Timothy Slekar here writes a scathing condemnation of Education Week, our K-12 journal of record, for acting as an uncritical mouthpiece for the Common Core State Standards.
Slekar says:
“Other than some of the blogs, EdWeek’s so called “news” is nothing more than propaganda for the corporate reformers. I pointed it out before, EdWeek and its reporters either are clueless about the difference between advocacy organizations that push propaganda and peer review research outlets or they (EdWeek and its reporters) have been purchased by the corporate reformers and have sold out their journalistic integrity.”
I hesitate to criticize Education Week because I had free rein to voice my views when I was a blogger there. Deborah Meier and I exchanged weekly letters at “Bridging Differences,” and I often wrote strong columns about corporate reform, privatization, and the disasters caused by NCLB and Race to the Top. No one ever censored what I wrote.
But I too have noticed that Education Week has become a cheerleader , not only for the Common Core, but for technology and corporate interests. As it regularly discloses, Education Week is subsidized by the Gates Foundation, which is heavily invested in the Common Core standards. Corporate sponsorship matters.
EdWeek doesn’t just report on the conferences of for-profit enterprises, it joins as a sponsor of them. I presented at the EdGrowth Summit in New York City a few weeks ago, and the participants were mostly entrepreneurs. Education Week was one of the sponsors, along with a long list of vendors and wannabe for-profit enterprises.
Its annual reports celebrate the corporate engagement in public education, with nary a critical voice to be found. The latest one is all about the use of educational technology, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how it is implemented. But wouldn’t it be good journalism to ask one of the high-tech stars like Jaron Lanier (who wrote “You Are Not a Gadget”) or some of the other skeptics to pose some questions and challenges about the mad rush to go digital?
More and more media outlets are being subsidized by corporate interests. When I visited a state on the eastern seaboard a few months ago, a reporter from the state’s public television station told me that they no longer do any investigative journalism because their agenda is compromised by their funding.
This is a worrisome trend. The Common Core standards are controversial. Their flaws should be fully dissected. It is not good journalism to write about them uncritically and to ignore those who question their value and warn of the problems they create.
Value-added assessment is controversial. Give equal time to its critics.
So, to my friends at Education Week, consider this column not an attack, but well-intended words of wisdom from those who want you to be a fearless bastion of journalistic integrity.
We don’t want you to take sides.
We want you to be nonpartisan, fair, and objective.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I removed myself from the email list because of all the awful Common Core “PD Opportunities” that kept filling my inbox. I quit reading EdWeek because there were too many authors with conflicts of interest, too many sponsored whitepapers, and too few examples of critical thought on the pages. They truly have become nothing more than a propaganda machine for the Ed Deformers.
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It’s a grab for money by corporations and control and repression by our govt. How convenient for them.
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As a follow up: since I got rid of EdWeek, I am planning to subscribe to Rethinking Schools.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml
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Diane, I was glad to read your words, “Corporate sponsorship matters.” In writing the NCTQ series, I have found advisory board members at different “places” in what I believe is a sure transition toward the views of their funding sources. In my home state of Louisiana, one of the neighboring school districts, Jefferson Parish, just accepted funding from Gates. It is the first district in Louisiana to do so, and even though the administrators try to frame the donation as good for the district, I hear the death knell afar off for anything educational of which Gates does not approve.
Is all of this corporate and foundation “sponsorship” really any different than leaving the money on the nightstand the morning after?
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Precisely why I stay confused as an educator who stepped back in this year (having taught for 15 years before I took a few years off to have a baby) because all around me the sweeping changes seem to be commonly accepted. I hear things from people above me like “it’s not going away;” “this is coming and we can’t stop it;” “this is the new way it is.” These messages are delivered from people’s mouths in a kind of oppositional, prophetic manner (albeit I have heard a few who it is obvious have seen trends come and go and they are able to separate themselves from the message in a way that lets me know they have some questions themselves). I find myself, while not arguing, wondering if some higher ups are trying to convince themselves, having heard the same thing from their superiors. It’s puzzling.
At this point I feel like a kid (having experienced this) whose parents are splitting up because at least one has had an indiscretion (at least of the heart) and there is nothing I can do but accept it, adjust who I am to the new reality without losing who I am, and moving forward in a way that considers the next generation and how I can instill values even when I cannot change things being handed down to me. Offsetting confusion with serenity (for mental health) while remaining professional and most importantly focused on teaching well and being a positive role model for the sweet 450 children I see each week who are eager to learn and excited about school. And of course those of us who pray throw that in too.
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per prayer, I meant on our own time–not while teaching. 🙂
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How sad you have to say that
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“When I visited a state on the eastern seaboard a few months ago, a reporter from the state’s public television station told me that they no longer do any investigative journalism because their agenda is compromised by their funding.”
One of our NPR (Gates subsidized money) outlets “public radio”, WAMU-FM (88.5) and its reporter, Kavitha Cardoza is just one step away from being a PR shrill for DCPS, education reform, and Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson. Makes me mad. I remember the debate about sponsorship and corporate ads and logos. I remember being told that public radio and TV wouldn’t be compromised. Right.
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The Corporate Virus now infects every level of our Corporate Owned Government (COGs) and every pseudopodium of and the Corporate Owned Media (COM).
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I guess I was not imagining things. I have noticed what I thought might be bias and pay less attention to EdWeek than years previous. Too bad.
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It’s been selling its soul out for YEARS. Where has the author been?
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I won’t be renewing now that Bridging Differences doesn’t include Diane. Hardly ever go there anymore. You are all right about the “sell-out”.
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I used to be an avid reader. No longer. Some corporation with an agenda must be footing their publishing bill or their writers are clueless about classrooms. I’d rather follow Diane anyway….so much more intelligent.
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I agree. I am about ready to drop my subscription. The article in yesterday’s Education Week celebrating paying teachers for “performance” (read: standardized tests, of course!) put me over the edge.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/06/20hanushek_ep.h32.html
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I also hardly ever read anything there anymore. And its biased coverage has gotten much worse in the past 18 months. About 2 years back I called about a particularly egregious bit of “reporting,” and it was explained that much like NPR, they have sponsored coverage. I hadn’t looked hard at the tiny; print at the bottom of the article.
Now — even our very small neighborhood newspaper is running right-wng “op-eds” by a fake think tank bashing public pensions.
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That is a bit how I feel about ASCD, too. They still have some very interesting articles in their journal, Educational Leadership, but there is a definite bias toward being a cheering squad for some reform initiatives.
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Thank you for the observation about ASCD. I cancelled my subscription this year, but sadly did not cancel the one to that propaganda piece Education Week. Ed Week, with the exception of Anthony Cody, gets worse by the day. And really? They let Rick Hess promote his book? How is that journalism? It is very hard not to find corporate-sponsored education news and white papers. White papers have somehow become fact, at least in New York.
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It’s time to call EdWeek out for who they are. We learned how talking nice to the Republican obstructionists in Congress went. Nowhere. It’s time to cut them off and move on. They are the other side of democracy.
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