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Attention Deficit Disorder: A Dubious Diagnosis?
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child gesturing to his head
View Related MediaStrong evidence indicates that the epidemic of Attention Deficit Disorder affecting mostly white, middle class boys is to a large extent man-made, one result of a long-term, unpublicized financial relationship between the company that makes the most widely known A.D.D. medication and the nation's largest A.D.D. Support Group. This provacative documentary will help parents and educators find alternatives to uneccessary labels and powerful drugs.
Original airdate: October, 1995 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Discounted Dreams


Big Time Losers

 
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football players
View Related Media Big Time Losers examines the price colleges and their athletes pay when sports becomes big business. Told through the stories of six athletes, the film examines the impact of sports on academics at elite Ivy League schools and at big-time state universities where football and basketball traditions run deep.
Original airdate: November, 2007 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Caught in the Crossfire
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teenager in a wheelchair
View Related MediaThis program examines the roots of the violence that kills countless children nationwide. Merrow follows the trail of violence, interviewing both victims and offenders along the way. Looking for a remedy, the program profiles the efforts of community activists involved in the search for solutions.
Original airdate: 1993 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Discounted Dreams

Discounted Dreams
High Hopes and Harsh Realities at America's Community Colleges

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View Related MediaCommunity Colleges represent the fastest growing segment of American higher education; their open admissions, low tuition and flexible scheduling draw students from all walks of life. They are the gateway to the American dream for millions. Vital yet flawed. Huge but virtually invisible. Government generally spends five times as much on prison inmates as it does on community colleges. Resolving these issues is essential for the American future.
Original airdate: May, 2007 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Declining by Degrees

Declining by Degrees
Higher Education at Risk

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Declining by Degrees
View Related MediaHow good is higher education in America?
In this revealing documentary, veteran correspondent John Merrow takes you behind the ivy-covered walls of our colleges and universities to see if they are delivering on their promise.
Original airdate: 2005 (Running time: 120 minutes)

Declining by Degrees
Higher Education at Risk

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Declining by Degrees
“Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk”
FOREWORD BY TOM WOLFE
EDITED BY RICHARD H. HERSH AND JOHN MERROW
A revealing and disturbing look at the state of higher education today from influential commentators including: James Fallows, Jay Mathews, Frank Deford, Vartan Gregorian, Carol G. Schneider, and many more.
Fifty Million Dollar Gamble
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Fifty Million Dollar Gamble
View Related MediaThis documentary (based on three years of videotaping in one high school) details the often painfully slow progress of school reform. It's the most detailed look at one of the country's leading education reforms, the Essential Schools Movement, and its founder, Dr. Theodore Sizer.
Original airdate: September, 1994 (Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes)
In Schools We Trust
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In Schools We Trust
View Related MediaThis program brings the 150-year record of public education to life. While history tells us that Americans have great faith in public education, it also shows we rarely agree on exactly what public schools are supposed to do. In Schools We Trust provides a useful context for understanding today's arguments.
Original airdate: January, 1997 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Lost in Translation: Latinos, School & Society
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Lost in Translation
View Related MediaThis documentary explores the successes and failures of different types of language programs– English only, bilingual, and dual. Host John Merrow talks to Latino youth and educators to uncover additional reasons many Latino youth are falling through the cracks. Available in both English and Spanish.
Original airdate: October, 1998 (Running time: 56 minutes)
The Promise of PreSchool
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Promise of Preschool
View Related MediaIn this one-hour broadcast, the experiences of four families in the USA and in France reveal the range of preschool education available, from an expensive private school, to uneven federal and state programs, to an innovative big-city approach. The challenge ahead is to determine if and how a consistent level of preschool can be offered to all American children, particularly when public schools are themselves in need.
Original airdate: October, 2002 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Public Schools Inc.
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Public Schools Inc.
View Related MediaIs it is possible to create world-class schools that turn a profit? FRONTLINE and The Merrow Report join forces with The New York Times to investigate the intertwined fortunes of Edison Schools and its charismatic, controversial leader, Chris Whittle. Through interviews with educators, administrators, and observers on both sides of the debate -- including Whittle himself, this program explores whether the larger-than-life Whittle is Edison's biggest asset or its greatest liability. (Running time: 56 minutes)
School Sleuth: The Case of an Excellent School
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School Sleuth
View Related MediaPeabody Award WinnerPrivate Detective Merrow explores five aspects of schooling: safety, the academics, the physical environment, the adults in the building, and a school's sense of purpose. School Sleuth offers at least 25 practical measures of excellence in education and shows there are many ways to evaluate schools beyond standardized test scores and college acceptance rates.
Original airdate: November, 2000 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Teacher Shortage: False Alarm?
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Teacher Shortage
View Related MediaThis probing documentary examines several areas that are the result of or may be the cause of the so-called "teacher shortage." Our reporting in Georgia, Texas, and California, among other places, turns up out-of-field teaching; teachers with emergency or temporary credentials; job application procedures that actually thwart qualified teachers; weak, "on-the-cheap" teacher training programs; as well as some successful, non-traditional options like alternative certification and professional development schools.
Original airdate: September, 1999 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Testing Our Schools
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Testing Our Schools
View Related Media"Testing Our Schools" explores the closely intertwined issues of Standards and Accountability. Standards are necessary, of course, and so is accountability, but are schools being backed into a corner? If they continue to live by test results, will they die that way? 'High stakes tests,' 'multiple test measures,' multiple opportunities to take tests– How these issues are resolved will shape the future of American public education.
Original airdate: March, 2002 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Testing...Testing...Testing
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Testing...testing...testing
View Related MediaTesting...Testing...Testing poses 12 provocative questions covering the complex and controversial issues of measuring learning, achievement and intelligence in children.
Six knowledgeable men and women-- test writers, critics, and professors provide the answers to questions and concerns about testing in public schools.

Original airdate: January, 1997 (Running time: 56 minutes)
Toughest Job in America
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Toughest Job in America
View Related MediaThis gripping story follows Philadelphia superintendent David Hornbeck's six year battle against an entrenched bureaucracy, a stubborn union, hostile politicians, budget deficits, and a deep-rooted belief that poor and minority children cannot achieve.
Original airdate: April, 2000 (Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes)
 
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