Six fundamental public misconceptions about tests are discussed: (1) the view of tests as infallible, objective predictors of behavior versus the view of tests as completely without value; (2) the lack of understanding concerning pyschometric characteristics of tests; (3) the confusion between labels and constructs; (4) the belief that all the…

The author examines the history of segregation for blind and handicapped persons and the relationship of segregation to social attitudes and opportunities. He also questions the relevance of sheltered workshops today. The El Paso Lighthouse "enclave with industry" program is presented as one model for moving toward a "natural proportion"…

Explores racial stereotyping through the caricaturization of Jim, the slave, in Twain's novel, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Holds that Twain's portrayal of Jim was actually a White man's perception of what Blacks were like. Suggests ways that literature teachers can help their students to understand the novel's sociohistorical…

Yesterday's predictions about the future provide a bridge to the past by shedding light on earlier attitudes and values; they can tell us much about how we became who we are. Predictions from the seventeenth century to the present are discussed. (Author/RM)

This book addresses the state of contemporary U.S. cultural life, delineating a protracted and spiritually convulsive detonation which trembled with gathering force through North America and Western Europe from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s and tore apart the moral and intellectual fabric of society. The book is part cultural history, part…

Surveys collections of poetry by children, identifying aspects of the poetry that communicate children's social and political awareness of the contemporary world. Numerous sample poems are included. (Author/CM)

Argues against the continuing use in the English language of male terms to refer generically to all human beings. Analyzes reasons for resistance to linguistic change and evaluates future prospects for change. (GC)

Discusses the UNESCO report "Our Creative Diversity," which links development and culture and argues that languages will not survive due to law but because of the respect given them and the milieu in which they are (or are not) used. The article points out that bilinguals are more used to switching thought patterns, have more flexible…

Highlights experiences of teachers during conferences to illustrate positive characteristics that distinguish teachers from other professionals. Argues that the characteristics of educators that stand out in the minds of service industry employees are a reflection of the collective care and concern that permeate teachers' professional lives.…

The Carlisle Indian School, founded by Richard Henry Pratt in 1879 to educate American Indian youth as an assist to having those youth success in mainstream America, is featured in two recently published books, "The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation," by Sally Jenkins (Doubleday, 2007), and "Carlisle vs. Army:…

From their first recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, students are taught that the most important unit of social analysis is the nation-state and that people on this side of the border constitute "us," whereas those on the other side of the line are "them." By the time students enter a global studies class as high school…

Few men choose to become primary school teachers. Those who do move into a world often thought of as feminized and contend with a publicly-voiced rhetoric which simultaneously idealizes and demonizes them. This paper turns a spotlight on one student's stories of being a man and a student primary school teacher. It considers how he negotiates the…

A frequent refrain in Utah County, which prides itself on being one of the most conservative communities in the country, is that its public institution of higher education, Utah Valley State College, should reflect "community values." Generally, the argument goes something like this: local taxpayers, who support the school, should not…

Where are all the disabled people in children's picture books? This article will introduce an innovative three-year project, based in the United Kingdom, which asks this question of the book world. In The Picture, managed by disability charity Scope, aims to point out the invisibility of disabled people in children's media to publishers, writers…

This article argues that we live in a culturally, politically and religiously diverse society and that faith schools are the "product", rather than the "cause", of this diversity. As an easy target for those with fears about social cohesion, faith schools are being "scapegoated". (Contains 4 notes.)