University of Southern Maine
A key strength is that the program has three different tracks, giving students a choice in terms of what they can choose to focus on. Also, we try to integrate classes that are conceptual, such as the impact of media on society, with hands-on courses that have practical applications, such as audio and video production.
There's quite a bit in the applied courses, such as news reporting and writing, and opinion writing. In reporting and writing, students do a lot of interviewing and track down documents; doing the research needed to write a story. In opinion writing, we have them read a lot of other opinions. And in the video and audio production courses, interactive learning plays a big role as well. We build in a lot of peer editing and critique of work, trying to make students better critics of others' work, and their own. That's really hard for students, but it's an integral part of the teaching philosophy here. It's learning by doing, and it's also learning to reflect on what you're doing.
After I earned my master's degree, I took a part-time teaching job at a community college, worked with students somewhat similar to USM students in the sense that many of them had at least one job, and other things going on in their lives besides coursework. That experience helped me in my presentation of material. It told me students expect you to be dynamic. Given to the topic in some classes, when you're delivering a lecture, you're competing with Jon Stewart and Jay Leno. They want a dynamic presentation.
I try to cultivate within them a stronger sense of curiosity and engagement in public affairs than I did when I was their age. I try to get them to appreciate the more you're engaged, the more you're going to enrich your life. I feel a certain obligation not only to teach, but also to counter the tendency toward cynicism. There's a lot to critique about the media, much of it justified. What I try to do is remind students that things can be changed. It doesn't have to be this way. I try to get the message across that we all have the responsibility to change things without being too heavy-handed about it.
Well, I play the role of mentor to advisees, who are looking for practical advice. In the classroom, I'm a teacher and a mentor in a general sense, connecting what we're doing with the real world.
One thing that surprises me how so many of them juggle so many things in addition to what we're throwing at them. And they're able to pull it off. Most of them have at least one job, and some have families to care for. Another surprise is the wide variety of life experiences. They seem a rather homogenous lot, but when you talk to them, you get a sense that they've had quite a difference in life experience.
To me, the memorable students are the ones who make ideas their own. They take a topic we've discussed in class, conduct their own research, and present it as their own. One young woman did a project on how consumer culture influences the ways young women used digital photography to present themselves on social networks such as Facebook and My Space. She looked at the poses, lighting, and fashions presented on these pages. Her argument was backed up with some pretty strong evidence.
We have a service-learning course that students are required to take in their senior year. Students are matched with local social service or nonprofit groups, and they provide some kind of media support. The end product is a brochure, Web sites, an audio or video public service announcement, something like that. The organizations walk away with this great product, and the students walk away with the experience and a great piece for their portfolios.
We encourage students to understand that whatever it is they want to do in media, it will be very competitive. To make themselves competitive, they need to engage internships, and build a portfolio. We encourage students to try to write for the Free Press. We had one student in the fall semester place a piece in the Maine Voices space in the Press Herald's editorial pages.
I live in Portland, diagonally across from the Glickman Library. It's convenient. I can walk to school, shopping, the dry cleaner, banking; it's all right there.
It's a really easy place to live. It has all the amenities of a city four or five times its size, but it has a small-town feel to it.
