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Scholastic Publisher Urges HGSE Students to Bring Research to the Classroom

Posted March 8, 2006

Scholastic Publisher Urges HGSE Students to Bring Research to the Classroom

During a visit to campus on March 6, Margery Mayer, executive vice president of Scholastic Corporation, encouraged HGSE students to bring forth ideas for education publications and materials as the industry changes in the future.

"There aren't enough good ideas going into classrooms," Mayer said. "Think about what would work and help us bring it to the classroom."

Mayer spoke as part of the Technology, Innovation, and Education Program's speaker series. Students from the Language and Literacy Program were also invited to attend the discussion, which aimed to demystify the world of educational publishing.

Scholastic Corporation began in 1920 and is the largest children's book publisher in the country. Scholastic Education, where Mayer also works as president, is a leader in the education marketplace. It provides research-based technology programs, supplemental instructional materials, and high quality literature that support students' achievement in grades pre-K through high school.

"No matter what we publish nothing works without the teacher being engaged in school."
-Scholastic Executive Vice President Margery Mayer

"No matter what we publish nothing works without the teacher being engaged in school," Mayer said. "The job of being a teacher is really tough."

In a candid discussion, Mayer spoke about how educational publishing has struggled to deliver quality materials in the classroom. In the 1970s, larger companies and technology began to emerge. At the same time, the rule of "adoption states," where the same textbooks are adopted for all school districts by the state department of education, evolved and placed increasing limitations on education and publishing. Today, 20 states are still considered "adoption states."

By the 1980s, companies began consolidating. As the demands from schools got bigger, Mayer said textbooks and education materials became more risk-adverse, generic, and super-sized to meet the standards. However, Mayer said she believes there's a turning point in terms of education publishing and sees promise through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). While she admits NCLB isn't perfect, Mayer said that the education publishing industry is now beginning to see new players in the market and companies are striving to provide solutions to education problems.

In addition, she has even seen a change in educators, who, according to Mayer, ask more thorough questions about how materials can help their schools and students. "At one point in time, all I would get asked is what comes for free with a book," Mayer said.

As the market changes and experiences a rebirth of sorts, Mayer said she hopes to see more one-to-one computing, more Web-delivered curriculum, more distance-learning for students and teachers, more data-driven instruction, and a more massive and equitable access to books. "There are so many classrooms with nothing to read except textbooks," Mayer said.