Yesterday , Ben Schneiders, Isaac’s father, visited the 34 neighborhoods. You’ll be able to find his work in The Age, where he writes as an award winning investigative journalist. In preparation for Ben’s visit, students studied some of Ben’s writing, explored differences between open and closed questions, and designed questions to ask. The questions enquired about his professional journey, motivations for journalism, starting out in the industry, day-to-day work, working with colleagues, finding stories/ ideas, his writing process and fact checking. In particular, students were surprised to learn about how much time Ben invests into research and editing, which can be extensive.
Building our capacities as researchers has been a focus in 34, and Ben has certainly inspired us think big(ger). Ben also revealed some interesting insight into finding and crediting sources. Such conversations will provide a starting point for students to think similarly about their own sources, and take the next leap as researchers.