“Mrs. Kleindl, is journalism dead?” Mateo, a senior who has been in my journalism classes since his freshman year of high school, asked me.
I was surprised. Mateo participated in statewide journalism competitions, took my dual credit journalism class, produced two episodes of a community-focused news podcast and interned with a local nonprofit journalism organization.
He was my star student. Was he really asking me if journalism is dead? “Well, I don’t think I want to be a journalist anymore. My teacher talked me out of it,” Mateo said dejectedly.
Mateo’s experience isn’t an anomaly. As a first-generation college student, Mateo has always felt the pressure to find a “practical” career like engineering, business, or the trades. When he mentioned journalism to another teacher, he heard what many students in his position hear: it’s a dying field, not a safe bet, and not worth the risk. It happens all too often in my classroom.
At my school, where more than 50% of students are low-income. I see firsthand the generational impact of poverty every day, so I understand that teacher’s impulse to protect students from uncertainty. But I also know what we lose when we close doors before our students can walk through them.
According to Perkins data from the 2023-2024 school year, only 15% of CTE programs in Illinois fell into non-technical areas: arts and communication, education, government and public administration, health sciences, and law and public safety. These programs teach students communication, critical thinking, leadership, and empathy — skills transferable to any field. And yet, in a state with millions of students, only a small fraction have access to pathways preparing them for civic or creative careers.
As more states require CTE pathways as a graduation requirement, we need to expand what counts as “career-ready” to include media, communications, education and public service alongside STEM and trades.
I helped create one of these CTE pathways in my own school because I saw a need in our community for better communicators. In our Media Production pathway, students have the opportunity to learn 21st-century communication skills and earn a few college credits along the way.
The process was hard, even with the full support of my administrator and district. But this year, my students got to interview Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as he announced new jobs in our area. It was such an empowering experience for them to apply what they’re learning in our classroom.
As the saying goes, you can’t be what you can’t see.
I invite my students to see journalism, teaching, and other civic careers as meaningful ways to shape the world, not cautionary tales. I connect my students with working journalists so they can get practical tips on how to make journalism a sustainable career. This means bringing in current and former journalists to talk about their work.
By interacting with current professionals, students see that journalism is a thriving field. That’s powerful. I find there’s even value in inviting former journalists to talk about their past work and where it has led them. Students need to see that their career choices don’t have to be linear. It’s ok to grow and change your path as it best fits you. The skills they gained in these fields will help them be successful in whatever comes next.
We also need better training for school counselors and teachers on how to discuss careers honestly and hopefully.
In my classroom, I try to be deliberate about how I talk about my own career.
There are days when I’ve considered leaving teaching. Students need to hear that. But it’s also important for them to hear the joy. I talk about my passion for my profession as a way for them to discover theirs. And I celebrate their successes, whether it’s interviewing the governor or covering a local school board meeting.
Students like Mateo need more than one teacher’s encouragement. They need systems that support them. They need CTE pathways that reflect the full range of careers our democracy requires. They need counselors trained to see journalism, education, and public service as worthy of the same investment we give to engineering. They need adults who understand that stability and passion aren’t mutually exclusive.
If we invest in the careers that sustain our democracy, then students like Mateo will have so many pathways ahead of them. And our communities will be stronger for it.
Jena Kleindl teaches 10th grade English and journalism at Freeport High School in Freeport and is a 2025-2026 Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellow.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Illinois students deserve more than just STEM | Opinion
Reporting by Jena Kleindl, Special to the Freeport Journal-Standard / Rockford Register Star
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