| Above: Quit rates are actually quite low for educators, notes U.S. Newsâ story Half of Teachers Say Theyâre Thinking About Quitting, But Will They?.đ°Â  ABOUT THOSE JOB-HATING, CAREER-QUITTING TEACHERS: There was way too much simplistic and alarmist coverage of teacher job dissatisfaction and resignations this week â the latest instance of coverage that tends to focus on educators, favors âsky is fallingâ narratives about teachers, and treats flawed data and motivated sources without sufficient skepticism. But it wasnât all bad. A handful of education reporters including Matt Barnum and Rebecca Klein took note of the coverage problems, reminding readers (and colleagues) that survey responses are a far cry from actual job quits. U.S. News put out a strong piece, noting that the available job-quitting numbers donât match the survey results.
đ°Â  PUBLIC EDUCATION IN CRISIS? Lots of folks admired the recent Washington Post story exploring the many ways in which public education is facing a crisis, and for good reason. In particular, the story points out that a large number of kids were abandoned by and disengaged from school during the pandemic â and many students have not yet returned.
However, it should be noted that many of the challenges described in the piece predate the pandemic, are likely to be short-lasting, or appear to be at least partially self-inflicted. The piece highlights Republican politicization of education issues, downplaying Democratic politics that are just as noteworthy. And â as Angry Brooklyn Mom has noted â the piece seems to buy into the “there were no good choices” narrative favored by many education folks. But thatâs not necessarily the case, according to some (including me).
If schools are truly in crisis, itâs at least partly a crisis of their own making. And, to modify a question from the Fordham Foundationâs Chester Finn, whatâs the proper perspective from which to report on schools: the systemâs perspective or the perspective of those for whose benefit it exists?
đ°Â STARTING WITH BLACK FAMILIES: Inadequate education coverage is one of the key reasons cited for the creation of Capital B, a new outlet written by Black journalists with a focus on the Black community. âIt took a really, really, really long time in the evolution of the âcritical race theoryâ conversation for mainstream news organizations to say, âOh, what does a Black family think about this?ââ said editorial director Simone Sebastian in a Washington Post article. âIt will be our job at Capital B to ask that question from the very beginning.â
đ°Â  NOT EVERYTHING IS A BOOK BAN: âReporters, if you say a book has been banned, be clear,â urges Spokane (Wash.) reporter Daniel Walters. âThere’s a big difference between, say, removing all the Goosebumps books from the school library and deciding that âSay Cheese and Die!â should not be required for student photography class credit.â He lists a spectrum of limitations from removing a title from a mandatory list to an outright ban.
đ°Â  WHEN A CORRECTION IS SO BIG IT REQUIRES A RETRACTION: The WSJ had to correct a teacher quit story that was so bad that it probably should have been retracted. The original version claimed that “the rate of people quitting jobs in education rose more than in any other industry in 2021.” But that turned out not to be true. The corrected version: “The rate of people quitting jobs in PRIVATE educational services rose more than in any other industry in 2021.” (Caps mine.) Corrections are good. Journalists should fight them less and make them more often. But when the correction guts the premise of the piece, the piece just has to go.
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