They're dying a slow death. In fact, many people are unaware they still exist. But others, like me, refuse to let go. I'm talking about newspapers. In a world where it was common for a city to have as many as 7 daily newspapers, you'd be hard-pressed to find more than one. And that lone survivor is either struggling or soon to experience its demise.
I recall one teacher I briefly worked with back in the 1980s who built his entire curriculum around the San Francisco Chronicle. In various programs that were available at the time, a class set of 35 papers would be sitting on the steps leading to his portable classroom every morning. Many of his peers were skeptical at first, but talking to his students, and observing his class on occasion, I could see how the newspaper offered material for just about every subject you could think of. He dis lessons on economics and math using the stock exchange. He used photographs to develop visual literacy. The opinion pages served as composition models, where his students could see that there were real people who made their living writing essays. Of course, opinions could be debated and critical thinking skills developed by separating fact from opinion. There was a method to his seeming madness. I noticed how quiet his students were after the tardy bell rang and the class began. With a newspaper on their desk, they immediately picked it up and went to the Sports page or the Local news, the advice columns, or other favorite parts of the daily paper. In retrospect, a very strong case could be made for the learning that went on in that classroom.
Of course, in my 34-year career, I've used newspapers both as models of writing and as an art project for students studying history or government. Students loved to make antique-looking replicas of newspapers that corresponded to the time period being studied. I recall one particular project on the Dust Bowl that came to me complete with dust!
I also recall having a class speaker employed by the S.F. Chronicle that gave a presentation on how to read a newspaper. She was very thorough and even showed students how papers were printed with columns so that commuters could fold a newspaper vertically and easily be able to read it on a jostling bus or commuter train.
Today, as the price of newspapers has increased, the content has decreased. It seems that one or two quarters were enough to purchase a daily paper not too long ago. Then a dollar, then two, and now three for my daily Oregonian, in Portland. So too have the vending machines for papers disappeared. Technology and social media have wrought revolutionary changes in our lives and with all that we've gained, so too have we lost.
The other day I chanced to see some photographs of old newspapers. People have always collected headlines, but if you look beyond the obvious, you'll get a glimpse of life half a century ago that doesn't exist today. What always amazes me is the fact that many newspapers included the latest racing results and the horses entered for the next day. Believe it or not, that's why some people bought the paper. You could always the latest edition or the FINAL edition exiting a race track. Some of those vendors had the voice of a carnival barker. Another loss of the human touch. never to return
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