This book consists of a collection of critiques by educators who fault the teaching methods and curricular ideas of their field and suggest how the field can be reformed. Following a "Foreword" (Chester E. Finn, Jr.) and an "Introduction" (James S. Leming; Lucien Ellington), there are seven articles in the book: (1) "A…

Considering what it means to be a citizen, this book examines the effects of greater ethnic awareness on U.S. education. The book agrees that the upsurge in ethnic awareness has had some healthy consequences, but fears that concentrating too much on the differences among people poses the danger of fragmenting society. Instead of a transformative…

This presentation of informal responses to a series of questions relating to teaching and writing of history is based upon and extends from two tape-recorded "Conversations" with Professors Jere R. Daniell and Charles T. Wood of the Dartmouth College Department of History. The book covers such questions as what a historian is, why one should study…

The first purpose of a high school course in U.S. history must be to help students understand the essence of democracy and those events, institutions, and forces that have either promoted or obstructed it. This review examines five textbooks and analyzes how useful they are in aiding that process, and how they might be made more helpful. The five…

This book reconsiders why and how U.S. humanities education is taught. A humanities program should teach students not just memorizable facts but analytical skills that are vital for a critically informed citizenry. Innovative research is important as the basis of such a curriculum. Specific suggestions are outlined for translating curriculum goals…

A survey of 12 leading high school U.S. History textbooks has resulted in the opinion put forth in this book that the textbooks currently used in high schools are an embarrassing amalgam of bland optimism, blind patriotism, and misinformation. In addition to critiquing existing textbooks, the book also suggests how U.S. History should be taught.…

General education, or learning that should be common to all, is considered in five essays adapted from colloquium addresses and one essay, summarized in chapters 1 and 7 of this volume, that provided the colloquium theme. In "The Quest for Common Learning," Ernest L. Boyer identifies six essential objectives of general education. Wayne C. Booth's…

This book is designed for use in elementary social studies methods classes, as a source for discussion in advanced curriculum classes, and as a personal reference for elementary social studies teachers. This book has four major divisions with each division offering a list of lesson ideas. Part 1, "Contexts for the Social Studies," includes: (1)…

This book describes how theater can create an impetus for productive learning across the curriculum. Dorothy Heathcote's "mantle of the expert" approach is discussed in which teachers and students explore, in role, the knowledge they already have about a problem or task while making new discoveries along the way. The book also presents a…

Thirteen essays describe the interdisciplinary approach of the graduate liberal studies program from the point of view of each of the disciplines involved: philosophy, history, art, literature, social science, psychology, science, and theology. The following are included: "Graduate Liberal Studies Programs: Origin and Aims" (Phyllis O'Callaghan);…

Since the first edition was published in 1994, Rethinking Our Classrooms has sold over 180,000 copies. This revised and expanded edition includes new essays on: (1) science and environmental education; (2) immigration and language; (3) military recruitment; (4) teaching about the world through mathematics; and (5) gay and lesbian issues. Creative…