Last Friday, December 7th, the students in the TMHS Journalism class traveled to Boston to learn about the history of journalism. Boston has deep roots in journalism; the first American colonial newspaper was published in September 1690 in Boston. Each student was assigned a specific building, company, or newspaper along the Boston Journalism Trail, which spanned from Boston Common to Faneuil Hall. They then had to research the historic place or newspaper and compose a small paper that included details about the history of it and what impact it had on journalism. After all of the students’ hard work, they got to go into Boston to see their research topics in person with Mr. Bourgoin and Ms. Bowden.

In Boston, each student had to present a short speech on the topic the researched to the class. Each presentation was given in front of the building/company/location they were speaking about, which means the students did a lot of walking to find all of the locations. For example, Julie Carlisle spoke about the Women’s Journal. The Women’s Journal was a newspaper founded in Boston in 1870 that advocated for women’s rights and strived to put an end to inequality. In a time where activists were very few, it is interesting to know that this newspaper had a large following and encouraged women to become empowered to fight for their own rights. Julie displayed this information beautifully and concisely, giving fellow classmates a deep understanding of what The Women’s journal meant to women at the time.

After all students had given their brief presentation, they got to walk around Faneuil Hall. The trees were extravagantly decorated for the holidays, and gave the location a fun and interesting ambiance. After seeing the large Christmas Tree located in the center of Faneuil Hall, students got to enjoy a hearty lunch at Quincy Market. Quincy Market has a very large selection of meals, from asian cuisine to classic New England favorites such as clam chowder. They were able to choose what they wanted to eat, and could walk around Faneuil Hall for a while (but they always had to be with a buddy)! Faneuil Hall gave the students a feel of what life in Boston is really like.

After Faneuil Hall, everyone headed over to the local community cafe Panera Cares for a News Day. News Day is when all the students search for a weird and interesting story, and whoever finds the most bizarre story wins. After searching for the perfect story, each student shared their story for their peers. Some stories announced

were about Soulja Boy creating his own video game console, about how new flavors of soda are being created such as baked beans, and about how doctors are eating legos to see how they pass through the digestive system. The winning story was the one about the doctors eating legos. After sharing the stories, students got to spend some time at the cafe socializing with their peers and enjoying some snacks.

Overall, Journalism students are lucky to get such an amazing and educational experience with a teacher that truly cares about both learning and entertainment.