Give Jean's Students a Chance to Shine

My name is Jean Faulk and I am a teacher. Teaching is my second career after a successful career in print media. The recession of 2006 resulted in many layoffs and after 40 years, I was let go.

I teach history, but my love of newspapers continues in my journalism class. My students range from freshmen to seniors. Some love to write, some love to take photos, and some like to design. Producing a printed school newspaper is not for the faint of heart. Trying to teach journalism to students who don't understand why they cannot always write in the first person can be challenging. Each year, I'd love to be able to take my students to the Florida Scholastic Journalism Conference. There, they receive instructional breakout classes, participate in contests, and are around 1,500 other budding journalists, including those in broadcast and yearbook.

To take students on any field trip is expensive. With the broad cuts to schools over the past several months and due to teaching in a Title One school where most of my students' families have very little to spare, this is an experience of a lifetime for them. I can sometimes get a grant, but these are not for much and very hard to find, so I decided to try a GoFundMe for the funds.