Argues that first-year algebra should be taught in eighth grade. Outlines an algebra course that could provide average students with a working kowledge of algebra. Proposes that this would require students to have experiences with variables, equations, formulas, and graphs during previous years of study. (TW)

Describes the comprehensive curriculum approach and teacher training program on the Jewish Holocaust that has been developed for adolescents by Facing History and Ourselves, a nonprofit organization. Course objectives, problems teachers will encounter, and student response are discussed. (MBR)

Textbooks not only transmit key cultural information but also employ a distinctive style and language, and these intrinsic structures maintain the textbook as the official valid knowledge required of the student. The student has a particular view of schooling which conditions the learning process and teaching decisions. The teacher emphasizes…

Describes a project that involved an eighth-grade advanced English class in learning about banned books and censorship with the hope that students would learn enough about a highly controversial subject to be able to form intelligent options. (EL)

A Puerto Rican teacher of an eighth grade consisting of 33 students (19 girls and 14 boys) at a racially-mixed public middle school found that teaching students about race and gender is a risky venture. The median age of the students was 13.8. The racial demographics were as follows: 45% African-American, 31% Euro-American, 18% Latino, 3%…