HIGHER ED TODAY
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 18 AN. 29-FEB. 4, 2021 BTR
education
3 ways educators
can use newspapers
in the classroom
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound
impact on communities
across the globe. No individual,
household or industry was unaffected
by the pandemic, and the ripple effects
of the virus may be felt for years to
come. Though many effects of the pandemic
have been devastating, one unforeseen
and potentially positive consequence
of the spread of COVID-19 was a
growing recognition of the invaluable
role played by local newspapers.
Responses to the virus and strategies
regarding how to combat it varied
greatly, and local newspapers were a
go-to resource for citizens who wanted
to learn about rules and regulations in
their towns. For example, in England
the Bishop’s Stortford Independent, a
local weekly paper in Hertfordshire,
experienced a signifi cant monthly web
audience growth during the pandemic.
Prior to the global outbreak in January
2020, the paper’s monthly web audience
was 260,000. By October, that
number had spiked to 360,000, refl ecting
a growing need for local news outlets
as readers across the globe sought
to learn about the pandemic within
their own communities and how local
offi cials were responding to the threat
posed by COVID-19. If the pandemic illustrated
the vital role local newspapers
can play, it’s important that readers
recognize that role won’t be any
less valuable when COVID-19 is in the
world’s rearview mirror.
Educators can help the next generation
of readers recognize the importance
of local newspapers by taking
various steps to incorporate newspapers
into their lessons.
1. Employ newspapers when teaching
current events.
Everyone was directly affected by
the COVID-19 virus, making the story
of the pandemic one of the most unique
in modern history. Though children
are often sheltered from global news
stories about confl icts or economic
crises, no such sheltering was possible
during the pandemic, as kids were
forced to learn from home and confront
life with little or no access to extracurricular
activities. Educators can
show how local newspapers reported
on the pandemic when teaching current
events, using that example as the
foundation for teaching current events
in the future.
2. Utilize the newspapers when
teaching ESL.
Students who do not speak English
at home or as their primary language
can benefi t greatly from their
local newspapers. It might be easy to
learn how to say certain words in English,
but reading them in a newspaper
gives ESL students a chance to see
the words they’ve learned in context.
And because local newspapers feature
sections on everything from news to
sports to entertainment, ESL students
are sure to fi nd a few articles that appeal
to their existing interests.
3. Use newspapers to encourage a
love of reading.
Just like ESL students are bound to
fi nd something that interests them in
the local newspapers, their Englishspeaking
classmates are sure to fi nd a
recap of their favorite team’s most recent
game or a review of the latest superhero
movie or a local news story
about their town to pique their interest.
Students may not realize it, but
they’re learning when reading such
stories by developing their vocabularies,
fi ne tuning their comprehension
skills and catching up on current
events. The valuable role played by local
newspapers was on display during
the pandemic. That role won’t be any
less valuable in a post-pandemic world,
and it’s a lesson teachers can apply in
their classrooms.
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I was profoundly moved by the messages
of unity and compassion delivered by President
Joe Biden during his inaugural address
on Jan. 20.
Weeks after a violent insurrection in the
U.S. Capitol provided an inflection point in
the tumultuous and divisive chapter that has
marked our recent history, Biden spoke of the
need to heal.
The president urged Americans to embrace
the difficult process of engaging one another,
putting our differences aside and trying
to find even a small patch of common ground.
In that way, he said, we will begin repairing
the fissures and divisions that have roiled this
nation.
The City University of New York, the most
racially and ethnically diverse University in
the country and arguably the world, has long
been a home to such helpful dialogue and a
beacon to the honest exchange of ideas, a place
where students, faculty and staff are encouraged
to work together, find common ground and
forge a more civil and symbiotic community.
I’m proud that CUNY continues to develop
programs that foster a climate of openness and
mutual respect among people of different backgrounds,
perspectives and experiences. The
pursuit of tolerance and respect has always
been a key tenet of CUNY’s mission, and it has
fueled my own work as a professor, college president
and chancellor.
In 2016, when I was serving as president
of Queens College, I helped lead a Universitywide
committee that was formed to bolster the
University’s promotion of civility and its resolution
of on-campus disagreements. The group
was formed amid a troubling uptick in conflicts
that involved matters of race, religion, gender
and politics on college campuses across the
country.
Through the group’s assessment of those
incidents and issues, I was attracted to the
Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding
(CERRU), a program that has become
an effective driver of inclusivity and equity at
Queens College, where it is based, and on three
other CUNY campuses.
Today, thanks to financial support from
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson,
CERRU is on track to double the number of
CUNY campuses it can reach. Through its Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Incubator,
CERRU is helping our campus communities
to promote anti-racist practices and cross-cultural
communication.
CERRU Director Sophia McGee said that
she, too, felt empowered by President Biden’s
stirring inauguration message to the country
earlier this month.
“It hit me on a visceral level, the importance
of what we’re doing,” she said. “If we can
engage enough people through our DEI training
and through CUNY’s continued commitment
to equity and diversity, we can create a
shift in the culture where eventually we can
become less divisive and start to work to effect
positive social change.”
The avenues are many in which CUNY can
generate awareness and fluency on a range of
equity-driven, social justice issues.
CUNY’s LGBTQI Student Leadership Program,
brings together motivated students for a
yearlong training experience in leadership and
personal development, civic and community
engagement, and social networking opportunities
with LGBTQI industry and community
leaders.
Our University-wide Black Male Initiative
supports the inclusion and educational success
of African, Black American, Caribbean and
Latino/Hispanic males, who are underrepresented
in higher education.
In 2013, CUNY began a Biennial CUNY
Faculty Diversity & Inclusion Conference that
aimed to help faculty constructively address
sensitive issues surrounding race and ethnicity,
sexuality and gender, age, disability, language
and religion, as well as those of cultural
competency, pedagogy for ESL students and
unconscious bias regarding economic status.
These valuable initiatives at CUNY are all
aimed at creating a more tolerant and inclusive
climate, an objective that is helpful on multiple
fronts. CUNY’s commitment to diversity and
access extends to all aspects of the University,
from its student enrollment efforts to its approach
to faculty hiring, and to the scores of
services that CUNY provides to advance and
sustain its community.
In addition to enabling all students to more
effectively pursue their academic goals, these
endeavors can impact our society in a broader
but no less valuable sense, evidence that higher
education can serve as a powerful engine of
change.
In his inauguration speech, President
Biden ticked off a litany of challenges the country
now faces, and it was a daunting list. Only
by showing respect and listening to one another,
he said, do we stand a chance of writing a
new chapter in the story of America.
That’s a prescription for healing and a recipe
for success. It’s one that CUNY strongly endorses
and has long practiced.
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