Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > August > 20 > Entry
Houston, we have an edblog!
Well, a couple weeks ago one of the best MSM education bloggers, Matthew Pinzur who writes Gradebook for the Miami Herald, announced he will soon switch beats to cover Miami city hall — another challenging job — leaving open the question of whether Gradebook would survive. That was a bummer.
But I have some good news. A new major MSM education blog appeared last week in Texas.
It’s called School Zone and it’s written by the education reporters and editors at the Houston Chronicle.
The Chronicle, which was named the “best blogging newspaper” earlier this year by a team of reviewers led by Jay Rosen (NYU professor and PressThink blogger), is an important addition to the edusphere, I think, given the key role Houston has played in national education politics as the birthplace of the ideas that gave us No Child Left Behind.
School Zone (I think they owe the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a nod for bogarting their ed blog’s name) is off to a strong start. For a taste, check out this commentary by education editor Jason Spencer, who takes on schools that blame a small group of kids for their low state ratings.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Journalism
Comments
By Oldprof
August 21, 2006 8:07 PM | Link to this
But Mary, if we tell the parents of the 25% of children who do poorly in a good system that the schools are excellent, they’re likely to mumble profanities and return to substance abuse. Even the best teacher knows that there’s a number of students who will resist learning no matter what you do. Those are the children who inevitably will be “left behind”—having already been put in that position by their parents and society as a whole.By Mary
August 21, 2006 7:39 AM | Link to this
It is just as bad that the public, not just parents, also swallow the “excellent” ratings, even though as many as 25% of the students do not pass the minimum standards. Tell the parents (as many as one in four) whose child is struggling that their school district is simply “excellent”. Also, speaking of small groups of students, tell the parents that selective sports teams fights obesity and drugs (ha!), teaches leadership, and is good for college resumes, and scholarships while the vast majority of students are not allowed on the team or allowed to play. I sometimes think of school leadership as the oldtime snake-oil salesmen in their public relations campaigns. Why do school districts bother to plaster “excellent” school ratings everywhere? Does this really help education or is the public being brainwashed for passing levies?