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DEL.ICIO.USOn the Education Beat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A storyin the Columbia Journalism Review has generated some buzz in my profession. Basically, the author says we education reporters spend too much time transcribing the party lines from school district administrations and not enough time inside classrooms. That’s where we’ll find the real stories, she says.
Here’s an exerpt: “Ironically, just when some reporters are losing touch with their true subjects - children - many parents are becoming more curious about what exactly is happening in the classroom. In wealthier districts, so-called “helicopter parents” hover over every aspect of their children’s lives, scouring relevant reports as they groom their offspring for success in the world of high-stakes testing and college admissions. In low-income neighborhoods, parents rely on the media to help them negotiate the new rules and new tests, along with the new possibilities for tutoring or transferring as they angle to keep their children from being left behind. Both groups of parents want to know the difference between standards and standardized tests, between reading scores and real knowledge. But such stories don’t lend themselves to simple answers, and so are too often missed by reporters who come at the beat from the wrong end.”
I don’t spend as much time in the classroom as I would like, because I’m so busy with other aspects of this complex assignment. As important as it is to observe children learning to read, it’s also important to pressure the state to release the number of questions required to pass the state reading test. I spent a good bit of time doing just that last year. I’m not looking to blow my own horn or to get defensive, just to give an example of how I spend my time. I try to provide a mix of stories readers will take time to read.
I would love to hear from you. What do you look for in education stories? Do you want to read about what’s going on in classrooms? Do you want to read about what the school board is up to? How about the Georgia Department of Education? The Legislature? College admissions officers? What’s most important to you?
Comments
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By yesiamworried
March 14, 2005 04:04 PM | Link to this
What do I look for in education reporting. Much more than we get from the AJC. (sorry, no offense meant) Way to much time is spent covering test scores and other easy to digest stories.
Jen Sansbury’s story (about the AP courses in DeKalb) is a good example of what I would like to see more of. But I wonder if there will ever be a follow up story? Will the school board ever hold anyone accountable? Will the public ever know?
We don’t need to read an article about XYZ Elementary or ABC High School holding a carnival, talent show, or other event. Frankly, most of us are only interested in our schools and we should know about those events anyway.
Good reporting would ask hard questions, where is the SPLOST money going, why is Fulton on its upteenth superintendent, how much money are local school systems spending on legal defenses in special education cases?
I should be able to read the AJC and have a general feeling that I am getting a good picture of what is happening in education in Metro ATlanta. I realize the paper isn’t the same as the NYTimes, but check out their education section. Check out the Dallas Morning News, the LA Times, the Boston Globe, Washington Post and many other papers. Online they all have a link for education which takes you to articles related to education.
The paper likes to report the rankings of Georgia test scores, but not the heavy stuff. Can you tell you hit a nerve with me? The AJC could do a better job, make education the priority that it should be.
By Jen
March 14, 2005 04:46 PM | Link to this
I’d like to see more coverage of what goes on at the board meetings. You can learn a lot by paying attention to the open mike forums offered at the beginning of the meetings. Parents and teachers use this time to address issues the AJC education section might like to follow up on. Too often, the AJC picks up on a story weeks after it has been reported in the “little dailies” around the metro area. Also, the links on the county sections are outdated.
By Jen
March 14, 2005 04:48 PM | Link to this
I’d like to see more coverage of what goes on at the board meetings. You can learn a lot by paying attention to the open mike forums offered at the beginning of the meetings. Parents and teachers use this time to address issues the AJC education section might like to follow up on. Too often, the AJC picks up on a story weeks after it has been reported in the “little dailies” around the metro area. Also, the links on the county sections are outdated. I read the education section of the Washington Post regularly and I get much more out of that as a high school teacher than the AJC’s education section.
By Richard
March 14, 2005 04:49 PM | Link to this
My favorite stories are those that deal with “people” issues; stories about students, teachers, administrators, parents, etc. The CJR story acknowledges the complexity inherent in describing the day to day operations of even a single public school. However, I think that the best stories are those that connect at a personal level to convey things that are happening at a higher level. Who doesn’t know a teacher? Who hasn’t been a student? Stories about students and classrooms should speak to a wide range of people, but how often do we hear about what’s going on at that level? Most of the time you hear buzzwords like voucher, NCLB, performance pay, charter schools, and “smaller class size”. I agree that the media has mostly pursued a “top-down” approach to addressing the issues.
Specifically, I’d like to see more stories about good schools and what is working in other parts of the country. Sometimes it seems like there is a conspiracy aimed at keeping success stories out of the media to keep people from asking too many questions: “If they can do it, why can’t other schools?” “What is the secret of that school’s success?” “Why does this successful school have to fight so hard to keep its good practices from being crushed under the weight of a ginourmous bureaucracy?” (Ok, maybe people aren’t really asking that last one.)
I enjoyed the recent story about Capital View Elementary school , although I wish more was said about what teachers and administrators there attribute the school’s success to. (It sounds like they have a good principal.)
By Chloe
March 15, 2005 10:38 AM | Link to this
In all the times that I have read the commentary from various parents (specifically African American) in the South DeKalb area concerning the CRCT testing, never have I heard anyone speak up FOR the testing. I feel that I have held my tongue long enough and will now speak on WHY I am FOR the CRCT, just as I am for kids wearing uniforms. My child is 9 years old and in the 4th grade. As African Americans, I feel that it is time for us to stop blaming the “system” for our childrens short falls, and start taking responsibility for their education. Why do we feel that our children are not capable of learning on much higher levels of education. Why do we feel that sending out kids (I went to Briarcliff on M to M) will get a better education at white schools instead of forcing it to become better in OUR schools? A lot of the kids my daughters age, are parents that are my age and younger. Some, not all, are still busy trying to party and go out during the week to Visions and Dragon Fly and the Havana Club, instead of making sure your kids are cracking open a book. We are letting Xbox, Playstation, BET, and MTVCribs take up valuable time that should be spent studying!!! A lot of times we don’t know when our kids have homework, projects or essays due, because we don’t take the time to ask. Yes, our kids look WONDERFUL in their Ecko Red, Sean John, LRG, State Property, Fubu and whatever else…but can they read? Can they formulate sentences that don’t have dim, doz, and dat rhet dere in it? Yes, we do work a lot more than we did in early times…and yes, we do have crazy hours and demanding jobs…but at the same time, we are sacrificing our kids education and blaming everyone but us. We need to stop trying to be our childrens FRIEND, and start parenting. And stop NOT believing in our children. Read to your kids…have them read to you…when they say they are bored…don’t ignore them…have them read a book. Don’t look for word of mouth as a means of passing along information on the Michael Jackson or Nichol’s case…pass them the newspaper and tell them to read it…and then tell them to give you feedback on it as to the what when and why. Our kids are BRILLIANT! Don’t let them down by underestimating their abilities.
By V. Beasley
March 15, 2005 11:05 AM | Link to this
I agree with yesiamworried and Richard. The reporting could be a lot better and it is a “top down” approach.
I would like to see the stories move beyond just identifying problems about policy issues into offering reasonable alternatives and solutions provided by teachers on the “front line”. This should include accounts of their daily challenges and interaction with students, parents, and administrators. I’m more interested in a “bottom up” “let’s fix it” reporting approach. Solutions and opinions should not be left entirely to the editorial staff.
For example, I would like to see cameras in the classroom. We should at least try a pilot project to determine it’s effectiveness. The AJC could do a story and provide a poll of readers to show how many would be in favor and against it. The reports could then become a catalyst for policy formation.
Just food for thought.
By Helen
March 15, 2005 11:48 AM | Link to this
I agree with the comment about coverage of school board meetings. I learned quite a bit at the couple I have been able to attend.
What I would really like to see included with articles is specific recommendations and ideas on how to help my kids succeed in school. Things that parents can do. I have been told a zillion times that you should read to your kids and have them read to you. I have done this for many years and even though my husband and I role model this behavior, my kids are still not very interested in it. They read because they have to, not for enjoyment like we do.
My son has a learning disability and the special education teachers are great about giving us little tips and tricks to help him learn. In layman’s terms, I would like to know more about specific things I can do to help my children learn.
By ms.rogers
March 15, 2005 01:17 PM | Link to this
WWAT IS GOING ON IN THE CLASSROOMS!!!!??
By Bruce R
March 15, 2005 01:28 PM | Link to this
I enjoy hearing about success stories as well as the problem areas. Two articles which were informative and encouraging were the “Youth Challenge Student” and the “Schools within schools.”
Fault finding is the lesser half of the story. Good realistic solutions is the greater half!
By lynn
March 16, 2005 08:30 AM | Link to this
I would love to see summaries of each school board meeting at least in the Thursday sections
I also agree with many other posters that the AJC’s coverage needs more depth. A very large percentage of Georgian’s taxes go to fund education, in my opinion there should rarely be a day when there isn’t one substative article in the metro or front section about education. And by substative, I don’t mean negative (although I am sure there are plenty of those types of stories around) but I also don’t mean a story about who was elected homecoming queent either.
With all this talk about open records in Georgia in the AJC this week, the paper needs to do a better job following up (as suggested by several others on this panel) on who is held accountable for snafus and what happens to them.
I remember a story a few years ago that the AJC did about bus drivers with records. The drivers were all fired, but not the people that had hired them to begin with. Outrageous! Never saw a word about that part of the story in the paper.
By Angela
March 18, 2005 01:31 PM | Link to this
I’d like to see the results of different focus group discussions such as average high school students, regular classroom teachers, AP teachers, Special Ed parents, Special Ed teachers, principals. I’d like to know from average high school students what their school experience has been like. How often did they feel they were an individual that their teachers cared about? Did they feel it mattered how they did at school? etc. Could the school have done anything differently to make them work harder? From regular teachers, do they feel dumped on because AP, gifted, and special ed classes are smaller? Do they get support from the principals in discipline issues? What kind of professional development would help them? There are always complaints on Special ed issues, so let’s ask both sides for their views. Talk to a group of dropouts and find out why they dropped out. Would they still make the same decision? Did their parents know they were dropping out? I’d like to see a local version of national studies such as the Levine study on colleges of education that just came out. I’ve heard before that students in teacher programs have lower than average SAT scores. Is that true? Bringing the kind of stories the bloggers have mentioned would require the paper to devote more reporters and resources to education, but I think subscribers wuld find it valuable.