No Education Reporter Left Behind Manifesto
Al Magary, an sfschools alumni, passed along this interesting article, The Secret of the Education Beat:
As I prepare to return to journalism, I keep thinking about how to cure education-reporter myopia and cover the reality of schools. Here are some thoughts:Good advice. I'l try and keep it in mind as I write this blog. Thanks Al.
- Cover what the kids and the best teachers are talking about -- avoid the agenda of the district’s flack.
- Spend a few days in a school, even volunteering as a mentor/writing teacher (but be honest and constantly remind everyone you’re really a reporter).
- Follow the money. Plenty of education software, test-prep tools and other gimmicks impress taxpayers, but much of it is junk.
- Speaking of money, many schools do waste it by the bucketful. That’s news worth investigating. But some schools are socked by the soaring costs of the basics. At budget time, ask what a district spends on heating and health insurance. Then ask what special education services that must be provided because of federal laws and pressure from parents’ lawyers.
- Don’t be hemmed in by artificial constraints like county lines. Why not look at innovative programs in middle schools throughout your readership or viewership area?
- Write about parents, parents, parents. You can usually judge a school by its parents. If they’re involved, the school probably will have higher standards. What can poorly performing schools do to draw in parents?
3 Comments:
welcome back Al!
Eric
I would add -- NEVER believe "it's a miracle!" hype. Just the number of education reporters and pundits who have made fools of themselves falling for Edison Schools and other fads could make up a significant army (maybe they should be sent to boot camp as penance). As a corollary, The Daily Howler blog routinely dissects stories in major MSM gushing about some supposed success story that turns out to be bogus, written by reporters who didn't crunch the numbers or didn't understand them. I have to add wistfully that it sure would be nice to read about an ACTUAL miracle or even significant success story. But unfortunately, if you read about it in MSM education coverage, it's all but guaranteed to be illusory.
I feel Education reporters really need to have their facts straight and togther, their work is really important and relevant. For instance the reporter who responded about the Judge who supports Bush in No Child Left Behind rulinghad to make sure his facts were correct and well documented. His story raised a question in my mind, "Can America afford to leave even one child behind in the new world of global competition?" Nationally, it has been accused by many school administrators that the No Child Left Behind policy has been under funded. The issue is now beginning to be presented in various courts throughout the country, the accusation is that school districts have been shortchanged $27 billion dollars, which is the supposed difference between the amount Congress authorized and what it has spent in regards to the ‘No Child Left Behind’(NCLB) policy. NCLB issues individual school report cards based on results of test scores, attendance, graduation rate, number of highly qualified teachers and school improvement status.
These are measures designed to try to improve accountability for education in America. Recently it has been brought to court that the program is being shortchanged by the government. Another issue circulating is the talk of a bill developing from House-Senate negotiations, which would cut more than 3% of the funding for the NCLB program. Our president was partially elected on his platform of education and education reform, he must stay true to his word and make sure the program is properly funded and maintained so that our young children in America are prepared for the new and emerging global marketplace. The most important part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (PL 107-110) is the reauthorization of a number of federally funded programs designed to improve the performance of America's primary and secondary schools by increasing the standards of accountability for states, school districts, and schools.
Raymond B
www.voteswagon.com
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