Describes a lengthy list of excuses used regularly by some teachers to justify the poor results of their own teaching. Criticizes the attitudes of incompetent teachers who are willing to blame anything for their failures except themselves. (HB)

Teachers are separated by isolated classrooms and tightly packed schedules, rarely working with colleagues on matters related to teaching and learning. This paper describes benefits of collaborative team structures in schools, discusses potential pitfalls, and notes that the challenge is to develop teams with a high group IQ that can work…

The goal of No Child Left Behind appears admirable: by 2014 every child in the nation will test to proficiency in core math and literacy skills. However, as we investigate what schools need to reach these goals, we expose what teachers have long experienced one arduous day at a time: our school system is based on a 19th-century factory model that…

Surveys several philosophies and methods available to teachers for combating discipline problems. Summarizes types of disciplinary problems and explores reasons for teacher confusion and frustration when choosing a classroom management technique. (LFL)

Considers the potential detrimental effects on classroom teaching of programs that pull individual students out of the classroom for specialized instruction or activities. Suggests alternative means for meeting student and teacher needs within the classroom. (PGD)

Documents attempts to subvert academic freedom at the University of Washington between 1946 and 1954. (AEA)

This discussion of the conditions under which teachers work focuses on threats of violence, out-of-control classes, and lack of support from administrators. (IRT)

In this tale of a single event told from the perspectives of multiple narrators, Erick Gordon, Kerry McKibbin, Lalitha Vasudevan, and Ruth Vinz write about their work together on a Student Press Initiative (SPI) writing project at Horizon Academy, the Department of Correction/Department of Education high school at Rikers Island Jail in New York…

Intrator and Kunzman argue that professional development for teachers follows an orientation similar to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs--and that this orientation needs to be reversed. Maslow posited that people must fulfill subsistence needs such as needs for food and safety before they can pursue higher needs like the need for…

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee writing program is collaborative, not divisionary, as some, such as Jeanne Gunner, have suggested. Three terms are useful in understanding the relationships and ethics governing operations at Wisconsin-Milwaukee: (1) authority and collaboration; (2) hierarchical difference; (3) professional respect.…

A recent one-on-one attempt by 17 Brown University students to "shadow" high school pupils for 1 day disclosed the bewildering complexity of high schools and the difficulties inherent in categorizing or evaluating them. This paper discusses the nature of this complexity. First, most high schools are densely populated work places. This…

Summarizes the Carnegie Foundation president's September 1987 speech concerning this generations's most urgent task--rebuilding the nation's schools. Warns that today's teachers may have gained in competency and responsibility, but not in empowerment to shape curricula, plan inservice programs, or shape student retention and special education…

Teachers are in the awkward position of exercising authority, yet have dubious control over the conditions within which they do so. The ideal teacher role is authority exercised in good faith and a commitment to the burdens and uncertainties of educational authority. (CB)

A former journalism advisor takes a tongue-in-cheek look at bothersome public address system interruptions in the classroom. (HTH)

Comments on the conditions under which substitute teachers work and outlines steps that teachers and principals can take to improve those conditions. Orientation programs, feedback, and increased pay are among the improvements that can be made. (IRT)