A parent deplores the overemphasis on socialization and collaboration in his son's seventh-grade classroom. He believes cooperative learning limits his son's educational opportunity, intellectual growth, and motivation to achieve. In the wake of corporate downsizing, there's even greater need for individual initiative and expertise. Social…

This theme issue covering elementary and prevocational programs examines agriculture education in elementary and middle schools, motivational activities for exploratory agriculture, utilizing the Food for America program, benefits of the Food for America program, elementary agriculture education curriculum, and vocational agriculture for seventh…

Includes a preface and two articles: "Rhetoric in Action: Roger's Social Studies Classroom" and "Rhetorical Understandings for Social Studies Teachers." Details how one teacher applies rhetorical principles to teaching, so that student learning, enjoyment, and motivation increase. Focuses on the definitions and principles of…

This paper describes 2 years of international telecommunications experiences between seventh grade reading classes in Florida and England. The report is presented in five sections: (1) Telecommunications and Reading Instruction--telecommunications and how it can motive students, develop their confidence, and empower them, and how…

A central fallacy of traditional science education is its focus on laboratory science as the touchstone against which science teaching and learning should be compared. This approach teaches students to see the world with the eyes of science rather than to build their own view of the world; it favors students becoming conformist rather than…

A middle school teacher presents three case studies of seventh-grade students who began the school year poorly but then decided to change. All three students had challenging home situations but, after becoming motivated to succeed, showed dramatic and rapid improvement. Such motivational changes are seen as stemming ultimately from reasons…

Practices for improving adolescent literacy--which includes reading, writing, and speaking--are much discussed and debated among secondary school educators and researchers. At Discovery Middle School in Madison, Alabama, the debate has ended after teachers and administrators implemented several practices that elevated student achievement from…