The president's columns in state press-association newspapers and newsletters are usually "inside baseball," dealing mainly with subjects that interest editors and publishers, not their general readership. But in this month's column, Tennessee Press Association President Lynn J. Richardson, publisher of the Herald & Tribune in Jonesborough, a 4,200-circulation weekly, comes to the defense of the national Common Core Standards for mathematics, English and language arts, which have come under attack from some conservative groups.
A poll for the policy journal Education Next found that nearly two-thirds of respondents said they support the standards "at least to some extent, although there's been a significant uptick in the level of opposition to the standards over the past year," Andrew Ujifusa reports for Education Week.
"The standards seem to have become controversial. They shouldn’t be," Richardson writes in The Tennessee Press. "Opponents say the federal government is imposing its will on the curriculum in the 45 states that have adopted the standards. But the Common Core isn’t a curriculum. It is a set of clearly defined goals designed to make students more ready to continue their education or find a job when they graduate. Using those goals as a road map, the local school system will still be in the driver’s seat when it comes to deciding how to reach the academic destinations."
Richardson calls for more informed coverage of the issue: "As an industry, we need to educate ourselves thoroughly on the Common Core Standards so we, in turn, can help our readers understand," she writes. "More and more, I am hearing that our teachers are trained and ready, but parents are still very confused, and in many cases, apprehensive, about the process." (Read more)
When she began her term as president this summer, Richardson gave a fine speech, including a touching story about how a defining moment in her life, as a part-time reporter for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph in her native West Virginia, showed how newspapers can make a difference. A video of the speech is on YouTube, here, and a PDF is here. She also told the crowd, "I really like keeping my hand in the news side of things. To me, it’s a way to stay connected to the community in a personal way and it reminds me of when and why I decided to make newspapers my life’s work." The Herald and Tribune won this year's TPA general excellence award for weeklies with circulations of 5,000 and less.
A poll for the policy journal Education Next found that nearly two-thirds of respondents said they support the standards "at least to some extent, although there's been a significant uptick in the level of opposition to the standards over the past year," Andrew Ujifusa reports for Education Week.
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| Lynn J. Richardson |
Richardson calls for more informed coverage of the issue: "As an industry, we need to educate ourselves thoroughly on the Common Core Standards so we, in turn, can help our readers understand," she writes. "More and more, I am hearing that our teachers are trained and ready, but parents are still very confused, and in many cases, apprehensive, about the process." (Read more)
When she began her term as president this summer, Richardson gave a fine speech, including a touching story about how a defining moment in her life, as a part-time reporter for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph in her native West Virginia, showed how newspapers can make a difference. A video of the speech is on YouTube, here, and a PDF is here. She also told the crowd, "I really like keeping my hand in the news side of things. To me, it’s a way to stay connected to the community in a personal way and it reminds me of when and why I decided to make newspapers my life’s work." The Herald and Tribune won this year's TPA general excellence award for weeklies with circulations of 5,000 and less.
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