This is the kind of teen screen time that educators and parents will encourage.
“Welcome to Panther TV” is an honors English elective class at Plymouth South High School that is totally student driven. They “have the opportunity to learn what it is like to work in a real television newsroom,” says English teacher Tami Degelder. She has taught the class with Adam Smith for 11 years.
The students are learning from some real pros. Degelder once worked as a local TV news anchor and reporter for ABC and CBS affiliates in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and in Fort Myers, Florida. Smith, who started his career in Los Angeles, worked with the L.A. Dodgers’s video production team before becoming an educator.
The students “work as a team, taking on roles of reporters, videographers, news anchors, directors, editors, and more to produce a 30-minute monthly news magazine show for the school community,” Degelder says.
That means choosing topics, conducting interviews, shooting video, and writing and editing their pieces. Coverage areas include what’s happening at Plymouth South as well as in the greater community.
Here are two examples of the students’ work:
Senior reporter Keira McLaughlin talks with students about their interest in crocheting.
Junior Angel Chumack takes a behind-the-scenes look at various technical studies programs at Plymouth South.