Covering the winnetka schools in August.

• Author: Easterbrook, Gregg
• Position: Journalism school memories

COVERING THE WINNETKA SCHOOLS IN AUGUST

Like more than a few contemporary reporters, I sometimes find myself apologizing for having a journalism degree. Within the trade, J-school experience is almost universally felt to have little bearing on job performance. Old-timers consider J-school baby stuff; some editors are actively put off, holding such degrees against applicants. Only public relations firms and advertising agencies seem to show excitement about this line on the resume, and their interest is synthetic respectability. Hence a certain reluctance to discuss the subject. Young yups who are supposedly savvy careerist sharp-shooters have difficulty admitting they just blew $10,000 on a piece of paper.

My piece of paper is a 1977 master's from the Medill School at Northwestern University, which, before a recent spasm of internal strife too complicated to explain here, was considered among the nation's top J-schools.

Medill graduate degrees required one full year of study, commencing with a preparatory summer session. For the first month students practiced basic writing and studied composition texts, such as Strunk and White's Elements of Style, to which many give lip service but few lend attention. Whether an enforced read of Elements of Style is worth $10,000, I cannot say. I do know it turned out to be the most valuable part of the program for many students.

After Strunk Month, students were to spend the balance of the summer as journalistic junior birdmen, patrolling the suburbs that border Northwestern's campus north of Chicago. This entailed a daily trek to some local agency like the Evanston parks and recreation department, followed by return to a simulated "bureau' to file "stories.' We were supposed to identify ourselves as being with "Medill News Service.' Most municipal officials, having little enough patience for the real press, were damned if they were going to wate time with amateurs.

Assignments for this practicum were drawn by lot. When I reached into the hat, I drew the Winnetka, Illinois grade school system. In a stunning display of nascent analytic powers, I looked up from the slip and said, "It's August. Grade shcools are closed in August.'

No matter. Other students were assigned to institutions on similar siestas. Each morning we trudged to locked administration buildings--or shamelessly rang bells at the homes of vacationing officials--and made total fools of ourseves. The learning curve declined toward zero.

One of...