At the end of the ’23-’24 school year, Suzanne Greenfield got an unexpected new job as the Advisor for The Arrow newspaper. Originally, Greenfield only taught English 10 and English 12 classes and was placed in a room down the hall from the former Arrow advisor, Mrs. Smale.
“The position was assigned to me,” Greenfield said. “I didn’t seek out this position at all. It was a little scary because it wasn’t something I had intended to do in the last part of my career.”
Previously, Greenfield was in room 209, but now she is in the iconic 205 newsroom.
“Moving into a brand-new room and starting over again has been a bit daunting,” Greenfield said, “but I’m ready and feeling pretty good about what we’re going to do this semester.” The reason Greenfield had to take over Smale’s former position was Smale got a position at Jostens Yearbooks.
Greenfield has no prior journalism experience. Although she’s primarily an English teacher, she still had to do some research and attend journalism training over the summer.
“I am not a trained journalist,” Greenfield said. “So, learning journalistic tendencies and writing has been a lot of extra work for me. I have been trying to balance all this with my English background.”
Going from English to journalism may seem easy, but they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. In English writing, everything is taught to have layers. In journalism, the core purpose is to inform readers in the most concise way possible. Greenfield thought she understood the politics of the class and how it would be run, but she soon found that her initial thoughts would change.
“When I got into this, I was not aware it was going to be a student-led class. But I love it,” Greenfield said. “I think we have a really great core of strong students and seeing that has really shifted my perspective on what my responsibilities are as an advisor.”
The last advisor of The Arrow was more focused on the print newspaper, but Greenfield has different goals in mind.
“This year, I really want to focus on advertisements,” Greenfield said. “If we promote businesses with ads in the newspaper, we can maybe get enough money so that students who would like to go to MIPA won’t have to pay out-of-pocket costs.”
Overall, Greenfield has been working towards the greater good of the class and finding her bearings. Her students have been patient and helpful to her while she has been learning a new trade. Greenfield, despite getting placed in the new role of Arrow Advisor, is feeling hopeful and ready.
