The Travels of The Torch
The Trojan Torch, the Jenks High School newspaper, is trying something new this year; Every two weeks they go to explore a different part of the school. Whether that be off or on campus. They have visited the AG Barn, the childhood development center, and recently just visited the behind-the-scenes of the PAC in building 5.
The teacher of the program Jordan McCown was the one who put this idea in place.
“I found myself thinking about how awesome Jenks is, and I realized that sometimes students don’t know about these things. As advanced as my Torch kids are, I know that they can get stuck in their silos—if you’re not in FFA, or the theater department, or music, sometimes you just don’t know what’s out there. So, I figured, if we want to write about our school, and find big school stories and small school moments, we need to actually get out there and explore the campus!” said McCown.
The Trojan Torch’s motto is “Big school stories and small school moments.” But if a student is stuck in their small corner of the school it’s hard for them to break out of it and do something they have never done before.
McCown already has some stories in place for them to help with this like a first-person experience story or investigation story. With traveling though they can do this while also helping them gain or strengthen journalism skills.
“Well, field trips are always fun. I have loved watching the students get to learn more about their school and have fun and try new experiences – they have petted goats, explored tricycle tracks, worked a light board. But also, we try to emphasize journalism skills with every visit: Photography, interviewing, noticing, reflecting. Every month we have three different skills we focus on in our stories, and so I try to get our students to practice those journalism skills during our visits,” said McCown.
This helps McCown take down two birds with one stone. Give them experiences they haven’t had around the school before and teach them how to be better journalists. Another thing that McCown is always known for is trying to make his students “better human beings in the world.” Meaning most things in his class he tries to relate to the real world and students so that it can help them grow.
“On a fundamental level, I think these experiences give my Torch students a better understanding of the world around them. They can see a cow and say “Hey, I pet a cow once!” or watch a musical at Jenks knowing the behind-the-scenes magic that goes into making a huge production like that happen. In a bigger picture, more “real-world” kind of way, I think that developing a sense of inquiry and curiosity about the world around you, developing an observant eye, makes you not just a better journalist, but a better, more-engaged citizen, and a better, more-engaged human!” said McCown.
Though these trips have been fun for the students and McCown, just as much as it’s helping the students grow it’s also helping him grow as a teacher. “I also feel like I’ve grown as a teacher in a surprising way, though. In reaching out to teachers and staff across the campus, I’ve developed a wider collection of colleagues. I’ve gotten to know many teachers better, and a few teachers for the first time. And it’s forced me to be more organized – I have to plan well in advance, make plans and then plans on top of plans, and then communicate all of those plans with everyone involved, including the students themselves,” said McCown.
McCown put these trips in place for his students to get out of their comfort zones and see and understand more of the Jenks High School campus. In the process, he has also learned more about the campus showing that teachers can and will grow right along with their students.
The Trojan Torch going around trying new things on campus is just an example of how although students can be on campus for their whole education career and teachers who have been on campus for years can still not see all of it. It tells others to try and experience all the different things that happen around campus even if it’s a little out of your comfort zone.
To see the adventures first hand check out the Trojan Torch Instagram. Also to support the club go to the Trojan Torch online website to read all the news stories that they have posted or will post in the future
Written by student: Crystal Best
Photo provided by KKT Architects