School Board News

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Back in the Stone Age, when journalists used something called a typewriter, I was always pleased when my editors asked me to write about a newly released “report” on education.

I thought it was easy work: All I had to do was pull information from the two-page summary and press release that accompanied the report—and perhaps call some “expert” for a quote.

But now I’m older—and, I hope, a little wiser.

Earlier this week, I came across a British study that purportedly blamed schools for dooming young boys to a lifetime of “crime, drugs, and prison.” Schools, summarized a story in the Tele-graph, were failing to properly educate poor young boys, leaving them to become “misfits and criminals” when they grew up.

My initial reaction was, “Aha! A report that says schools are to blame for society’s woes. That sounds like politically inspired nonsense. Perhaps here’s an opportunity to write about bad research with exaggerated, ideologically based biases.”

A bit of a knee-jerk reaction, I admit. But my impression was reinforced by other media accounts, as well as some of the publicity material produced by the Centre for Policy Studies, the London-based think tank that released the report, Wasted: The Betrayal of White Working Class and Black Caribbean Boys.

Alas, I long ago learned you actually should read a report before you write about it. And thus were squashed my plans for a brief diatribe about bad research.

Oh, the report—based on interviews with educators at British schools—won’t win any awards for the quality of its methodology. It’s not brimming with new data. There is a bit of ideological slant in the writing, and it glosses over the government policies that the author criticizes.

It does, in fact, go a bit over the deep end at times, with its decidedly pessimistic portrayal of what schoolchildren face—and its harsh criticism of the British education system. I’d be surprised if British education was in the desperate straits that the author sometimes seems to suggest.

That said, author Harriet Sergeant, a research fellow at the British think tank, offers a thoughtful perspective on the challenges and failures of the British education system—and, through anecdotes and personal stories, highlights the human tragedy that threatens too many poor young boys who are not succeeding academically.

Many of her conclusions will sound quite familiar to what’s said about the American education system:

• Schools aren’t as successful in educating the poorest students or closing the achievement gap between poor and affluent students.

• As young boys fall behind academically, they’re at great risk of dropping out or getting involved in drugs or criminal behavior.

• Discipline in some classrooms are poor, and when adults have low expectations for academic performance, students suffer.

• Teacher colleges still aren’t always doing the job, and a “stubborn core” of poor teaching is holding back progress in too many schools.

• School policymakers are guilty of being swept up in educational fads, and they are not holding themselves accountable for their role in school failures.

• Something needs to be done to fix the problem and save these young boys.

In the end, there’s not a lot new in this report. It’s also guilty of a bit of hyperbole and political diatribe.

So why do I share this with you? Because the report’s anecdotal findings—and the passion of the author’s arguments—are worth a read. You won’t agree with all of it, and not all of it is relevant to American educators.

But some of the personal stories are heartbreaking, and every once in a while, you need to be reminded of what’s at stake in your work to help educate society’s poorest students.

Del Stover, Senior Editor