American foreign policy must operate within the parameters of public opinion, and governmental and non-governmental actors must educate the characteristically alienated citizenry concerning policy issues. Since rational discourse is of limited benefit in the process, advocates instead use verbal representations or metaphor to instill within the…

While each English department will establish its own set of assumptions appropriate for its objectives and programs, the new rhetoric can bring some coherence to the teaching of writing and literature by providing students with reliable strategies for reading literature as well as writing. In teaching literature teachers need to demonstrate the…

In most colleges and universities, linguistics is taught very little, while disciplines intellectually dependent on results in linguistics are taught almost universally. An understanding of the central issues in philosophy, psychology, anthropology, literature, and artificial intelligence requires an understanding of linguistics, but most…

This commentary explores some of the most pointed criticisms of the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB), and of high-stakes standardized testing more generally. The author focuses specifically on the impact of NCLB on urban schools -- schools which are the constant focus of reform in a culture that presumably wishes to educate its citizens in…

Suggests that children, even in early elementary grades, can grasp basic elements of children's literature using a spiralled sequence story curriculum, which helps them examine types of character, such as the trickster; elements of plot, such as the journey; and generally see patterns in the stories they read. (JC)

Relates the experience of a teacher who discovered that students enjoy studying literature if they are allowed to experience it rather than analyze it. Contends that the effort to teach books at the secondary level using literary criticism is a misguided response to a national literacy crisis. (SRT)

Discusses ways in which personal and digressive talk can develop young readers' responses to literature. (HOD)

Suggests that real life can be depressing enough without subjecting teenagers to a steady diet of reading assignments whose content is largely negative. Laments that a search has turned up so few examples of "good" literature and asks for suggestions. (RBW)

Argues that the role of educational standards that has emerged from the National Education Summit is fundamentally misunderstood, does not address the issue adequately, and that using increased standards as a negative incentive is detrimental to students by punishing them for noncomplience. Explains the importance of student-centered standards,…

Discusses European Community policy relating to information technology and the information industry. Topics addressed include the information services industry; transborder information flow, including electronic mail, data owner responsibility, and software piracy; digital data networks; electronic data interchange; telecommunications; information…

Jeni Yamada's "Laura" and Michael Tomasello's "First Verbs" continue a tradition of providing useful information on the language ability of individuals in a depth rarely found in multisubject studies; however, these efforts are unusual for case studies in that both take strong theoretical positions on the essence of language and language learning.…

The middle school movement is not about being better able to meet the learning needs of preadolescents; middle schools are attractive mostly for administrative, not pedagogical reasons. Middle school advocates overlook the cultural context of rural schools and the violence done to communitarian precepts when middle school construction results in…

Argues that the rural development policy for Australia proposed by Jonathan and Katrina Sher in a previous issue of this journal is inadequate because the analysis on which it is based is generally unsubstantiated, supportive arguments have been found invalid, the richness of Australian society is overlooked, and economic arguments are flawed.…

Reexamines M. Elizabeth Tidball's claim that women who graduate from women's colleges accomplish more than other, similar women who graduate from coeducational colleges. The authors believe Tidball's work is insensitive to class issues and argue that her approach does not control for other factors that might covary with whether the college is…

Responds to criticism concerning the communication research conducted by the author about urban schools and immigrant families. The author describes the research approach, defends the lack of parental and community data as appropriate for the stage the study was in, and explains the research is too early to subscribe to the political and…