Week 8: Failure as an option

What if the secret to success is failure?: A fabulous final post for the month of September. This is a longer piece, so if you comment on this it will count as two. Even if you already posted, go on and read this one. I promise it's good. There's surely an MA angle in this story ... where and what is it? What do you think of the idea of failure and how it isn't really present at MA? Is that a good thing? A bad thing? How might this relate to our mission statement of Think, Question & Create?

Week 6 & 7: Pizza and SATs and Homework

Real Original Ray's: A phenomenal opening sentence and a great profile on a New York staple. Where's the MA story in here?

SAT Scores Slip: An interesting read about your favorite test. Thoughts? MA angle?

The Trouble with Homework: This has been all over the educational blogosphere. The old topic of homework is addressed yet again. What are your thoughts on the author's opinion? And where the MA story in here? Maybe a school-wide survey about nightly homework? How much time students really spend on work versus procrastination and homework?

Edition 3: Article Ideas

Same rules as the last time. Publication date will be late-October. Please keep that in mind when coming up with ideas. 
Please post 6-7 ideas for the second edition of the year. You must have at least one article idea for each section (News, Sports, A&E, Features, Op/Ed, Center Spread). Be sure to read the other ideas BEFORE you post your own. You can elaborate on another person's post (with a citation, of course). Include an article idea for each section. Be specific and format each idea as such: 
Article Idea: Must interviews (be specific ... "students" is fairly obvious and somewhat lame): Why will people want to read this:

Layout work for staffers

Check out the assignment!

You have three class periods to complete the assignment. Want to work on it for homework, ok. But I think you can get it done during class time. Questions, just ask.

Week 5: Sept 11

I could not ignore the coverage of Sept. 11. It was compelling, mournful, abundant. I offer up a few articles:

1. On a Haunted Shore, a Struggle to Let Go: This is an outstanding feature piece. Often times we do not dig deep enough or focus the scope of our features enough to really profile a slice of life. What can we learn from this piece? What makes it compelling? How does the author focus the piece yet make it relatable and accessible?

2. Why Ground Zero Is Perfect Just as it is Now: What stood out in this piece for me was the sentence structure. Anderson is crafty and so adept at using a variety of sentence patterns to really draw attention to the content he trying to convey. Pick out a favorite sentence or two and tell me why they matter?

3. Can We Forgive: A great piece on forgiveness. Also a stellar example of a commentary that uses an anecdote to tell the story, along with some opinion. What are your thoughts on the content? Is there an MA story in here somewhere?

Headlines & Captions: Edition 2

Please make it clear about which article you are posting. But this is the place to post your headline ideas and your caption (if applicable) ideas. Be creative, appropriate and active with those verbs.

Week 4: Font geeks & Facebook & More

For the Love of Fonts: A great essay on a subject I hold near and dear: typography. Yes the subject might be a little geeky, but it is a solid read. What are your thoughts?

If I'm on Facebook, It Must Be Over: Another great opinion piece, but this one is from the NYTimes. An author discusses her recent joining of Facebook. Do you agree that Facebook is beginning its demise? What do you think of Sittenfeld's style of writing? Is there an MA angle in here?

California Dreaming: One of the three editorials from this Sunday's Times. 1. What are you thoughts on the content? 2. How does the form/style match and complement that content? Is this a successful editorial? Remember, an editorial is the voice of the newspaper, an unsigned opinion written by the Editor-in-Chief.