LOS ANGELES — Gathered for the 2018 Education Writers Association (EWA) National Seminar, hundreds of education journalists heard from education experts, thought leaders and other fellow journalists about ways to make their coverage of today’s education issues nuanced, culturally relevant and enlightening.
The three-day seminar, “Room for All? Diversity in Education and the Media,” kicked off on Wednesday with University of Southern California Race and Equity Center executive director Dr. Shaun R. Harper issuing a call to action for journalists to take seriously their role as truth-tellers to the public.
“I very much would like for education writers to use your role as teachers, to teach the nation about the ways racism continues to contaminate colleges and universities,” he said.
Harper, Provost Professor in Education and Business at USC, listed 10 ideas during the first segment of the session “Big Ideas on Equity, Race and Inclusion in Education,” which focused on issues education journalists were urged to cover in more depth:
1. Racial mismatch between students and educators
2. Educator preparation for racially diverse contexts
3. Racial inequities in school discipline
