Friday, October 8, 2010
UPDATE: Newsweek reposts the charter-school story
Posted by Kevin Allman on Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 3:11 PM
That vanishing story about New Orleans charter schools and the lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)? That one?
It's back up on Newsweek.com — but with an addendum:
Editor's Note: When this article was originally published, we were unaware that the author is engaged to a lawyer for SPLC, although she is not working on the case in question. Had we known of this relationship, we would have disclosed it to our readers.
The author, Brentin Mock, who used to be employed by the SPLC, is engaged to Thena Robinson, an attorney currently working for the SPLC. In July, Robinson issued a statement on a joint lawsuit filed by the SPLC and the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana against the Recovery School District:
This case is symptomatic of a diseased school culture that treats students like criminals. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the nation and RSD schools are conditioning students for prison—-rather than college. Hopefully RSD officials will truly embrace the mantle of education reform and take immediate steps to end these unlawful practices and make our client whole.
Ben Adler, Mock's editor at Newsweek, still hasn't returned Gambit's emails.
Speaking of...
-
SPLC on jail building closure: "Tragically, this incremental reform occurred only after the abusive conditions at OPP destroyed countless lives"
Group applauds HOD closure but calls for "additional reforms to better protect the community and save taxpayer dollars."
- Apr 11, 2012
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Modern-day segregationists
Where does Bobby Jindal stand on Louisiana's latest incarnation of segregation laws? His answer — or non-answer — could shape his budding national ambitions.
- Apr 7, 2012
- More »
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
I'm glad to see the story back up. Although there is a question of conflict of interest for the reporter, the issue this brings up is of extreme importance. I am dyslexic as was a special needs student myself. I know the impact that proper accommodations can make on a student with disabilities.
While I went through elementary school and middle school with tolerable IEPs, when I got to high school, I had none other than the option to pursue what I like to call a fake diploma. I dropped out of high school after my second attempt at the ninth grade.
However, I eventually earned my GED and went to college. With the proper accommodations and counseling not only did I succeed at Delgado Community College, I transferred to Loyola University and graduated as a member of the Sigma Tau Delta national honor society.
The proper accommodations for special needs students makes a huge difference in success or failure, and the record of charters with respect to special needs students must be highlighted as we march with our heads in the clouds towards more privatization of our school system.
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This is a blatant case of conflict of interest by a "reporter" literally in bed with the publicity hunting SPLC. This outfit is using kids and parents for their own end. There is no lawsuit. There is a complaint. The truth is that iN each of the cases, school personnel worked tirelessly to provide services to the children. What SPLC is doing is shameful. That Newsweek would allow itself to be used as a tool for this organization's propaganda is embarrassing.
Again, there is too much of a "shoot the messenger" mentality here, and not enough investigation regarding the actual legal complaint made. Even if Newsweek has printed what could be an effective press release from the SPLC (who, truth be told, filed this complaint back in the summer), what does that matter if their numbers are accurate? What does it matter if the law is actually being violated?
Do we ignore what could very well be a glaring problem with this system because the author was close with the case? Examine the numbers on their own merit. This isn't the first time these concerns have been raised, after all, it is only the first time they've been raised to a national audience.
A national audience that has, to date, been presented nothing but the other side of the story so far - from the very same Newsweek.
@Pat: we rarely here complaints of the cozy relationships members of the mainstream media have with government officials, especially in Washington, where essential press releases and talking points are repeated verbatim by journalists with out any critical evaluation. We went to war in Iraq on considerably less evidence than what Brentin Mock presents us in the Newsweek article.
However, when citizens groups are the main source for news articles we hear all about the cozy relationships reporters have with their sources. This "conflict of interest" rule and the "full disclosure" rule is hardly ever weighed evenly.
While I don't advocate cozy relationships between reporter and source, I am really sick of the hypocrisy on the issue. We actually got valuable important info from Mr Mock. And while he may have a specific point of view to advocate for, it is no worse than most magazine features. He did get the opposing view into his article, even if he still came off in favor of the SPLC's point of view.
None of Mr Mock's critics have demonstrated any flaw to the data he presents. None have criticized the actual content of the article. The only thing we are left with are personal attacks against Mock. Those personal attacks do not show a deficiency in the article's content, even if they show a deficiency in Mock's professional judgment.
The issue of proper accommodations for disabled students is too important to write off to perceived or actual biases of those bringing attention to the failure to properly accommodate those students.
The truth isn't an evenhanded thing. It is extremely biased. Those who tell the truth are just as biased as liars. The difference between a biased truth-teller and a biased liar is that one has truth on his side.
The truth doesn't support the idea that tobacco is harmless, or that the universe was created 6,000 years ago, or that dinosaurs roamed the earth with cavemen, or that the world is flat.
If I am part of an organization that advocates for the idea that tobacco is harmlful, or that the universe is billions of years old, or that dinosaurs died our millions of years before the first humans appeared on earth or that the world is round, I am biased. However, at the very same time, I am 100% correct.
Of course journalists should disclose their conflicts of interest. But such conflicts don't necessarily make them wrong.
