For kids in Ryan McCallum’s third block, writing is more than something you do in English class. Once a week, every student goes through a process of brainstorming, writing, interviewing, photography, and much more to get you the stories that you read right here on Hoofprint.net.
“So when it comes to writing a story, I never start with a title. I take all the quotes I have and write around them. That way I can make the transition fit the quote perfectly,” said Senior Hannah Calder, “McCallum is usually really supportive of what you want to write about and gives you great ideas on how you can expand your story and make it better.”
McCallum’s class, Journalism 2, has been writing for Hoofprint.net for 6 years. The 38 students in the class this year have left a big mark on the site. Senior Tiah Marr’s story “Chipotle in buffalo?” getting the most page views Hoofprint.net has ever had.
The master behind all the madness, the well known Ryan McCallum, puts a lot of time and energy into his class, and the Hoofprint. When McCallum came to BHS as a freshman, there was no newspaper. Throughout the years, he’s enjoyed watching it grow into what it is today.
“A school like this has so much to write about, and so much going on, stories need to be written. At first the Hoofprint was just a news source, people found things out. Now, people already know those things, and it has the role of telling what those things mean,” said McCallum, “It is hard sometimes though. If the StarTribune wrote about something controversial, they don’t have to eat lunch with the people they write about. We do.”
photo by: Alyssa Baldwin
