| Helping Students Find Their Voices |
| Written by Andrea Frantz | ||||||
 It’s no accident that I became a journalism teacher. Though I tried to convince myself at various points that I really wanted to be an opera star or a veterinarian, there were too many mentors whispering in my ear and coaxing me down this path.In third grade, I was a terminally shy child; I could literally go a week or more without uttering a word. But I did like to write stories, something my third grade teacher, Martha Stolarick, picked up on. A young, enthusiastic woman who wore long, bohemian skirts when everyone else wore minis, she gave away stickers and pencils as rewards for “the most creative” stories written in class. She showed me that as long as I had a pencil and paper, it didn’t matter how much or how little I talked because I could always communicate. I started a collection of those pencils and began to find my voice. My father, a small-town Iowa newspaper editor, never set out to formally teach me about journalism. It simply was part of him, and because of that, it became part of me. I was about nine years old when I first started working at the paper, mostly because it meant I could be around him. Somehow the smell of the ink on the presses, the creak of theimpossibly narrow office stairs, and the stacks of books and papers in every nook and cranny all smacked of importance, intelligence, and hard work. As I worked my way up to writing for the paper, the confidence in my voice grew. Many years later, I made my way to Pennsylvania and came face to face with the “conscience of the Wyoming Valley,” Tom Bigler, who became one of my closest friends and mentor. When we team-taught, I was fortunate to witness a sort of magic he cast in the classroom among our students. What he showed me is that the journalist’s voice need not be the loudest in the room, merely the most reasoned. It is at least partly because of these people, that I teach journalism with such relish. A mentor knows the value of words, can connect people, pushes the importance of ethics, and gently but firmly redirects if the novice has taken the wrong path. Mostly, a true mentor knows how to coax an independent and competent voice from a student. Les Nicholas has been just such a mentor to many fortunate Wyoming Valley West students. A dedicated, creative high school journalism teacher, he has been feted at local, state, and national levels for guiding students in unique and effective ways. But he’d also be the first to say that those awards matter far less than watching a student he’s coached go on to study journalism in college or win an award for writing. The best testament to a great teacher is when his student effectively applies the lessons he has offered. Many of Les Nicholas’s students go on to study journalism or communication in college, which by itself indicates the sort of passion and interest he inspires. But two years ago when his students stood up for their First Amendment rights after school officials censored a poem from the school’s literary magazine, they did so armed with the kind of education that only a true mentor could have offered. Not only did his students understand the First Amendment, but they championed it with grace, maturity, and conviction. There is no greater reward for a teacher than to see the student exercise that independent voice. Nicholas’s teaching style resonates with many students, two of whom are currently pursuing degrees in journalism at Syracuse University. Freshman Nina Elias is studying magazine journalism, hoping to work for a woman’s publication such as Glamour. “Mr. Nick was a really different teacher,” said Elias. “We were always students, but we were also active journalists. He taught us that as journalists we have a specific job to do, not just in publication, but also within society because we are an instrument in society. It was very hands—on.” Elias feels she was extremely well prepared for continuing her education at Syracuse because of the educational and professional experiences Mr. Nick coached her through. “A lot of what he taught was repeated in my freshman journalism course, so I feel really privileged to have him as a mentor,” said Elias. With Mr. Nick, once you’re a student of his, you’ll forever be a friend of his. Elias keeps him abreast of her collegiate accomplishments. “Every time I get a by-line in a publication, I e-mail him,” said Elias. “He always says, ‘send them to me so I can put them on the Brag Board in the classroom.’ I keep him up to date on everything that is going on here and in turn he keeps me updated as well.”Along with Elias, Syracuse sophomore Mike Tressa is studying journalism. He had Mr. Nick as a junior and senior while he attended Valley West. “He really emphasized doing your best and to find the different aspects of what you like and then do what you want to do,” said Tressa. “At first I didn’t know if I liked journalism, but the way he taught helped me gain interest in it.” "I enjoy watching kids learn when they don't even realize they're doing it," said Nicholas. "I'm not a real big fan of the anticipatory set, where you tell the students what they are about to learn. Life is not like that. Most of the lessons we learn, people don't set them up. You just get it." With Nicholas at the helm, students learn about journalism by actually doing it. Their writings are published in the newspaper, yearbook, and/or literary art magazine or broadcast through their television studio. Like my own mentors, Les Nicholas has expertly helped his students find their voices, and subsequently, their paths in the world. There is no greater honor. Recognizing Success Nationally celebrated, Nicholas has received many awards for his contributions to education. This past year he received the Student Television Network First Freedom Award, was named the Wilkes-Barre Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year, and was the Featured Speaker at the Technology Conference in Hot Springs, AR. In 2006, Nicholas garnered the Medal of Merit from the Journalism Education Association, earned Honorable Mention on USA Today's All USA Teacher Team, and was a National Teacher Hall of Fame Finalist. Just two years ago, Nicholas was designated as a Disney Teacher, the University of Pennsylvania Educator of the Year, and SMART Technology Exemplary Educator. In 2004, his accomplishments earned him the distinguished title of Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. Nicholas was lauded in 2003 with a Radio and Television News Directors Foundation's Educator-in-the-Newsroom Fellowship and as the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation Teacher Ambassador. 2002's Pennsylvania School Press Association Journalism Teacher of the Year Award started it all off. Feel free to contact Andrea Frantz, Journalism Professor at Wilkes University, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Megan Krisanda also contributed to this article. Bookmark with:
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