The following article was published as a part of The Seminole’s 2013 April Fool’s issue! The information, quotations, statistics, and other content is completely fictitious and should not be considered a true representation of the school, the administration, or other governing entities.
Instagram, an online photo-sharing and social networking service, has inspired many young photographers since its creation in 2010, and has now inspired teachers. In an attempt to find assignments for students that will improve students writing skills, the school has adopted a writing assignment based on Instagram.
Students will choose a photo from an Instagram created by their English teacher and write a short story or essay based on the photo. Grading of the assignment would be decided by the individual teacher as well as extra requirements and the expected length of the story or essay.
A school in Kingston, New York had started this writing assignment in 2011, a year after the release of Instagram. They found it to not only improve students writing skill but to improve their overall grade in English.
This monthly writing assignment will be implemented in English 4 Honors classes. When asked how she felt about the new senior assignment, Freshmen Jamie Stark said “I already check my Instagram every day; it would be nice to be able to get my assignments there too.”
When asked what she thought of the new assignment, English 4 Honors teacher Ms. Sumter said “Monthly writing assignments would be a good idea. My students have a journal that that must write in at the beginning of the period, but they may be more interested in writing something about a subject that they chose, and more willing to do a better job.”
As with every new assignment, there are some possible downfalls to the new assignment. Sophomore Catherine Smith said “It seems like a cool assignment, but I don’t have a smart phone so I don’t know how I will do the assignment.” Accommodations will be made for those students who cannot access Instagram at home, such as printed photos available in classes.
As well as improving writing skill, this new assignment might help hold off Senioritis as well. Junior, Austin James said “I think seniors need something like this. I mean, we all get bored of the regular school assignments, and this one seems pretty easy. It’d at least help to get our grades up.”
The Instagram assignment will go into effect the beginning of next year. This assignment, while keeping students interested, will hopefully improve student’s writing skills and make them more prepared for college.