Alan Welding discusses journalism with his students

Think Different,” pleads a mural in Alan Welding’s classroom at Chartiers Valley High School. The other walls bear images of famous writers – William Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe and Jim Morrison among them – who made history by heeding such simple advice.

The staff of the school’s newspaper, the Char Vali-Ant, has also taken the philosophy to heart, producing a publication full of thoughtful, often humorous, insights into the teenage world. “It gives you an outlet to express yourself,” says A.J. Stromberg, 18, a reporter. “You get to write about the things that you’re passionate about.”

From writing to printing, all work on the Ant is done in-house, giving pupils an opportunity to dabble in every aspect of the newspaper business. More than 400 copies are sold each month for 25 cents apiece, and there are at least 100 pre-paid subscriptions, mostly from teachers who use the eight-page broadsheet as a cultural lifeline to the younger generation.

“They want to know what kids are thinking,” assistant editor Corey O’Connor says, a wry smile spreading across his face. “I think it’s more difficult for a teacher to analyze a student than it is for us to get into their heads.”

Like most of the staff writers, O’Connor infuses a great deal of satire into his articles, giving readers a few laughs and a break from the typical, inverted triangle news story. Being fun, yet informative, is the Ant’s objective.

Welding, a Baldwin native who has been teaching at Chartiers Valley for 12 years, encourages a more free-flowing, literary style of journalism, but continues to be a stickler for deadlines, grammar and good taste. “I love when kids get to express themselves,” he says. “With the newspaper, I felt like a lot of students wanted to report about what’s going on, not only here, but outside of these four walls. When students are excited to do something, it’s pretty easy for me as a teacher to work with them and show them things about writing and its possibilities.”

With tattoo-covered arms, a shaved head and ripped jeans, Welding, 37, doesn’t look like the average school teacher, which, in a way, makes him more approachable to the teens. Since he began overseeing newspaper operations three years ago, student interest in the periodical has ballooned. There are currently 25 kids taking Newspaper 1 & 2, and enrollment in the daily course is expected to hover between 40 and 50 kids next fall. Due to their growing popularity, the electives are now open to select sophomores who possess a strong interest in journalism.

“It’s taken a while, but it’s starting to spread that the newspaper is fun,” Welding says. “Students can voice their opinions and debate things they want to debate. That’s unheard of in a lot of classes.”

The Ant staff is a veritable “Breakfast Club” of young people representing every social group in the school. Lead editor Michael Moses, 17, is a member of both the football and basketball teams. O’Connor, 18, is president of the thespian society and business editor of the yearbook. Allison Hartman, 17, loves photography and plans to study it in college. At 15, Casey McDermott is the youngest of the bunch, but a whiz at layout and design. “It’s a nice mixture,” Moses says of the staff.

“It’s good for us to make ourselves known in more than one field. We all get along pretty well.”

Every February, the Ant releases a special edition called “The Thirty Most Beautiful People of Chartiers Valley,” praising the virtues of kids involved in activities such as volunteer work, which aren’t normally recognized. The other seven issues released throughout the year include teacher profiles, movie and music reviews, school news, advice columns and opinions. The staff holds a monthly brainstorming session where they put ideas on the blackboard and dole out assignments. Each student is expected to pen at least two stories per paper.

When a young journalist wishes to tackle a controversial subject, they first approach Welding with the issue. “If it is something that I think needs to be said and it’s said appropriately, then I will talk to the principal about it,” he explains. “Sometimes we do a point/counter-point so we can show both sides.”

The Ant doesn’t generate many letters to the editor, but it is common for articles to create a strong buzz in the hallways. “For some reason, when I walk through the halls and a teacher or a kid says ‘Hey, your article was really nice,’ it’s a better compliment than one I would get for doing some physical activity,” Moses admits.

The ongoing high school expansion project is a popular topic (or target) of discussion ... one that usually ends with a punchline. For example, O’Connor refers to the long, cold walk from the temporary student parking lot to the school building as “The Trail of Tears.”

While readers are quick to offer a pat on the back, they’re also known to dish out criticisms over content and spelling errors. “You can’t take everything too personally,” Hartman says. “Once those things are pointed out, it makes it better because we check more closely and it doesn’t happen again.”

Foundation for a Career
Like a professional newsroom, the class is always a flurry of activity set to the rhythm of clicking keyboards.

Welding says only about 10 to 15 percent of his Newspaper 1 & 2 students plan to pursue the journalism field in college. Keith Henderson, 17, for example took the class to improve his writing skills, and subsequently breezed through the written portion of the PSSAs.

For pupils like Moses, who want to write for a living, the class lays the groundwork for a bright future that may include newspaper journalism.

Print journalism is waning as more people gravitate toward the Internet for their daily dose of information. But, while most of Welding’s students are members of the “Digital Generation,” they believe that the newspaper medium will remain alive and well.

“I think the whole experience of holding something in your hand is the reason that print will never die,” O’Connor says. “People like the smell, they love the feel, and they want to have something tangible. Reading something on a computer screen makes it feel so superficial.”