Pulitzer Center Update July 26, 2024
Connecting Educators to Pulitzer Center Focus Areas in Chicago
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“I like how organized and applicable the workshop was. Many teacher PDs exist as theory and then teachers are left holding the short end of the stick to figure out how to create materials and implement, or they're the exact opposite, and you end up feeling like you've been given a script. The Pulitzer Center site and materials seem like they have a lot of flexibility in terms of integration into existing classroom plans.” —Kathryn Harper, Chicago educator
On Saturday, May 18th, 20 Chicago educators joined Pulitzer Center staff at the University of Chicago for the workshop, “Critical and Empowered Action.” Educators practiced employing the same spirit of inquiry that drives journalistic investigation to analyze underreported news stories and which global issues are most relevant in their own communities. The workshop was supported by both the University of Chicago Educator Outreach Initiative and the Julian Grace Foundation.
One participant described the training in a post-event survey as “authentic, significant, relevant content [with] a focus on balancing knowledge and empathy.” Another appreciated “the intimacy of the space, professionalism of the presenters, the vast resources shared…and [the] cultural relevance.”
All 20 participants are current educators teaching across various grade levels and disciplines. The group represented a range of experiences with media literacy skills and news awareness. 85% of participants had never attended a Pulitzer Center workshop or used Pulitzer Center resources before.
Teachers began by participating in an interactive gallery walk to examine the descriptions of the Pulitzer Center’s five key focus areas: global health, climate and environment, human rights, peace and conflict, and information and technology. Teachers made personal connections, described the expression of these challenges in their communities, and listed questions for further exploration.
After learning more about the Pulitzer Center’s mission, teachers analyzed Pulitzer Center news stories in small groups using a graphic organizer that was adapted from a unit written by 2023-2024 Teaching Fellow Alexandra Yeganegi. The reporting they analyzed included:
- "The Smallest Power" by Andy Sarjahani, Naghmeh Farzaneh, and Robin Wright for The New Yorker (Human Rights/Migration, Gender Equality, Racial Justice) **includes video
- "The Untold Story of Black Cowboys" by Ashonti Ford for Spectrum Bay News (Human Rights, Racial Justice) **includes video
- "Drowning in Debt" led by Maria Zamudio for WBEZ (Human Rights, Governance) **includes audio
- "Writing Saved Me" by Imran Mohammad Fazal Hoque for the Pulitzer Center (Human Rights, Migration)
- “Tracked: How Colleges Use AI To Monitor Student Protests” by Arjit Sen for The Dallas Morning News
Finally, educators engaged with Corinne Chin, a Chicago-based video journalist-grantee and the current Director of News Talent for Recruitment at the Associated Press. Focusing on race and identity in the United States, Chin shared her experiences covering stories about Hawaii Sign Language, efforts made by The Seattle Times to address harm caused by their past coverage of the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and a video project launched by The Seattle Times focused on building comfort and understanding for conversations about race.
Over half of the attendees described Corinne’s presentation, and the subsequent facilitated discussion of race and identity in the news, as the highlight of the workshop.
“Corinne was a FANTASTIC speaker and super engaging. And getting to talk to other educators about media and how to use it in the classroom was very exciting…I’m going to use Corinne’s stories on HSL and the A1 project in my classroom; I teach American Imperialism in the late 1800s and Japanese-American camps in WWII. Both would be incredible tools to bring this history alive.” —Bob Shaffer, educator at Burley Elementary
As a result of this training, educators felt equipped and inspired to not only engage with the news more often but to leverage Pulitzer Center’s stories and educational resources in their classrooms. Many educators expressed their appreciation for the structure of the training, the resources explored, and the time to connect with other Chicago teachers.
“[I plan to] have Corinne virtually interact with my students, use the website and questions to jump-start a current events unit [and utilize] underrepresented stores [to inspire] a writing unit format…” —Ira Abrams, educator at Williams Medical Prep
“I plan on using some of the Pulitzer Center’s lesson plans and articles. I also plan to use the [underreported story] questions when introducing a media literacy unit. I especially like the [question]: are proposed solutions working? It gives students the opportunity to stop, think, and engage with the news critically. It’s great phrasing that I’ll be using in the classroom!” —Diana Marques, CPS substitute and teacher-librarian
The Pulitzer Center plans to offer more workshops for teachers in Chicago, and throughout the world, over the 2024-2025 school year. Subscribe to the K-12 education newsletter for weekly updates on upcoming workshops and opportunities for teachers and students!
