You’re at your counselor’s office and you ask for your schedule to be changed because you don’t like the classes you’re taking. Somewhere on a list of classes, you see Newspaper or Introduction to Journalism.

Now you’re thinking, Wait, newspaper is a class? I thought it was a club. Newspaper is a class, somewhat like yearbook where you take it as an elective, but you get to write and publish for the school newspaper as your classwork. Newspaper can be such a great experience, and here’s why you should take it:

The wide variety of staff positions:

At The Current, there are many categories of articles ranging from sports updates to editorials. When you join the class you are put in a position that best suits your writing style and interests. Your job will be to write and edit articles to be published on our newspaper’s website, The Current. You can write anything from what goes on in our school and community to writing about your favorite teacher, and the possibilities are practically endless.

Now, writing isn’t the only option. If that’s not something you’re interested in, you can take pictures at sports games and events (plus you get free admission!) or draw graphics for articles. You can also help edit the function of the website or run The Current’s social media accounts.  

Writing for The Current gets your work published:

If you enjoy writing, photography, web design, or graphic design, Newspaper is a great class for you. Because The Current is a public newspaper, anyone can see your work (hello, resume!). Sometimes articles get picked up by bigger newspapers and read nationally. So, even though you’re taking newspaper as a class, it’s a big responsibility, and should be taken seriously.

It looks good on transcripts and resumes:

Colleges love to see students participate in extracurricular activities. If you’re interested in studying anything related to the positions in Newspaper, colleges would love you even more knowing that you have experience. Seeing that you joined the school newspaper will catch their attention, and gives them a source to view your hard work.

It might help you figure out what you want to do as a career path:

This one I can personally relate to. Journalism can get you interested in majoring in it in college if you don’t know what to study yet. When I took this class, I had no idea what I wanted to do career-wise. But writing for The Current made me realize that writing could be my new passion. You’d be surprised how many college majors require writing skills, and Newspaper can help with that too.

The teacher is really nice!

The Newspaper class teacher and The Current adviser, Mrs. Confino, is really helpful and a great mentor. You have probably had her as an English teacher, and she’s probably asked you to sign up. If you decide to take Newspaper, make sure to get on her good side because she writes stunning college recommendation letters.

These are just a few reasons why you should sign up for Newspaper. It’s a fun class and you might get to discover a new talent that you probably never knew you had. So, what’s taking you so long? Sign up! It’s never too late to join!