Louis Clarke, teacher from West Avenue Institute, browses through the day's edition of The Gleaner while Sheree Beckford, teacher from Tivoli Gardens High School looks on during yesterday's Newspaper in Education Seminar at the Gleaner's North Street offices. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

High school teachers from the Corporate Area, participating in a Newspaper in Education (NIE) training seminar held at The Gleaner Company's North Street offices yesterday, were very receptive to the idea of using such media as an aid to teaching in the classroom.

Norma Rochester, facilitator for the NIE programme, engaged the 20 high school teachers in a five-hour interactive session of sharing ideas and using the contents of the newspaper to suit the curriculum of the teachers.

"This seminar is to show teachers how they can use the newspaper as a tool in the classroom," Rochester said.

She added: "It is about learning the skills that are necessary to teach the students so that they can better understand and relate to what is being taught."

Overlooked sections

The Gleaner Company gives newspapers to selected schools at no cost to the school and then trains the teachers in the methodology of using the newspapers as resource material in their classrooms.

This is particularly helpful when other teaching resources may be in short supply and no additional costs are incurred by the participating school for acquiring the news-papers.

Rochester told The Gleaner that, even the entertainment and sports sections of the newspaper - which is often overlooked by teachers - can be useful in helping to develop students' descriptive writing and research skills.

The group browsed through all the sections of the newspaper and teachers were able to quickly develop ideas about how they can incorporate each section of the newspaper in their classroom.

'Worth my time'

The English teachers, especially, received the information well.

"It was well worth my time and I will definitely be using the newspaper more often in my classroom," Stacy-Ann Johnson, English teacher at St George's College, said.

Several other English teachers expressed similar sentiments.

"It was very interesting and it showed me new ways of bringing life to the classroom setting," said Rachelle Clarke, another English teacher from the Ardenne High School.

Rochester said the newspaper could also be useful in subjects such as social studies and geography.

Newspapers in education (NIE)

Benefits to schools:

Sharpens thinking skills

Increases students' interest and motivation by providing study materials relevant to their lives.

Prepares students for active citizenship in their democracy.

Heightens teachers' interest in new teaching techniques.

Involves schools in the lives of the communities they serve.

Responds to the needs of local businesses as future employers.

Helps prepare students for state and national standardised tests.

Benefits to The newspaper:

Encourages long-term readership. Studies have shown that the most avid newspaper readers began reading the newspaper and using it as a resource early in life.

Improves public and community relations.

Increases circulation. Schools may require thousands of copies per week or month.

Increases revenue through special sections and a guaranteed audience through NIE.

Benefits to the community:

Enhances the quality of citizen participation in schools and local government through better mutual understanding among journalists, educators, students and parents.

Transforms students into interested, active citizens.

Recognises newspaper as the main source of continuing education for members of the community once they are no longer in the classroom.