A voice of their own: GHS takes 'Pride' in the news
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 26, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Shy Franklin, center, takes a photo for the yearbook during her journalism class at Goldsboro High School Monday. The class writes and takes photos for both the yearbook and the GHS Pride online blog. Also pictured are her classmates, Kyla Greenfield and Corrie McEachern.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Aniyah Solomon, second from left, participates in a discussion about current events in the news during her journalism class Monday at Goldsboro High School. Also pictured are classmates Julian Lucas, LaLa Dickens and Jhazmine Lassiter.
This is a busy week at Goldsboro High School -- from Spirit Week and pep rallies to the homecoming game at week's end.
That makes it a big news week for the students in Kenneth Fine's third-period journalism class.
Within seconds of the final bell signaling the start of Monday's session, the brainstorming began.
First there was a spirited discussion about the weekend's biggest news stories, in this case, the NFL versus President Trump.
Fine projected images from his laptop onto a large screen, drawing upon headlines from the New York Times and Washington Post to the Goldsboro News-Argus to prompt dialogue.
He challenged the students to each write a column.
"Think like a journalist," he said. "If we were going to do a story on this, what are the different angles that we can take?"
He reminded them of their unique role in the community, as a predominantly black school where perception has long been skewed. They can use their platform to educate and shift that perception, he said.
"Let's get into it," he said "Who are we? Who do they think we are? Do they think we're capable of doing this?
"Let's prove them wrong. Let's tell that story."
The first-year lateral entry teacher may have an unorthodox approach, but it is gaining traction.
"I signed up for this class because I like photography and stuff, so I thought it would be good," said Shy Franklin, a senior. "I love this class. This is, like, my favorite.
"We always have a good time in this class. It's like no negative energy, always positive. It's like we knew each other forever."
"I think we all just want the same thing, to put Goldsboro as a better school," added freshman Julian Lucas.
The sports writer said he learned much about perception even before the first day of class, from his stepdad.
"Somebody told him, one diamond shines different in each light, so you can put it in any light and it shines totally different," he said.
At GHS, often perceived as a "fight school" with drugs and shootings, several bristle at the inaccurate portrayal.
"I feel like people shine a light on mostly negative things," said Aniyah Solomon. "I feel like everything has something positive and negative about it, and we can just show people the positive aspects."
Senior Corrie McEachern cautioned against saying anything derogatory against GHS, especially anyone who has never been inside the school or met any of its students.
"We want people to get to know us before they judge," said Jhazmine Lassiter, a senior.
One way to bring that about is an exercise Fine spearheaded through the journalism class.
GHSPride.com is an outlet for all the photos, stories and sports coverage being done by the students.
"I would say it's like a newspaper," Lucas said. "It's kind of like a website for the school and it's showing basically a different side of GHS."
The school's social media address, GHS _Cougars, also promotes the GHS Pride message on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites.
The response so far has been positive, Lassiter said.
"People are proud of us and what we're accomplishing in such a short period of time since school has started," she said.
Admittedly shy, McEachern said the class has helped bring her out of her shell.
"I was afraid, but Mr. Fine helped me out with everything I needed to do," she said, encouraging her to become "just really comfortable with interviewing people and asking questions, making comments and everything."
Perhaps the journalistic outlet was best summed up by Solomon.
"I realize not everyone has a voice and not everyone has the chance to express themselves," she said. "I feel like I could help people, like give people a voice."
Fine, who also teaches freshman English, says his approach to education is a simple one -- his 13-year-old daughter, Kayla.
"I know that there's a way that I hope her teachers treat her and educate her," he said. "I want her to love school. I want her to be afraid that she's going to miss something if she's not there.
"These kids come from really challenging backgrounds that I know very little about. But if I can be their champion and advocate, I want to get them engaged."