Why education reporting is REALLY so boring

*This is good. I agree that education reporting could use a kick-start. But reporting thrives on conflict, and positive stories don’t get the same reader attention as problems, crime and general mayhem. I do notice, thought, that inner-city schools, where most Latinos live, get the lion’s share of negative press. More affluent schools get most of the positive attention. We can complain that it isn’t fair, but it’s the prevailing narrative. That’s why this piece is important. VL

By Ray Salazar, The White Rhino

An associate education editor at the Atlantic wrote a piece today explaining why education reporting is so boring.  Alia Wong explains that it’s because of the words.

“Edu-speak—the incomprehensible babble used to describe what are often relatively straightforward teaching methods, learning styles, and classroom designs is plaguing the country’s schools.”

Instead of helping everyone understand education, edu-speak “muddles.”

Words matter.  As a 20-year educator with a passion for teaching writing, I know.  I, too, raise my eyebrows in disdain when I hear ridiculous syntax or terminology.  If a sentence, for example, has four or more elements in a comma series, I know there’s no focus.  If I get something that talks about “inequitable valuation,” I don’t even care to ask for clarification.

The Atlantic piece stands largely as a commentary on education reporting and, therefore, education reporters.  While reporters’ sincere efforts to seek truth and report it are mostly well intentioned, I’m going to agree with Alia Wong: education reporting is boring.  Here are four more reasons Wong’s education piece overlooked.

1. We know the plot; we know the ending.

Education articles tell the story of struggling urban schools that are always struggling.  Some efforts are made to improve the learning conditions but, in the end, the schools continue to struggle.  Many education reporters aim to uncover the racial and social inequities for readers.  But readers know them.

READ MORE HERE

This article was originally published in The White Rhino.

Since 1995, Ray has been an English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. In 2003, Ray earned an M.A. in Writing, with distinction, from DePaul University. In 2009, he received National Board Certification. His writing aired on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio many times and have been published in the Chicago Tribune and CNN. For thirty years, Ray lived in Chicago’s 26th Street neighborhood. Today, he lives a little more south and a little more west in the city with his wife, son, and daughter.