Andrew Lechey urges advisers to include business journalism

During his presentation to newspaper advisers attending the Reynolds Institute, Andrew Leckey basically told us that if we weren't including business journalism in our classes, we weren't completely doing our job. For a lot of teachers who don't know much about the business world, except that it's not doing so well right now, this is a scary proposition. 

Leckey, the president of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, made it very simple, though. "If you don't have enough business knowledge, get it," he told us. As he pointed out, money effects everyone, so everyone should know about the business world.

So where do we get that information? As a teacher who has always quickly turned past the business page of the newspaper every morning to get to the "real news," I wanted to know. Leckey suggested www.businessjournalism.org, a site maintained by the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, and the Securities and Exchange Commissions's official site, www.sec.gov. Teachers can also contact the National Endowment for Financial Education for free educational resources for themselves and their students. He also suggested taking a business course or two to learn more. 

One thing that has kept me from pursuing business journalism was the feeling that my students weren't able to grasp financial and business terminology and concepts, but Leckey spoke directly to that. He said teenagers today have a better concept of finances than any generation before them. And, when I think about the students at my school who work at least one part-time job, and who purchase many of their own clothes and belongings, I realize he is right. And while my newspaper staffers may not be able to figure out how to fix Wall Street or explain exactly what caused GM's downfall, they can certainly look at how these problems and other financial issues today may effect them and their friends. 

Lynne Schneider

Murrah High School

Jackson, Ms