This article is a profile of St. Anthony School written by Alan Borsuk and published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It discusses the history of the school, how education vouchers have affected St. Anthony, the class climate at St. Anthony, and how the school addresses religion. The article is presented as being a factual piece documenting why St. Anthony is particularly noteworthy among the elementary and middle schools of Milwaukee, particularly religious ones.
Who is represented?
St. Anthony School
quotes from president Terry Brown, fourth-grade teacher Jeanne Barbatti, fifth-grade teacher Jenni Madden, third-grade teacher Mary Budiac, principal Ramon Cruz, fifth-grader Daysi Ojeda, and eighth-grader Tyler Do
Who is excluded?
St. Anthony School parents, legislators, lobbyists, and opponents of using education vouchers to attend religious schools
What is left out from the discussion?
The most glaring omission in this article is a discussion of the low test scores by students who attend St. Anthony. Sandwiched between a quote by Terry Brown, the school president, where he claims that they "want to be the model Catholic grade school in the nation" and a comment by the author, Borsuk, saying that the school might not have much of a track record but "the track it is building is eye-catching," is a brief mention that St. Anthony students test below the 50th percentile nationally. The information about test scores is quite relevant, yet is simply glossed over in this article.
The article also fails to address that there is any controversy over the utilization of education vouchers, let alone using them on parochial education. It costs more to educate a voucher student than a public school student and the difference is made up by increased property taxes on Milwaukee residents.
Lastly, the article does not include parents of St. Anthony students in the discussion about the success of the school. There are multiple quotes from classroom teachers at the school regarding instruction and how well behaved the students are and there are two quotes from St. Anthony students about their opinions of the school (one student discusses how much she enjoys the religious aspect of the school is and another talks about how much he needs to pay attention in class). The president and principal of the school are each quoted, but there is no mention of parents or other family members anywhere in the article. This omission gives the impression that St. Anthony parents are not involved in the education of their children and that the school is "saving" students.
What ideologies are used to construct the arguments?
One ideology that surfaced most often in this article was that direct instruction is the best way of teaching. The author notes the "learning posture" encouraged by the school, discusses how the classrooms he viewed were all incredibly quiet as the teacher lectured, and is impressed with education being addressed as "a serious matter." There is no questioning of these practices and how well they work, especially considering the high percentage of ELL students at St. Anthony. While direct instruction is the most effective way to get information across, more constructivist methods may be better for engaging students.
This ideology of direct instruction being king also ties into another prevalent ideology in this article, that of education being businesslike. In addition to the students being silent during class and serious way in which education is view at St. Anthony, the author also seemed impressed with the uniforms at the school which include ties and blazers. This ideology of education being businesslike is directly connected to the empty vessel ideology where, if students are able to sit down, be quiet, and follow the rules, teachers can then fill them with important knowledge.
The final ideology present in the article was that low income students need "saving" in some way. As mentioned above, the article did not once mention the importance of parents or family in the education of St. Anthony students. This makes it seem as if education is something done entirely by the faculty and staff of the school with no collaboration from parents or family. In essence, it is suggesting that by using school vouchers at St. Anthony, parents can completely remove themselves from the process of the education of their children.
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