Newspapers prove valuable to educators

BANGOR – Put a daily newspaper in front of each child in a classroom and the world opens up in educationally marvelous ways.

“It’s a new book every day,” said Kim Whitmore, manager of the Bangor Daily News Newspapers in Education program. Whitmore took the helm of the program in April after Donna Fransen, who had been with the program for 26 years, retired.

The NEWS Newspapers in Education program serves schools and teachers in Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Waldo, Hancock, Knox, Washington and Somerset counties.

The newspaper, Whitmore pointed out, is a living textbook and provides current, up-to-date information about the real world. It contains many levels of readability from easy to complex, and when used as a teaching tool encourages students to hone writing and thinking skills.

“You’ll find a lot of math on the weather, stock market and sports pages,” Whitmore said. Other classroom subject areas that newspapers may enhance include reading, writing, geography, government, civics, history, art and culture, family life, science and technology.

“Newspapers have something for everyone. It is a dynamic teaching instrument,” said Whitmore. And, as an extra benefit, students get to take the newspapers home to their parents to read.

“My job,” said Whitmore, “is to connect teachers with NIE resources and show them how to use the newspaper as a living textbook.” Newspaper in Education activities and programs are designed to help teachers with state Learning Results. “We want to know how we can help teachers.”

One of Whitmore’s earliest memories is of reading the newspaper when she was 4 years old. “It was there every day,” she said.

The Newspapers in Education program is a “traveling show,” Whitmore said. She is available to make classroom visits and to facilitate Newspapers in Education activities. Teacher workshops and tours of the Bangor Daily News facility also are available through the NIE program.

In addition to regular daily or weekly classroom newspaper delivery, NIE offers special programs throughout the school year. Among those featured are Stockmarket Simulation, Oct. 4-Dec. 10; the Million Dollar Challenge, Oct. 4, 2004-April 15, 2005; Maine Mock Election, Oct. 26; Geography Action! Week, Nov. 15-19; a student-created supplement, March 30, 2005; and Maine Studies-History Week, April 25-29, 2005.

A new special program this year is Presidential Election 2004, which runs Sept. 15 through Oct. 27. The series will be offered on consecutive Wednesdays and is designed to help students understand the election process, including caucuses, primaries, conventions, campaigns and the president’s role, responsibilities, requirements and challenges. A 12-page teacher guide with lesson plans and activity ideas is available.

Hundreds of corporate and individual sponsors make it possible for newspapers to be used in classrooms, Whitmore said. The Bangor Daily News provides newspapers at half-price. Local businesses and organizations, Whitmore said, often sponsor the NIE program in their own local schools and find it a great way to build community and promote the benefits of literacy and education.

Bangor Daily News subscribers who suspend newspaper delivery when they go on vacation often donate those weeks to the Newspapers in Education program, Whitmore said.

“We need to keep students reading and reading and reading,” Whitmore said. One of the ways to do that, she believes, is to put a newspaper in front of every child.

To learn more about the Bangor Daily News Newspapers in Education Program, or to schedule a classroom visit, teacher workshop or BDN facility tour, visit www.bangordailynews.com/nie or call Kim Whitmore at 990-8076, or toll-free at (800) 432-7964, ext. 8076.