Oh, how I miss the days when I taught freshman and senior English, those days when I got together daily or even just weekly with the other professionals in my building and district who taught the same subjects and could relate to the daily challenges and joys I was facing in my English classroom.

Now that I am in my 11th year of teaching an all-journalism load — and am the only person in my building to teach journalism — I find myself growing increasingly isolated in my classroom, wishing that there were others in my building and district with whom I could bounce newspaper, yearbook, web site and intro to journalism ideas off of. Or simply someone to turn to for advice and a friendly ear or shoulder to lean on.

Since this is not the case — and not likely to be the case for some time — I really hope that MJEA can grow into an organization that brings journalism advisers together from around the state to provide the support and feedback that only other advisers can offer. Yes, we are small in number, but I believe we can offer one another the help to make all of our programs successful in every district under the Big Sky.

Please contact me with any questions — and I hope each one of you considers sharing a lesson plan, advice or cool project with me so I can post it for all to appreciate and utilize. Pictures from your classroom or links to your publications are always welcome, too.

I hope everyone is having a great year.