NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION

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The History of NIE

The first week of March is officially Newspapers In Education Week. And a lot of people are not sure what NIE (News In Education) really is. Well, its been around for a long time, and it plays an important role in education! Many say that Newspapers In Education is really a concept that dates back as early as June 8, 1795 when the Portland (Maine) Eastern Herald published the following editorial:

Much has been said and written on the utility of newspapers; but one principal advantage which might be derived from these publications has been neglected; we mean that of reading them in schools, and by the children in families. Try it for one session - Do you wish your child to improve reading solely, give him a newspaper - it furnishes a variety, some parts of which must infallibly touch his fancy. Do you wish to instruct him in geography, nothing will so indelibly fix the relative situation of different places, as the stories and events published in the papers. In time, do you wish to have him acquainted with the manners of country or city, the mode of doing business, public or private; or do you wish him to have a smattering of every kind of science useful and amusing, give him a newspaper - newspapers are plenty and cheap - the cheapest book that can be bought, and the more you buy the better for your children, because every part furnishes some new and valuable information!

Now that's one version of the origination of NIE. But, a fellow by the name of Ben Franklin used to print a few newspapers in Boston, and one of our founding father might have really started NIE... Ben Franklin said-quote; "Every household should have two things, a Bible and a Newspaper." Well, Papa Ben printed newspapers, so he was a little bias. But, teachers throughout the Boston area took his cue and started using the Bible And Newspapers in the classroom! So, there's another story of where NIE started. Mark Twain said "every persons mind or thoughts are molded by newspapers." Newspapers where (and are) a powerful persuader and source of information & knowledge. Many famous people from every century in America used newspapers as a life long learning tool, and many understood that the newspaper was a great resource for teachers & students!

1930s and 1940s

The New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal sponsored programs that were dedicated to providing newspapers and curriculum aides to the classroom teacher. While no official name was yet affixed to the programs, the "Living Textbook Program" was sometimes used to describe the newspapers fresh curriculum material available daily. Then, shortly after World War II a few teachers from Des Moines Iowa asked the Des Moines Register if they would donate papers to their classrooms. The DMR donated the newspapers and these teachers unknowingly started their own NIEducation Literacy Program in Des Moines Iowa in the mid 1940's!

1950s

As educational trends switched from studying the past to studying the present, school use of newspapers becomes a nationally supported program. In 1954, C.K. Jefferson, a circulation executive at the Des Moines Register persuaded the school system to survey 5,500 secondary students about their leisure time. 30-40% spent no time reading outside the classroom those who did read spent only 1/3 of the time they spent watching TV. Concerned, Jefferson approached the National Council for the Social Studies, which had already published a pamphlet series on "How to Use the Daily Newspapers," and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Both organizations passed resolutions supporting research on the use of newspapers in schools. In 1956, representatives of 10 major professional organizations in education and the newspaper business met at the Drake Hotel in Chicago to plan the research. It was this research in 1957 that led to the establishment of a national "Newspaper in the Classroom" program, first sponsored by ICMA and later taken over by the American Newspaper Publishers Association, which became the Newspaper Association of America in 1992.

The first manifestations of the national program was the development of three annual graduate credit summer workshops that trained up to 100 teachers each year in the classroom use of newspapers.

A University Professor at the University Of Iowa in Iowa City Iowa began encouraging the use of newspapers in the classroom to future teachers who attended the U of I in the late 1940's and 1950's. This surely instilled the idea of NIE in the minds of many University Of Iowa students who would utilize newspapers in their teaching careers in the years to come. Iowa had quite a grassroots development of what we now know as NIE in the 1940's & the 1950's in Des Moines, Iowa City and across the state & beyond Iowa too.

1960s

NIE programs passed the 100 mark of newspapers who gave papers to their schools. As of yet, little emphasis on the continuous use of newspapers as a supplementary text in various curricular areas. Local newspapers began to conduct their own workshops and graduate credit college workshops.

1970s

More than 350 newspapers nationwide sponsor local programs. The Canadian Daily Newspaper Publishers Association originated a new title for the program… Newspaper in Education, recognizing the expansion of the educational us of newspapers to institutions and organizations beyond the traditional classroom setting. Educators hired to promote and administer the programs.

One of America's most loved TV news anchorman / broadcaster advocated using newspapers to teach our children... Walter Cronkite of CBS News said, "How can American education become more relevant? How can we turn out better informed young people with a genuine curiosity about and involvement in our world? We can start by using the daily newspapers in our public schools!" And that quote came from a TV News Guy Advocating Newspapers As The Source For Relevant American Education For Our Young People. Wow! Thanks Uncle Walter!

1980s

This was the decade of increased development of partnerships with national education associations. The NAA Foundation and the International Reading Association joined to sponsor NIE Week each March. Newspapers were used in the classroom from kindergarten through college in almost all subjects. Newspapers could also be found outside the classroom for tutoring and adult education, and in prisons, mental institutions and nursing homes. By 1989, more than 700 NIE programs were in place nationwide.

1990s

As publishers and editors realize they need to invest in future readers, the NIE program becomes more vital to newspapers. Editorial content to reach young people is more popular and is often tied closely to a newspapers use in schools.

More than 60+ years of NIE experience have indicated there is no limit to a good newspapers capacity to interest students in learning. The growth in numbers and creativity within the NIE community appears to guarantee this capacity will be fulfilled. There are now over 1000 NIEducation Programs, and the number continues to grow!... NIE delivers more than 167 MILLION Newspapers to schools each year! NIE Reaches More Than 14 Million Students In Over 106,000 Schools!

2009 & Beyond...

Recent research has shown that, on average, students who use the newspaper in school scored 10% better on standardized reading test than students who did not use newspapers. Minority students, those from low-income areas and those who do not speak English at home scored 30% better than their peers who did not use the newspaper. The newspaper is a quality teaching tool that helps teachers meet state standards and national stands. Because the students see a newspaper as an adult tool and because they find things there everyday that interest them, they read longer and more independently than from any other source. (Research from the NAA in Washington DC).

At our newspaper we are reaching over thousands of students every week through our NIEducation Outreach, distributing tens of thousands of newspapers "free of charge" to teachers and students in Northern Illinois. NIEducation Is Making A Difference In Your Childs Life! NIE is making (our area) a better place to live now & in the future! The more we reach, the more we'll teach. NIE (The Newspaper) truly is a resource that helps kids read to succeed. Our local NIE Coordinator is in Classrooms Working With NIE Teachers And Students Making A Positive Difference. Several people on our Staff make sure that NIE has a big impact on our local Students. And with illiteracy rates that range from 14% To 22% (illiteracy), we have a great challenge ahead of us. Kids need to get excited about reading! A literate society will have lower crime rates as well as lower unemployment. A literate community will foster creativity and commerce in our communities. NIE is making a positive impact on our children and the community!

To support an NIE Literacy Program Classroom in your neighborhood, call Andy Harris @ 309-235-5962 or e-mail andyharris@qconline.com .

You can help a child to read and succeed!.. Adopt-A-School through your local NIEducation Outreach. It works, it's working and it's working "right now" for your kids!

Part of this article was borrowed "with permission" from the NAA and the St. Joe News Press, with modifications added by Andy Harris of CIRCS UP & the NIE Outreach in Illinois & Iowa 5-22-2009.

andyharris@qconline.com

309-235-5962