What’s taught in schools divides Iowans
In reporting today’s 1A story on social-emotional learning, or SEL, Des Moines Register education reporter Samantha Hernandez and photo editor Zach Boyden-Holmes spent time inside the classroom of kindergarten teacher Teresa Miller in Storm Lake.
In a video that accompanies the story online, Boyden-Holmes captures a scene from their visit in which Miller shares with her pupils: “It’s OK to be mad, but it’s not OK to be mean.”
That pearl of wisdom reminded me of the title of Robert Fulghum’s bestseller, first published in 1986, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” The most influential teachers of our childhoods taught us far more than numbers and words or other knowledge: They imparted life lessons.
Hernandez’s story examines the divide over the value of SEL in public schools. Proponents see SEL as “a benign way to teach children how to cope with their feelings constructively and get along with fellow classmates,” Hernandez writes, but many conservatives see SEL far differently, “as a veiled attempt at liberal indoctrination in public schools.”
Conservative legislators have introduced a raft of bills in recent years aimed at what is being taught in public schools, an issue of critical importance for everyone who cares about the future of Iowa’s children and our state. I commend Hernandez’s story to your attention and encourage you to follow all the coverage of our Statehouse reporting team, Stephen Gruber-Miller and Galen Bacharier, as the Legislature decides the fate of these bills in the final weeks of the session.
Leveraging our network: Discontinuation of AP
Some of you have probably seen news coverage that Gannett, the Register’s parent company, is discontinuing use of stories, photos and other content from The Associated Press effective Monday.
I think most of you will find this change barely perceptible.
The AP is a cooperative, in which members like the Register and other newspapers and TV and radio news organizations share content. In past years, it was an indispensable news source and continues to employ first-rate journalists around the world.
But the truth is that AP service has become less useful to the Register and its readers as the digital age has upended the media landscape and many news organizations have dropped AP service. Entire days go by when the AP shares little more out of Iowa than cutdown versions of what the Register first reported. As has long been the case, the Register will continue bringing you Iowa’s most important stories through our own reporting and by citing and sharing the work of other independent, trustworthy news organizations, such as Iowa Capital Dispatch, a digital nonprofit focused on state government news.
Other steps will ensure your continued access to comprehensive national and international news:
● Gannett is America’s largest news organization, with the largest news staff. The USA TODAY Network has expanded its ability to share news from around the country, and a new fellowship program has placed journalists in state capitols not already covered by Network newspapers. Our Washington, D.C., bureau has long provided coverage of Congress, the White House and federal policy.
● A contract has been signed with Reuters, which will provide robust international coverage.
● News photos will be available from the USA TODAY Network, Reuters and Getty Images.
We’ve found alternative sources for some specific items long provided by the Register via AP, from the sports on TV listing to celebrity birthdays. One of the few exceptions is the small listing of local stocks published inside the Business section on Sundays. Starting next Sunday, you’ll find other market coverage by Reuters instead.
The large fee Gannett has paid for AP service can now be invested in community journalism. As always, I’m happy to address any questions or concerns you might have.