NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION WEEK

It's Newspapers in Education Week, an celebration of how students learn more by reading about the world around them.

The Southeast Missourian has delivered newspapers to area classrooms for 10 years. The program started here after newspaper owner Gary Rust heard about the idea at a national meeting of newspaper publishers.

Teachers greeted the idea of free newspapers once a week with enthusiasm. Today, more than 3,200 copies of the Southeast Missourian go to 32 schools in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City. The program costs about $80,000 annually, with the cost split between the YELL Foundation and the Southeast Missourian.

Teachers say they use the newspaper for students of all ages. They use it for discussions about current events and ethics. Younger students may just read for fun and then clip headlines and pictures.

Certainly, Newspapers in Education Week is a good time to think about the benefit of print journalism.