Stephanie Jesu

Brittany Eckard working at her desk

Journalism to Brittany Eckard at Hayfield High School is one of the most important jobs one can have. It was one of the very first classes she ever truly loved and connected to. Now, as a teacher she shares her love for journalism with every student she teaches. Through the code of ethics and real world applications, she takes her students through the fundamentals of high school and real life journalism, bringing the reality of the occupation to life within the classroom.

“Journalism is all about people- getting to know them and hearing their stories. If you don’t have an interest in people then you will not get as much out of the experience. You have to want to learn and listen, which I think people often struggle with. We sometimes tend to listen just for a chance to speak ourselves instead of listening to actually hear what people are saying. Many times I find students just join the class because they enjoy writing, but that’s actually only a very small piece of journalism.”

To Eckard, a key component to journalism is the social skills required to have conversations with one another and get a story out of it. She believes that the only way to get the full story is through interest and active listening. She teaches the skills of conversing with one another through teaching the ropes of running through interviews and how to interact with other classmates. 

“As I mentioned before, learning to converse with others is crucial to the profession. As more people spend their time behind their screens, the art of conversation becomes lost. That said, this class can be viewed as not only a foundation to journalism but also as an opportunity to build on social skills that we are starting to lose as a society.”

Eckard believes her class is also a strong outlet for creativity and student voice. It’s a place where students have their voices heard without criticism. She believes in providing students with the resources they need and letting them use them as they please so they have the chance to explore a real-world experience of the journalism field.

“One of the best parts of the class is the student voice aspect. Not only do students have a chance to choose topics to explore that they feel passionate about, but they also have the chance to represent the student body in ways that are often ignored by adults. I try very hard to make my class all about the students and their interests. Each year is different based on the diverse interests and needs of the staff.” 

Her favorite part of allowing students their own creative freedom on their topics and work is to see it all come together. She believes that in order to do well in her class, you have to love what you write. One of her many goals as a teacher is to show students real journalism and share her love for it. 

“I absolutely love it when students find a topic to explore that they are passionate about. This is what it’s all about and the writing will reflect that passion. It’s even better when they learn something new about that topic through their research and interviews and it changes their mindset. I always tell students that it’s important to be open minded until you hear all of the perspectives on a topic, and it’s fun to see them listen to that and take it to heart. It all leads to the big moment when they see their work published. Nothing is better!”

Eckard shows her love for her students at Hayfield everyday. Through inspiring the students to work hard and use creativity, she allows students to be themselves in their writing. She truly is one of the best teachers at Hayfield High School!