This "Conversation Currents" features JoBeth Allen and Valerie Kinloch discussing their thoughts and experiences working with families and communities. Allen bases her comments on the belief that programs have to be adaptable to many different constituencies and demographics, and so must be recreated every year with every teacher and…

The author examines the actual concept of a practical curriculum. He notes that educational planners, especially in the Third World, have argued for a strong vocational element to curricula (often with an emphasis on manual skills) and yet, historically, this has often conflicted with parental perceptions of the value of schooling. (Editor/CT)

Reflects on the process of standards writing conducted by the National of Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, from both an insider and an outsider perspective. Reflects on the larger forces at play and the deeper issues which derailed the standards effort and which "produced standards that no one has much…

Interviews Ira Shor, who discusses the meaning of liberation education, the political nature of education, teacher education, and problems and possibilities associated with liberation education. (MG)

The present national educational reform movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to integrate innovative policy options and technical knowledge with concerns about equity and fairness. Philosophically, most Americans subscribe to the idea of fairness in education, but pragmatically the concept of fairness has eluded American schools for some…

Points out that bringing technology into the schools illuminates, and perhaps exacerbates, the advantage that students from wealthy families have over students from poorer families. Notes that advocates for technology often have an agenda that has nothing to do with students' learning. Discusses what educators can do in the face of all this. (SR)