Fighting Chance? Students Investigate Middle School Violence

John Hopkins Middle School | St. Petersburg, FL

8th-grade producer De’Qonton Davis is profiled in this PBS NewsHour report.

Below, De’Qonton writes about how journalism has made a difference in his life and in his schoolwork.

Photography and journalism have made me a different person. 

For the first time, I love telling stories because I can express myself through photos. It makes me want to come to school every day, and it has given me something that I’m really good at.

I like being able to tell stories without using words. I like being able to tell people things that are important in my life.

That’s how I came up with the idea of fights as the theme for our PBS NewsHour  project. They happen around me, in my neighborhood and at school. I thought it was important to tell this story because it shows people that when you do something in the neighborhood, it affects the school. It’s important for people to understand why this happens (frustration, anger and problems at home) because if we don’t understand it, we could never solve the situation or problem.

Taking photographs is like a meditating process for me; it lets me relax and no one is telling me to do this or do that.

I’m proud of my work. Seeing my photos in print, and finishing this PBS project, makes me feel like I can do anything. I have come a long way and I can’t stop now.

Seeing my finished projects make me feel like a millionaire. 

 

This video was made with support from Kristine Kelly, program mentor from WEDU.