Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
Pop quiz: Which of the following jobs faces the most scrutiny in the United States today? A. politician, B. professional athlete, C. actor, or D. teacher?
Considering that you can probably rattle off dozens of names in each of the first three categories, D might be your last choice. But think about it. No aspect of education is immune to public debate: testing, funding, safety…even school lunches are on the table.
Every day, the topics so passionately debated across the nation play out in St. Louis classrooms. While politicians argue about gun control and students’ safety, principals are locking doors and adding cameras. Free of many No Child Left Behind requirements, Missouri educators are working to meet the state’s performance standards and bracing for future changes. And while some local legislators call for eliminating school lunch programs altogether, administrators are trying to make sure their students receive enough nourishment to think straight.
That’s not to mention the world beyond the classroom.
Teachers are competing with an endless string of potential distractions: TV, cellphones, handheld games… But they’re also embracing technology, incorporating iPads, educational software, and online courses into their lesson plans. And they’re overhauling classroom dynamics, preparing students for a global economy by emphasizing group projects and offering language-immersion programs.
As education has grown more complex, so has SLM’s coverage of the topic. Consider our schools charts alone. What began a decade ago as a guide to a handful of private high schools—with categories like “Colleges Most Grads Go To” and “Famous Alums”—has grown into an annual feature spanning nearly 200 public and private St. Louis schools, from kindergarten through college. While some national magazines attempt to rank institutions by plugging such data into arbitrary formulas, we’ll leave it to you to decide which school best fits your child’s individual needs.
We’ve also expanded our coverage of the issues. While still addressing traditional topics, such as making the transition between public and private schools and acknowledging the region’s time-tested institutions, we discuss new concepts and concerns: schools emphasizing music, the social lives of home-schooled students, how teachers identify and reach isolated students.
As our schools race to keep up with an ever-changing world, we’ll try to keep up with covering them. In doing so, we’re all guaranteed to learn something new.
