The school beat and I

The first half of my career in journalism was spent covering politics. I covered city and county government with a break in the middle while I tackled the police beat.

Then there came the chance to move to the lifestyles beat, which included coverage of area school events. When the editors moved me back to page one news, I landed the education beat. For once, I was covering something that I thought mattered.

Sure, there's the stories of school board meetings and an occasional story on state report cards. But there can be so much more, like seeing how technology is broadening students' horizons  and how students are taking ownership of their learning.

Despite my enjoyment, I feel like I am just breaking the surface of the kind of reporting that I could be doing. My interest is also heightened as my son participates in the technical version of home schooling, a digital academy in which he does work at home using curriculum provided by teachers online.

I have had brief connections to the education field through different times of my life. An uncle, Arthur Moore, taught drama at Lakewood High School. My father, Jack Moore, worked as a custodian for an elementary school.

My own stint was volunteering to teach creative writing in a state prison, an experience that proved to be too short only because the inmates were too busy with other activities and my job included too many evening assignments.

Now I am getting to go back to school in a way as I take a look at what education is offering. I am hoping to share that with my readers both in what is printed in The Marion Star and what I write in this blog.