Presents 13 activities that can occupy teachers' attention during the summer months. (RL)

Offers a plan whereby teachers write parents end-of-school letters about students who were excellent, who had made good classroom contributions, or who had made academic turnarounds. Considers this plan an effective means of improving parent-teacher relationships. (RL)

Presents a middle school teacher's observations concerning young adolescents (e.g., inconsistency is consistent, identification with others affords continuity, and they see others seeing them and seek ways to expend energy). Offers guidelines for promoting adolescents' moral growth (e.g., provide parent education and promote thoughtful critique of…

The dilution of the high school curriculum in the last several decades results not from teachers' intellectual convictions, or lack of them, but from their belief in classroom survival. Student attitudes, not teacher attitudes, need to be changed. (MSE)

Discusses a study of the perceptions of creativity of 101 highly motivated, academic achievers from 2 New Jersey high schools, focusing on the characteristics (i.e., gender, and grade level and subject taught) of their most creative teachers. Presents students' perceptions of creative teaching style. (DMM)

This paper presents suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of intensive language workshops designed to upgrade and reinforce the language skills of high school foreign language teachers. Once the decision has been made to organize a workshop, the following steps might be taken: identifying the range of needs and interests of the…

Examines and analyses intimate relationships between adolescent students and teachers in 11 novels. How teenagers come through such experiences is discussed in terms of their families, their sense of worth, and emotional and mental health. (EM)

The author explains his three criteria for successful teaching in any subject area and illustrates his views with four scenarios of secondary school teachers. (SJL)

Discusses the developmental needs of young adolescents (e.g., self-exploration, meaningful participation, positive social interaction, physical activity, competency, achievement, structure, clear limits, appropriate curricula, knowledgeable and understanding educators, and integrated learning). Identifies ways Catholic schools can help meet these…

The seven articles in this document concern children, programs, and teachers in the middle grades. The first article, "Essential Elements of Effective Middle Level Education" (C. K. McEwin) serves as an overview of the subsequent articles. "Middle Schools; A Re-Appraisal" (H. E. Sadoff) cautions educators against assuming that a school structure…

The interview with Theodore Sizer, author of a recent book focusing on American high schools, students, and teachers, notes problems with educational organization and recommends new roles for teachers as educational coaches, altered teaching loads, new student activities, diplomas based on achievement, and curriculum simplification. (SB)

Local alliances of elementary, secondary, and college and university foreign language and literature teachers meeting regularly to improve foreign language programs and enrich the quality of their own intellectual and professional lives are a growing phenomenon in the United States. The groups have challenged the hierarchically organized system of…

There is no easy way to get from research on teaching to teaching practice; moreover, trying to make teaching practices directly out of research can have destructive effects for teaching. Research can be extremely beneficial when results are linked with teachers' goals, and when teachers are aware that a specific occasion is appropriate for…

An experienced supervisor of student and cooperating teachers discusses good mentor qualities, emphasizing the importance of treating student teachers the way one would want to be treated as a student teacher. The paper discusses how to establish a good rapport, work cooperatively, provide flexibility and feedback, conduct evaluations, and…

This guide accompanies one of a pair of videocases depicting educational life in Deming, New Mexico. The videocase includes 28 minutes of unstaged but edited videotape footage of teaching and learning in and around junior high and mid-high schools in Deming. The first section of the guide, "Teaching Note" (Todd Kent) contains a…