NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION: A VITAL PART OF LEARNING AT CAPE GIRARDEAU CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Cape Girardeau Central High School students have a new textbook delivered daily for their current events class.

Jane Womack, who teaches Contemporary Issues at the high school, said the Southeast Missourian provides much of the curriculum material for the course.

Womack is among about 300 area teachers using newspapers in their classes as part of the Southeast Missourian Newspaper in Education program.

"It's really a vital part of my program," she said.

In the current events class, students discuss what is happening in Iraq and the Middle East and what is happening on the local political scene.

Womack also teaches history and consumer education courses. She uses the newspaper in both those courses as well.

Students learn about rising oil prices and tobacco legislation by reading news stories. Then the classes discuss how these real-life examples show concepts included in the textbooks.

"The newspaper is also more up-to-date for teen-agers," Womack said.

The Southeast Missourian is in its seventh year of offering newspapers to area schoolteachers for use in classrooms.

It costs about $66,000 annually to print and distribute the newspapers to the schools. The YELL literacy campaign and sponsors raise a little more than half the price for the project, with the newspaper contributing the rest.

The newspaper began the project in the Louis J. Schultz Middle School in 1990. It has since expanded to include public and private elementary and secondary schools in the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City region.

Each week, about 5,000 Southeast Missourian newspapers are delivered to area classrooms. Another 3,500 Mini Page sections are distributed. The weekly section has news stories, games and information geared for young readers.

Kim McDowell, NIE coordinator for the Southeast Missourian, said educators are enthusiastic about the program.

At a recent kickoff breakfast for YELL sponsors, eight educators were invited to share their opinions about NIE.

"They were there the day before school started," McDowell said. "They wanted to be there to talk about the newspaper in their classrooms. The enthusiasm of students for the program makes teachers' jobs that much easier. That's why they stand behind NIE."

Teachers use the newspaper for reading practice and comprehension. One teacher is charting editorial cartoons based on which party the cartoon favors. The charting exercise is a math skill, but students are also learning the concept of opinion.

Wally Lage, publisher of the Southeast Missourian, said newspapers are a natural for classes.

"Using the newspaper in classrooms motivates students by making the subject come alive -- snow storms, space flights, football games, democratic process, grammar, spelling, provide real-life references for teaching what otherwise might be abstract concepts," Lage said.