News: Interview
John Merrow
On the Education Beat

This veteran journalist and former teacher talks about what it takes to get quality media coverage on today's critical education issues.

For 25 years, reporter John Merrow has covered every education issue from accountability to vouchers. A former correspondent for "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour," Merrow has also taught at the high school and college level-and in a federal prison. The creator of the PBS series "Your Children, Our Children," he now hosts "The Merrow Report," a documentary series on youth and learning broadcast on PBS, National Public Radio, and even the Internet. Merrow recently spoke with NEA Today's Anita Merina.

Q: How has education reporting changed since you first entered journalism?
Education reporting is much better now. There are more reporters and more dedication to the beat. It's no longer seen as the stepping stone to "better" reporting assignments. With so many things going on, education has become an exciting beat.

Reporting has gotten better because of the Internet--we're all connected. It's so much easier to post a query about who to talk to about urban schools or where to find educators working on a particular topic. I recently asked for schools to feature in one of my series and got 10 responses right away.

Q: With so many stories on standards, vouchers, and charter schools, are reporters on the right track?
Often, yes. But education reporters are no different than political or news reporters. There's a pack mentality, and we probably distort or go overboard sometimes and miss stories. I could list a number of stories that haven't been done well.

Q: Such as?
We're not reporting standards very well. There is this narrow push for standards, translating into higher scores. But I think we're sacrificing kids and teachers on the altar of accountability when you have a curriculum that says, on this date, you must be on page 8. We get into these rigid prescriptive behaviors in part because we don't agree or know how to measure the outcomes.

I've not seen a thorough analysis of the time and money spent on testing. We'll report on the test scores, but rarely on the conditions of the test. Are the results there because it's just a new test no one's used to? There's a certain tension around that.

Q: What about the criticism that "good news" stories aren't being reported?
I disagree with that perception and often feel that those who say that have thin skin. I think 80 percent of the reporting is good story reporting.

But reporters get fed up, too. Superintendents and district public relations people send us a story about a great program, and we find it's only six weeks old. They want the fluff and want it yesterday. Part of it comes from that stock market mentality, the demand for instant results to boost a school's image.

On the other hand, reporters need to spend more time in schools and classrooms. If I were a teacher or superintendent, I'd ask the reporter to come in and spend a day or more at the school--see how it works, get to know the staff and students, and see what really happens. That's how a reporter finds the good stories. Invite reporters in, and perhaps the general public will finally see through their eyes.

Q: Has teaching made you a better reporter?
I hope I'm more sympathetic to the challenges of teaching. I'm certainly more understanding of how the system often puts barriers in the way. My experiences teaching taught me that the system wants control more than anything else. I can understand that in a prison, but in a school?

Just because I'm a former teacher, doesn't mean I can't learn a few things about today's teachers. The most brutal reminder came a couple of years ago when I did a story on Philadelphia superintendent David Hornbeck. I offered to take over the class of a fifth grade teacher so she could film a segment with Hornbeck. When I did, the students ate me alive. I did all the wrong things.

If reporters or the general public could walk in and do the same thing, they'd know what the teaching life is like.

Q: What are you working on now?
My new series--"In Search for Excellence"--actually has me playing a detective. I'm looking for the characteristics of excellent schools, and each segment will feature a different one.

We'll take an issue--school safety for example--and explore what makes a truly safe school. We'll show a school that's not just physically safe but psychologically safe as well, where kids aren't harassed or taunted and it's psychologically safe to make mistakes. We'll cover the same ground on academics and the physical environment.

We're arguing that "good enough" is the enemy of excellence. Not all "award-winning schools" have what I'd call excellence in all areas.

Another of my great joys is the high school curriculum that I've created with an economist and several teachers. We'd been bemoaning the irrelevance of high school curriculum and came up with three CDs that challenge students to create businesses, perform economic analyses, and create business plans. The CDs have been used at a Baltimore high school to great success.

After 25 years, I still feel I really have the greatest job. I cover a field that's always changing, and I'm always finding more to do.

Resources

• "The Merrow Report" is available on video and audiocassette. Free resource guides for parents, teachers, and policy-makers accompany each program. To order, 212/725-7000.

• You can also access "The Merrow Report" and other Learning Matters productions on the Web. You'll find online transcripts, ordering information, and a calendar of upcoming segments. Go to www.pbs.org/merro