Patt Morrison for Monday, June 20, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, June 20, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Homework: how much is too much?

It’s no secret that American culture is heavily competition-oriented; homework loads have been rising since the Soviets launched Sputnik and sparked an educational contest that mirrored the Cold War arms race between the two nations. In recent years, homework loads have continued to grow, as teachers pressured by the No Child Left Behind Act hoped more homework would improve their students’ test scores. It would seem that increased time spent on academics should yield better grades and higher test scores—but many parents, teachers and even principals are arguing that too much homework can worsen children’s school performance and detract from their childhood experience. In a wave that is sweeping educational institutions across the country, many schools and school boards are electing to reduce the amount of homework assigned, introduce homework-free holidays and weekends, or abolish homework altogether. The motions have been met with approval by many, but opponents claim homework is vital to meeting educational standards that cannot be taught in the length of one school day. How useful is homework?

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Cathy J. Vatterott, an education professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and author of “Rethinking Homework”

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Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University who has

Researched the effect of small doses of homework on academic performance

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2:06 – 2:30

Farewell Fairness Doctrine: Is public interest journalism on its last legs?

The Federal Communications Commission's long-awaited report on the future of the media, released in early June, has confirmed what many journalists, media companies and doomsayers already know: that these are tough times for public interest reporting. With about a quarter of the journalistic work force unemployed, America's news sources are disappearing as giant communications corporations buy up the small, independent broadcasting stations that are later downsized and then closed. The FCC sought to establish whether people were getting the news they needed, and whether media policy was conducive to its transmission, but both answers were negative. Its recommendations for the revival of public interest journalism included increased philanthropic support, tax incentives for broadcasting companies and government advertisement through local media. Some, like FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, believe that such measures would not do enough, and also emphasize that good reporting is necessary for the Internet to fulfill its democratic potential. How did things come to this? And in what other ways can public accountability journalism be sustained?

 

Guests:

Michael Copps, commissioner, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

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Steve Coll, president, New America Foundation

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UNCONFIRMED DO NOT PROMOTE

Ted Koppel, senior news analyst, NPR; former anchor for ABC’s “Nightline”

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2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Comparing today’s tomato with the tomato of 1960: a story of modern industrial agriculture

Tomatoes are the second-most popular produce in the U.S., and Americans have come to expect access to plump, red tomatoes year-round. Yet to achieve this end, Florida—which produces one third of tomatoes in the U.S.—uses one hundred different herbicides and pesticides on tomatoes, which are then picked hard and green and then artificially gassed until their skins turn red. And consumers aren’t the only victims—underpaid tomato pickers in Florida, exposed to these toxins day in and day out, are suffering from cancer, respiratory ailments, and severe birth defects as a result. To make matters worse, one assistant U.S. attorney referred to Florida’s tomato industry as “ground zero for modern-day slavery,” complete with beatings and being “sold” to field bosses to pay off debt. And the product that’s produced? Florida’s tomatoes, while having tripled in yield, have dramatically less vitamin C, vitamin A, and calcium and fourteen times the amount of sodium of tomatoes of the 1960s. Barry Estabrook tells this frightening story and makes us all think twice before we take a bite.

 

Guest:

Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland: How modern industrial agriculture destroyed our most alluring fruit

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Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org