International writer gathers story information at Sussex Tech

Sussex Technical High School recently hosted journalist Edward McBride, the Washington, D.C. bureau chief of The Economist, a weekly news and international affairs publication edited in offices in London. McBride toured the school and spoke with staff and students in order to gather information for an article about education in America and Delaware’s role in Race to the Top.

The Economist targets highly educated readers and claims an audience containing many influential executives and policymakers. It has long been respected as one of the most competent and subtle Western periodicals on public affairs. Founded in 1843, The Economist introduced a section about the United States in 1942. Roughly every two weeks, The Economist publishes special reports on a given topic such as science and technology.

McBride was educated in Britain and America. He has been a correspondent in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Britain. While being interviewed by Sussex Tech Media Broadcasting students for airing on the school’s Raven Report news program, McBride admitted that he was “blown away with all the neat stuff [educational equipment]” at Sussex Tech. The reporter said that he attended a stuffy British high school where “high tech was the white board.”

McBride also told his interviewer that he believes anything that helps match up the skills of people coming out of schools with the jobs that are available is obviously beneficial to the economy.

“Here there is a sense that you can’t teach people the same way you always did. You need new techniques, new equipment, new ideas and new curriculum,” explained McBride. “I would love to see that approach applied to more aspects of life here [in America].”

Sussex Tech was chosen by the Delaware Department of Education to be one of two schools in the state to be reviewed for McBride’s article. Rebecca Taber, one of Gov. Jack Markell’s education policy advisors, accompanied McBride during his visit to Sussex Tech.

McBride was not able to give an exact date for publication of his article. However, readers can check The Economist website for its release.