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PORTER McLEOD
AMONG JOURNALISTS
The annual banquet of the Clarke Central news and literary
magazines Odyssey and Iliad Saturday evening at the Classic
Center provided an opportunity to see the student journalists
who have won so many awards. They are just as impressive
in person as they are on the page and online, and so is their
mentor, David Ragsdale, the Clarke Central English teacher who
has made the magazines such a growing and learning experi
ence for his students.
They regularly win top honors at state, regional and
national conferences, and reading their publications it is easy
to see why they do. Odyssey is the monthly news magazine that
reflects what's happening at Clarke Central High School. Itiad is
the annual literary magazine chock full of photographs, draw
ings, poetry and other writing. As Odyssey chronicles the lives
of the students at Clarke Central, Iliad gets inside their heads
and shows what they've been thinking and seeing.
Both publications drive students to the disciplines neces
sary to get their work down on paper and up online.
David Ragsdale
Anybody who has ever worked on a publication knows what
a cacophony of demands it makes on your time and attention,
and these student journalists have done their work after school
hours and on weekends, not for pay but for the satisfaction of
seeing all their work turned into a visual, tangible communica
tion that reaches readers.
There is something about journalism that makes it a special
kind of endeavor. You've got to be able to work hard, paying
close attention, and at the same time you've got to be able to
use your mind and your imagination, and you've got to be able
to do things on time, sometimes very quickly, and you've got
to be able to cooperate with others, frequently under a great
deal of pressure, and it's got to be accurate. You need a strong
sense of what you want and the willingness to accommodate
the vision of your colleagues. You need to be able to keep your
nose to the grindstone, your eye on the ball and your finger on
the pulse of the public, all at the same time.
Hearing these students speak Saturday night about their
experiences on the staffs of Odyssey and Iliad demonstrated
that their hard work has paid off, not just in the table full
of awards they've won but more importantly in what they've
learned about working together on a common goal???the
friendships, the fun, the crazy things that happened, the mem
ories of coming in an awkward freshman and coming out an
assured senior. It was obvious that they have been challenged
and that they've risen to the task.
The guy behind all this growing and learning is Ragsdale.
He's one of those people who can befriend his students while
demanding and getting their best efforts, without losing sight
of where they are in their lives and what they need to help
them grow: a teacher in the best sense of the word.
Excellence doesn't happen in isolation. There's obviously a
lot of support at Clarke Central for this kind of effort, and it is
backed up by the room full of parents who were there Saturday
and who have been there throughout the year, working in
concession stands and other efforts to raise money, while also
accommodating the schedules of their busy students.
After the banquet, Julie McLeod, mother of Porter McLeod???
Odyssey and Iliad photographer, writer and designer (whose
pictures, like the one in this column, appear in Flagpole)???
summed it up.
"We shouldn't worry about the future," Julie said, "they are
the future."
Pete McCommons editor@flagpole.com
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VOLUME 27
ISSUE NUMBER 18
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