Media: Building A Better Reporter
First, the kudos. It's a great accomplishment and a strong story over all. It shows tremendous effort, curiosity, and smarts, and took amazing persistence to see it through. The history of the profession is clear and well-written. The characters of Ball and Lemov (particularly) are brought to life. The snippets of classroom observation are vivid. The focus on what to do with existing teachers is a welcome antidote to too much attention given to issues such as selecting, evaluating, and culling teachers. Like I'm sure many other education writers, I wish that it were my story.
That being said, there are some serious problems and minor annoyances that undercut the piece and raise questions about its findings and usefulness.
