‘ROUNDING THE GLOBE’-13: Critical Analysis of Boston Globe Education Coverage
Is a new day dawning at my morning newspaper?
Yesterday, this blogger who, like his many education reform nemeses, means only to do good in this world, took a sacred pledge not to mention Diane Ravitch for several weeks. That was my sincere intention, but after one whole day I have fallen off the wagon. It isn’t easy to give up an obsession, but my struggle was made more difficult by the appearance today of a long-awaited Larry Harmon column on… herself.
I took the pledge following a criticism by a fellow blogger who wrote, “We get it already!”…enough with Ravitch. That criticism actually led me to reflect on the cause of my obsession. Here it is: given Ravitch’s stature and coverage by other major papers, I didn’t see how the Globe could simply ignore the news of her turnaround. If ever they were going to cover a dissenting view on education as news this was it.
I guess I was right. Though the paper couldn’t bring itself to cover her recent Boston talks in the news columns, Larry Harmon did have a bylined column today about Ravitch. (I do not claim to understand how Harmon serves as a faceless oracle with his unsigned education editorials one day and then as a bylined columnist the next, but that’s another matter. Is it possible that one day the columnist will attack the editorial writer? Stay tuned. The Globe seems to be going all-Harmon all the time, while reform critics cry in their beer and paper their walls with rejection notices).
By the way, let me again acknowledge Joan Vennoci’s excellent Ravitch-based column that appeared earlier. That was a real “breadth-of-fresh-air” and a departure from the usual Globe line.
Still, let us give Larry Harmon credit. Ravitch’s views must taste like castor oil to him, but he drank it all the way down, kept a stiff upper lip, and summarized her main points. He was fair in the main, though somewhat misleading about her praise of Massachusetts standards, which she did not feel should be linked to high-stakes tests. The point of this column was less to engage Ravitch in debate than to dismiss her in the last two paragraphs. But that’s his right. That Harmon felt he needed to write about Ravitch-who, after all, cannot be dismissed as a nut or a hack-and recognize her policy turnaround as a significant event speaks well of him. It took a while to for him get there but get there he got.
So let’s set a fresh clock for the Globe op ed page and see if a new day has indeed dawned for that starved public forum. We will know if a Globe turnaround has arrived by observing whether dissenters are allowed to express their views in their own words and to develop arguments that lead to their own printed conclusions.
I now resume my pledge.
Should we all write editorials in and see if they get printed?
Did you happen to catch this?
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p> Teachers federation boycotts program
Education fund decision may jeopardize grants
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p>Massachusetts set a high bar for a school district to participate in the competition, requiring the superintendent, school committee chairman, and union president to sign a memorandum of understanding to pursue dramatic educational changes, as outlined by the state. State education leaders told dozens of districts they could not participate because they did not get a union signature.
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p>The loss of signatures this time around could be disastrous, some observers said. With Massachusetts ranking 13th out of 16 finalists in the first round, a reduction in just a few points on any part of the next application could make the difference between receiving money or not, especially as other states strengthen their proposals.
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p>State education officials said they may rethink their decision to require a union signature from local districts, not wanting to lose the chance for grants for some of the state’s most academically challenged districts where school overhauls are imperative.