Cautions that teaching manuals preclude a teacher's instinct for individualized teaching, and addresses the issue of what teachers need to know about language, culture, and learning for effective reading instruction. (HTH)

This paper points out the larger issues related to narrative research, explaining that one of narrative research's valuable contributions in education is the revelation of the intentions and beliefs of teachers. The paper reviews and summarizes 10 articles in this theme issue on narrative research. (SM)

Discussion of special education practica for early childhood general education majors first considers exo- and meso-system issues that either enhance or constrain the redesign of the practicum experience. It then reports findings on student outcomes of 32 students who participated in a redesigned practicum. (Contains 5 references.) (DB)

Discusses, through a dialogue between an education professor and a student, a course entitled "Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School." Describes selected aspects of the course, including purpose, plans, and results. Explains how the course helped prepare the student for teaching and how the dialogue helped the professor refine the…

Issues related to two questions are explored in this article: How much liberal education is enough for elementary school teachers? Should teachers be required to major in one of the liberal arts? (IAH)

A teacher describes her experience when her school district conducted a teachers' strike. She was the only teacher in her building who chose not to strike because of her concern for her students who were mostly poor. Positions pro and con teachers' strikes by the National Education Association and the Association of American Educators are included…

Although whole-language teachers may have more freedom in the classroom than teachers who follow a more prescriptive approach, they are still accountable to parents and administrators. Whole-language teachers need to have a philosophical rationale for the decisions they make, be consistent in their application, make informed choices, be responsive…

Discussion of instructional design and instructional development focuses on four studies conducted in Newfoundland that examined instructional development knowledge, competency, and use among teacher-librarians, secondary school teachers, and elementary school teachers. Results are reported that indicate teacher planning is done using personal…

Examines features of electronic mail discourse among sixth-grade students and their teachers. Highlights include structures of the sixth-grade classrooms; common characteristics of and differences between electronic and face-to-face communication; metacommunication; consistency with print genres; hierarchy; and the potential of electronic mail in…

Eight theme articles cover the following topics: the importance of including agricultural education in the elementary curriculum; a day at the farm for third graders; the Agriculture in the Classroom program; and the importance of reaching elementary teachers. (JOW)

Discusses the paucity of research on teacher feeling and analyzes the nature and importance of teacher guilt. The paper examines persecutory and depressive guilt and discusses four guilt traps common to teaching (commitment to care, open-endedness of teaching, accountability and intensification, and persona of perfectionism), offering solutions.…

Examines the connection between an upgraded professional status for early childhood teachers and parent involvement in early childhood programs. (Author/LB)

Maintains that excellent teachers make it possible for elementary school students in enriched Montessori environments to learn as much by age 12 as most students learn by the time they graduate from high school. Contends that a minimum of 800 contact hours with experienced Montessori classroom teachers is necessary for proper training of…

Discusses the strengths and shortcomings of "A Foundation for Implementation," a document written by early childhood teachers from Manitoba, Canada, to guide literacy and language arts instruction. Notes the importance of teacher empowerment in creating the curriculum and of developmentally appropriate practices as a foundation. (JPB)

In a recent survey, the authors asked 37 elementary teachers to describe websites that they found to be the most helpful in planning to teach about voting, elections in general, and the Presidential election of 2004 in particular. For this article, they selected what were, in their judgment, the most useful websites--flexible enough to use with…