Reynolds Institute 2011 participants bid farewell

The headline says "farewell," but that doesn't mean an end to this blog as a tool for all of you. I'll keep it live until next year and go ahead and shut down access (but not access to the content) next year if contributions stop, which would be natural and understandable. The Facebook group will stay in place. In fact, I was thinking about inviting participants from all five years to join in to expand your network. Please let me know your thoughts on that.

You can download the video above with a free Vimeo account. Here's a direct link to the full-size (250 MB) video on Vimeo. Also, here is a link to a lower-resolution version (50 MB) that demands less from your hard drive and will work fine on a DVD.

Please don't read anything into it if you aren't included in this video. The goal was to show others the impact of this institute on participants, their students and their schools, and I focused on comments addressing that.

Steve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix

The video image that appeared in Jen's presentation was really great! Finally got my 15 minutes of fame. The day we did this project was really hot and the supplies I took were most welcome on this stifling day. It was really a blast and bit intimiating, but was certainly an activity that raised our self-esteem.

Thoughts

After arriving home on late Friday night I traditionally look out my terrace windows and see the night glows of Ft. Lauderdale. It was bit different than the views of Chase field and the US Airways Arena that Iviewed from my window in Phoenix. It made me sad to think of all of you and the the great time we spent toether and the learning that took place in such a short amount of time. For some of us it will be the start of life-long friendships and for others the addition of mentors for our teaching careers. With much love and gratitude, Myrna

Reflection

The ride home from the Reynolds Institute allowed for some personal reflection time that has put me in a great position to make a difference at Globe High.  The hour and a half drive allowed me to prioritize my thoughts, enjoy the happy memories and think about all the great things that I will do when I get started.

It can not be underestimated how important this is experience was, not only for my career but for my students.  It is far deeper than just journalism.  It has been my experience that students are looking for something to belong to and something that belongs to them.  Once they get that, the will go to the ends of the earth to keep it and share it with others.  The Reynolds Institute has given me the confidence to go back to Globe and give my students a program to be proud of .  Thank you.

Richard Franco
Globe, Arizona

Mailbox! Open Mailbox!

One of the more exciting presentations at the Reynolds Institute, believe it or not was about fonts.  Yes! I said fonts!  As shown in the picture, there are for more to fonts than meets the eye.  I had no idea there were so many names for all the different kinds lines of font.  Nor did I know how important choosing a font can be for our local publication.

When I thought about fonts in the past, I figured Time New Roman at 12 points was all you needed to know.  Turns out, that is not the end all be all and most of the time it is barely even used.  It was a breath of fresh air to get insight into something that I had no idea about and fonts are something I can see myself spending some time on this upcoming school year.

Richard Franco

Globe, Arizona

Standing up for what you believe in

As a member of the Reynolds Institute, I figured that we would get to meet some inspiring people. I had no idea we would get to meet Len Downie.  For those of you who do not know, Len was an editor at the Washington Post when they broke Watergate.  Even though the Watergate story and all the reporting that went on during that time was incredible, it was the subtle stories that Len told and the advice that I will take away from what he said. 

His message was based around inspiring students more so that it was aboout the reporting that he did.  He discussed how inportant our jobs are as journalists no matter what level we are at and did a great job relating to the hardships that high school teachers face in the world of journalism.

Richard Franco
Globe, Arizona

Home sweet home

I did not anticipate getting so emotional during our final few hours together, but I did.  In fact, I was emotional from the early onset of Greg Favre's speech.  As the luncheon went on, I realized just how diverse each of is, how talented we are, and how connected we will will remain because of this experience.
Our flight home was quiet-  Patty, Cindy, Alan and I were all on the same flight, and though we talked a good bit about lots of things, it was bittersweet to reminisce quietly about what happened over the last two weeks.  While we were fatigued, there is an energy that runs deep and feverishly, and only good can come from that.
Hugs to everyone!