lead social worker for Communities in School said one in six high school girls goes through some form of abuse from a boyfriend.

That’s why CIS is starting a new support group called, “Strong Women, Good Decisions” next month.

Descriptive - describes a scene or person

Standing in the lunch line, the boy turned to April Haler and asked, “Will you be my girlfriend?” Then he turned to his buddy and started laughing. Just another cruel joke on the fat kid. April, who once weighed almost 300 pounds, is used to them. Since elementary school she has been teased and taunted about her weight. “I remember being called horrible names in elementary school every time we went to the playground,” the sophomore said. But life is changing.

Direct QuoteDirect Quote - use sparingly. Must be very powerful quote

“Don’t be mad. I took some pills,” Karen Keaton cried as she stooped over the toilet.

A few hours later, the 14-year-old freshman died after a series of coronary arrests.

Startling Statement Startling Statement - - creates creates dramadrama

She never knew she had it.

Minutes before the meeting began, Bill Farney got the bad news.

Startling Statement Startling Statement - - creates creates dramadrama

Melissa hates school. It’s not that she’s dumb. It isn’t that she doesn’t fit in socially. In fact, it isn’t that anything is particularly wrong. It’s more of a matter of nothing being particularly right.

A group of candystripers stand around the nursery, holding incubator babies. It’s “loving time.” Another young girls steps in with her mother and picks up a baby, too. She is not in a uniform, but a in a hospital gown, for the baby she holds is her own — and it’s her “loving time.”

It’s also time to say good-bye.

“I sat in that rocker and held him and rocked him and I cried and cried and cried,” Amber, a senior, said. “I wanted that moment to last forever so I could always hold him and always be there for him.”

“But I knew I couldn’t. That’s what hurt.”

Twist - Twist - sets reader up for one mood and thentwists it, surprises the reader

After tension-filled hours of last-minute primping, the time had come for the contestants to walk into the arena and strut their stuff in front of the three judges and an appreciative crowd. Some walked briskly with an air of confidence. Others, distracted by the lights and cameras, shuffled along slowly. A few, overcome by the pressure, foamed at the mouth and mooed.

Another TwistAnother Twist

Even though Saturday's market steer competition at the Austin-Travis County Livestock Show and Rodeo was like many other beauty pageants, there were some obvious differences. The contestants — steers weighing more than half a ton — were being judged on the type of T-bones and rump roasts they would turn into instead of their appearance in an evening gown or bathing suit.

Writing devices for leads

Repetition (Melissa, abuse)

Short, punchy sentences. Fragments. (fat kid)

Using dialogue (bobby, adoption)

Mixing sentence length to set a rhythm (adopt, rodeo)

Breaking the rules … starting with “And” (bob)

Rather than: With America engaged in a war in Iraq, many students know U.S. military men who have lost their lives. Leaguetown lost one of its own last month when Nicolas Barrera was killed in Iraq.

Try this: When Briana Barrera didn’t hear from her son, Nicolas, for a week she knew something was wrong. Maybe it was mother’s intuition, but she knew. And when she saw two officers walking toward her door, her worst fear was confirmed. “The officers said they were sorry to deliver the news, but Nicolas died with honor,” she said. “Dying with honor? How does that help? My heart was breaking. My boy was gone.”

Remember why students read …The face must have an interesting story to tell.

Let’s review …

• Ditch the inverted pyramid style• Find interesting faces for your story• Tell their stories

It’s just that simple.