by Zachary Apperson and Alec Ortega

We’re well into the 2015 school year and with this comes changes, some for better and some for worse. One of the newest implementations into Tustin High School’s curriculum is Mrs. Robinson’s journalism class. Mrs. Robinson, a University of California, Berkeley graduate and accredited writer of the non-fiction book For Underdogs Only, is the school’s sole journalism teacher. In journalism students write about their personal interests, cover stories on global issues, or even write stories about home. Whether it’s covering sports, clubs, or even students, journalism juggles it all. Mrs. Robinson explains the primary reason for applying journalism back into Tustin High curriculum is that she  “felt that the students needed a voice. I’m really interested in giving creative kids an outlet.”

Mrs. Robinson encountered some difficulties when trying to reestablish a journalism class, however. She explains that she “worked for about 20 hours on getting the class approved by the UC (University of California). That was the most difficult thing. The principal was on board last year when I told him about it. He was excited. I was just worried.  Was the class gonna fail? But when I got two classes, it was a win.” Mrs. Robinson talks about her childhood and how writing was a huge part of it. She even mentions some of her professional work. Robinson confides that, “I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I wrote stories and plays and wrote in high school for the paper and yearbook.”  Mrs. Robinson always knew she wanted to be a writer.  She has an extensive background in journalism, however, in the end she made a career out of teaching and writing on the side.

Today, she’s an accomplished teacher pursuing her goals, teaching English Honors to incoming freshmen, enlightening their minds and strengthening their ideals. Coming up on 12 years here at Tustin, she’s a dedicated Tiller. Among her many accomplishments, she is now teaching her passion for journalism as well as her regular classes. You’re encouraged to come by and pay her a visit, whether it be to talk or to join one of her many classes.