Junior Hannah Layne and senior Reggie Thornton took on the world of teaching at the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association (SCSPA) fall conference Oct. 15, teaching other media and literary arts students from across South Carolina about interviewing and fan fiction.
At the SCSPA conference, journalism students and creative writing students on the Sword & Shield newspaper staff and the Golden Armor literary magazine staff picked three classes to attend. These classes covered a variety of subjects, such as interviewing, leads, digital storytelling, fan fiction and photography. The conference also featured sessions for yearbook and broadcast staff members.
SCSPA hosts conferences for journalists each semester; it will host another conference April 1, including three sessions and awards program including evaluations of scholastic newspapers, online media and student broadcasts. SCSPA’s purpose is the promotion and representation of school-sanctioned journalism in South Carolina. While teaching and installing confidence in the young press members, the association also evaluates scholastic media for various awards. Students from member schools are eligible to teach classes, giving students relatable teachers. This opportunity is what Layne and Thornton pursued.
Layne led a session on social anxiety and interviewing during which she shared her struggles with talking to interview subjects she does not know.
She kept students involved when teaching about how to overcome social anxiety when interviewing people. Layne said she was nervous; however, her timidness began to de-escalate as she taught.
“I felt relieved. A bunch of people came to the class, and they got engaged, and I would do it again,” Lanye said.
Layne explained coping techniques such as breathing or taking along a buddy. She also expressed the need for interviewing people for accurate data. These tips were impactful and engaging to students, who found enjoyment and enrichment in the class.
“I felt like it offered solutions from the perspective of someone we can all relate to on a semi-personal level,” junior Journalism 1 student Layne Gambrell said.
Sophomore Kylie Tallman, another Journalism 1 student, agreed with Gambrell, believing the class was “extremely comfortable” and “a great learning experience.” Tallman realized her anxiety did not have to affect her future in journalism. Gambrell felt the class made it so she was “less likely to hold back” in future interviews.
Layne’s class not only assisted with journalistic ideas, but with other pieces of students’ lives as well. Tallman believes Layne’s class not only helped her with journalism, but it also helped her with a presentation in her class the following day.
“I did some breathing techniques she taught us, and it really calmed me down,” Tallman said.
Similar to Layne, Thornton felt nervous before teaching his class. However, during the seminar, his nerves disappeared because of the number of people attending.
“It made me feel a lot better because people actually were genuinely interested in my subject and didn’t just see it as a silly thing,” Thornton said.
Thornton educated other students on the area of fan fiction, hitting on the concept that fan fiction is not just for “untalented teenage writers.” He presented facts on the commonly polarizing topic, including past best-selling ekphrastic media.
“Fan fiction isn’t just for teens who can’t write,” Thornton said. He believes that the fiction genre connects people in a deep, “non-corporate” way. Students in the class deeply internalized this point.
“[The fan fiction class] made me more knowledgeable in writing than I was before the lecture because it showed me ways to make the story more believable in a sense,” freshman journalism 1 student Sadie Reeder said.
Reeder also believes the class was “fun,” as well as “comfortable.” Finding that it made her improve as a writer, Reeder would want to retake the seminar.
In the thoughts of sophomore creative writing student Arianna Durham, Thornton’s class was “good” but could have expanded on the topic.
According to sophomore Journalism 1 student Jenny Porter, Tornton’s class was “great, great, great,” giving her guidance in brainstorming techniques. Porter learned that there are multiple ways to write fan fiction and that it is not just for low-skilled writers.