I had one teacher in high school who was my absolute favorite, and the main reason I am a journalism major. My junior year, you were allowed to take an elective writing course and an elective reading course in place of basic "Junior English". That year I took Journalism as my writing course. That semester, we delved into everything journalism, from dissecting leads, to learning the pyramid format, to producing our own newspaper, complete with advertising from local businesses. I was sent out on my first interview (the senior quarterback, gasp!) , and even bothered the poor lady at the pizza place down the road for advertising money. I think my teacher could have just taught us current events, made us read a bazillion articles, and watched All the President's Men, but she went above and beyond that. Putting us in uncomfortable, new positions actually helped me grow, and of course, when I read my articles now, I'm pretty embarrassed and very aware of how bad my writing was then, but everyone has to start somewhere. Without Ms. Caldwell, I have no idea what major I would be, maybe it would have still been journalism, but she definitely saw something in me and pushed me, helping me find my way and work on my goals very early on.
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