Comics Journalism Takes on Education Reform
This interview was conducted by Doré Ripley, a lecturer at Cal State East Bay and an adjunct professor at Diablo Valley College. She specializes in intensive writing. You can visit her on the web at www.RipleyOnline.com.We hear it on the television news, radio talk shows, and the internet: America’s public education system is failing. At least that’s what the media wants you to believe.
In fact, American school children are doing better than ever. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that American school children between fourth and eighth grade score above the international average on The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Bill Knapp, a senior media strategist for five U.S. presidential campaigns and a Washington Postwriter, reminds Americans, “As a nation we have never been better educated. In 1940, only a quarter of Americans 25 and older had achieved a high school degree or higher. In 2009, that number was close to 90 percent. The increase in the percentage of Americans who have had some college experience rose