THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604120195
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
STATISTICS AND STUDIES about young people's habits point to one conclusion: Teenagers aren't reading the newspaper.
Nikki Galantis doesn't like that. And she especially doesn't want her ``kids'' to follow the trend.
So, Galantis - one of the city's two English As A Second Language teachers on the secondary level - has been busy bucking it by teaching her 30 high-proficiency students a unit on the usefulness of today's newspapers.
``I want them to be more knowledgeable about the newspaper than most teenagers are,'' she said, adding that this is the second time she's pursued the unit in her 10 years as an English as a Second Language teacher. ``It's one of the projects I like to do with them.''
For nearly two weeks in early March, Galantis had copies of the newspaper delivered to Room 107 at the Technical and Career Education Center - home of the high school ESL program - so each of her 30 students could have his or her own daily issue.
``Everyday, we had a stack for the morning class over here,'' said a smiling Galantis, pointing towards the door, ``and a stack for the afternoon class over here.''
The sections served as springboards, guiding classroom discussions. The ensuing talks went from the general to the specific.
``We talked about the papers in their native countries,'' Galantis said. Her students, who are in grades nine through 12, hail from all over the world - including places such as Bangladesh, Peru, Hong Kong, Zaire, Venezuela and the Ukraine. Some have been in the country for a few months while others have been here for a few years.
Galantis picked stories, gave them the gist and selected a few paragraphs for them to read. ``When they see all these big words, it's like, `What?' '' she said. ``It's kind of overwhelming to them.''
She said cultural differences came out during the unit. ``They were amazed at how long and drawn out this justice system is,'' Galantis said of one discussion about John Salvi, who was found guilty last month of killing abortion clinic workers.
The classified advertisements provided a chuckle or two. ``Some of the kids laughed about how much money people pay for pets that are eaten in their country,'' Galantis said.
The students learned newspaper vocabulary words, such as ``wire service'' and ``dateline,'' the difference between editorials and news stories and how coupons could help save them money.
The thrust of the project was two-fold.
``Their work ethic is wonderful, and they all want to get jobs,'' Galantis said. ``I wanted them to see how the classified ads can help them.''
The other reason was more social. ``So often, I found they weren't quite sure what to do with their free time,'' Galantis added. ``There are things going on in this area, and you can look in different places of the newspaper to get information about them.''
The lesson ended just before spring break, but the memories linger.
A huge bulletin board covered with bright yellow paper and examples of everything from national news to comics - and carrying the title ``Learning Through the News'' - stretches across one wall, serving as a reminder of the monthlong study.
Another wall features more than two dozen colorful ``newspaper scrapbooks,'' the culminating activity that required the students to cut and paste different parts of the paper.
Galantis said the scrapbooks, along with high test scores, are proof that the students got something out of the unit.
She added, ``I think they gained an appreciation and realization of the value and worth of the newspaper.'' ILLUSTRATION: HOLLY WESTER Photos
Nikki Galantis teaches her students a two-week unit on the
usefulness of newspapers in their lives.
Top, left to right, Keith Resurreccion, Ruel Resurreccion, and Lani
Quiambao; and left, Ana DeAzambuja, Janice Goroza and Samina
Hossain.
by CNB