Educators often complain that journalists seem only to report bad news and that they rarely take the time to understand fully the issues they cover.
Now, it’s time for a few educators to teach such journalists a lesson.
Based at Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City, the Fred M. Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media has scheduled its first round of seminars.
As many as 30 journalists will attend each three-day seminar, one of which will be held each month from July through October, with the subjects ranging from science teaching to editorial writing. Then in November, the institute will hold a one-day seminar for about 60 New York City-area superintendents on effective media relations.
Established last November and named in honor of a former education editor at The New York Times, the Hechinger Institute is supported by grants from the Ford, William T. Grant, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations, and by the Teachers College Trustees. (“New Institute To Focus on Media, Education,” June 5, 1996.)
Seminar participants will attend free of charge. Housing and up to $300 for transportation will be provided. Interested reporters and New York City-area superintendents should write to the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 132, 525 W. 120th St., New York, N.Y. 10027.
While foundation funds help send reporters to Columbia for three-day seminars, money from the banking industry will help more New York City students attend the Ivy League institution, as well as nine other Big Apple colleges and universities.
The Chase Manhattan Bank has doubled the size of its “Chase Smart Start” scholarship program by offering to pay tuition and other expenses for 40 New York high school graduates planning to attend college in the city.
Launched in 1991, the program offered scholarships only to students from the borough of Brooklyn until this year. With the expansion, the nation’s largest banking company will provide about $2 million in scholarships during the next four years.
In addition to financial aid, the students will get part-time jobs with Chase Manhattan during the school year and full-time jobs during the summers.
“This does a good job of connecting the theoretical knowledge of the school education with the real-world education of the workplace,” said Ellen Stuart, a Chase spokeswoman.
Scholarships will be awarded on a combination of need and merit, she said. --Jeff Archerjarcher@epe.org
