Education Blog

Education and the Media

Mark Walsh is a contributing writer to Education Week. He has covered education issues for more than two decades and in this blog looked at how schools are covered in the general news media and in the popular culture. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education First Chronister Fellowship Recipient to Report on Migrant Families, Education
The inaugural winner of the Education Week Gregory M. Chronister Journalism Fellowship is Alex Granados of EducationNC, who will study migrant families and education.
Mark Walsh, January 19, 2018
2 min read
Education A&E's 'Undercover High' Series Puts Young Adults Back in High School
The cable channel on Tuesday premieres an 11-part series in which it places seven "undercover" students into Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kan.
Mark Walsh, January 8, 2018
4 min read
Education TV Station's 'Arrested at School' Series Wins duPont-Columbia Award
NBC Bay Area/KNTV's eight-part series found that districts referred minority students and those with disabilities to the police at higher rates than their peers.
Mark Walsh, December 8, 2017
1 min read
Education On 'Frontline,' Revisiting Three Families Dealing With Poverty Five Years Later
The PBS newsmagazine updates the progress of three families in Illinois and Iowa facing enormous hardships, including not having enough to eat.
Mark Walsh, November 21, 2017
2 min read
Education 'Science Guy' Documentary Shows That Bill Nye Still a Strong Voice
The film shows that the children's science TV host of the 1990s continues to advocate for science education while taking on creationists and climate-change deniers.
Mark Walsh, November 16, 2017
4 min read
Education Columbine Episode of Showtime's 'Active Shooter' Series Is Timely and Valuable
The hourlong documentary is not the most exhaustive telling of the 1999 event, but it provides lessons that unfortunately are still needed.
Mark Walsh, November 15, 2017
3 min read
Education Gavin Grimm Film Is Short, but Shows Intimate Side of Transgender Activist
"Gavin Grimm vs." is not an exhaustive look at transgender restroom access in schools, but profiles the student at the heart of a major case.
Mark Walsh, November 14, 2017
3 min read
Education The Final Visit for The New York Times Education Life Section?
The quarterly section, which has been around for at least 30 years, may have seen its last issue on Sunday.
Mark Walsh, November 6, 2017
3 min read
Education Education News Outlet Chalkbeat Is Expanding to Chicago, Newark in 2018
The new online sites will join Chalkbeat bureaus in Colorado, Detroit, Indiana, New York City, and Tennessee providing independent local coverage of education.
Mark Walsh, October 31, 2017
2 min read
Education Documentary Recalls a 1963 Boycott of Segregated Chicago Public Schools
"'63 Boycott" looks back at a protest against racial disparities in a large Northern school system and draws some parallels with recent events in Chicago.
Mark Walsh, October 25, 2017
4 min read
Teaching Documentary Examines Schools That Emphasize Critical Thinking
"Re: Thinking" spends time at several public schools that are said to be teaching students how to think, as opposed to what to think.
Mark Walsh, October 18, 2017
2 min read
Education 'Backpack Full of Cash' Documentary Fuels Controversy Over School Choice
The filmmakers behind a documentary that defends the public school system and is critical of market-based reforms are not backing down from criticisms from a prominent school choice advocate.
Mark Walsh, October 12, 2017
5 min read
Education Journalist Known for Reporting on School Segregation Is Among MacArthur Fellows
Nikole Hannah-Jones, an investigative journalist known for her deep dives exploring race and the resegregation of the nation's public schools, receives a "genius grant."
Mark Walsh, October 12, 2017
3 min read
Education 'Swim Team,' a Documentary About Young Athletes With Autism, to Air on 'POV'
The documentary about young people with autism who compete for a New Jersey swim team, appears Monday night on the public television show.
Mark Walsh, October 2, 2017
1 min read