MPE Beta Club
Fourth and fifth grade members of Beta Club at Merriman Park Elementary put this reporter on the spot Tuesday morning, asking insightful questions at Career Day. The bright, attentive students were interested in the difference between national news and the kind of hyper-local, good news stories we share here at Lake Highlands Advocate.
I’ve participated in Career Days before, and, frankly, it’s not easy to engage young people at 7:30 in the morning, but these Panthers were on fire, rapid-returning answers to my questions like Serena Williams and Roger Federer at Wimbledon. How do we find stories? Who do we talk to? What do we do when we get two different versions? Great questions, all. Not many had been inside Dallas City Hall, but they were riveted by our story of the missing painting. Each and every one knew what I referred to when I began the story of the little yellow house.
Most of our stories come from you, our loyal readers — folks who call, email or comment on social media to ask, “What’s up with this?” You do the wondering, we do the legwork. It’s a perfect partnership.
Secherre Michaelis, Jennifer Cross, Michelle Snedden and Andrea Wile sponsor the Beta Club, which does much more than simply host Career Day. Over the past few months alone, they’ve contributed hundreds of hours of community service collecting blankets, toys and treats for dogs and cats at the animal shelter, collecting bedsheets, laundry detergent and other items for families experiencing homelessness, writing thank you letters to Richardson ISD school board members and to local business donating to the MPE auction, and walking the banks of White Rock Lake collecting trash.
My presentation was slightly rushed, because these outstanding students had a full day. After I left, they visited the Wax Museum dressed as their favorite historical characters. I didn’t have a chance to give my final five tips on being a good journalist, so, students, here they are: (1) Be curious. Ask questions. Life is exciting, and there’s lots to write about. Go out into the world and experience life. (2) Journal. Write letters to your grandpa. Practice getting to the point, because people have short attention spans. If it takes you three pages to say what you could have said in one paragraph, perhaps you should be a book author or playwright or movie producer instead. (3) Talk to real people. Don’t order off the menu, ask folks at the next table what’s good. (4) Verify everything. Then verify it again. (5) Always tell the truth. Journalists hold power. Trust can never be reclaimed.
Later this month, the fifth graders will graduate and move on to Forest Meadow Middle School, while the fourth graders will become BMOC — big men (and women) on campus. I wish them all the best, and I have a feeling a few in that fine group are on their way to becoming journalists of note.
