Examines whether incentive pay programs influence the attitudes of school principals, central office administrators, school board members, and teachers with respect to the ability of incentive pay to affect positively such factors as teacher motivation, quality of instruction, public respect for teachers, and the recruitment and retention of…

Asserts that the sudden insights that characterize intuitive thinking are as important in effectuating learning as analytical thinking. Claims that intuitive thinking enables students to comprehend complex relationships better, to put things into better perspective, to generate new ideas, and to perceive more ways to integrate facts, concepts, and…

Presents questions that should be asked of any school program using teacher observation and that should serve as standards to measure the realization of teacher autonomy in the professional growth process. Suggests that a school's supervisory program should combine administrative-, peer-, and self-direction. (MS)

Suggests that English teachers use sports metaphors as a different way to communicate with their students about writing. (MS)

Discusses social studies and its critics; the struggle for the soul of social studies; fragmentation and national standards; proliferation of standards; and assessment in the national standards. Suggests that administrators and teachers responsible for curriculum development should carefully examine all standards documents as they plan for…

Describes a hypothetical situation (a year-long planning process involving a superintendent, school board, and community) intended to remind administrators of the key elements in facilities planning that are inherent in their roles as educational leaders. (SR)

Describes Project SPARC (Science Projects across the Regents Curriculum), a two-week summer workshop for middle and high school science teachers, who studied the ecology of wetlands with a biologist and participated in writing and reading activities with a language arts specialist. (SR)

Outlines the legal definitions and litigation, including Supreme Court decisions, regarding the issue of sexual harassment in the public schools. Considers the growing number of cases alleging sexual harassment among students. Asks school administrators to think deeply about these issues. (HB)

Discusses three recent attempts to establish national science-education standards: "Project 2061: Science for All Americans"; the National Research Council's national standards for curriculum, teaching, and assessment; and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Suggests that such reform movements could provide useful direction to local…

Describes the experiences of a young man from El Salvador and his eighth-grade second-language teacher as they watched other young El Salvadorans either drop out of school or accumulate insufficient credits to graduate. (RS)

Examines the issue of using dissection as a class activity in the science curriculum. Discusses the pros and cons, including the legal aspects of the issue. Suggest guidelines for educators regarding this issue. (HB)

Describes how one professor challenges students to critically consider issues of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation in their educational relationships, and how she deals with their resistance to considering that racism and sexism are institutionalized. Discusses responsive and responsible curriculum development, critical and feminist…

Examines the five major threats to healthy school buildings: sick building syndrome; health-threatening building materials; environmental hazards such as radon gas and asbestos; lead poisoning; and general indoor air quality. Discusses ways to assess and address them. (SR)

Argues that grades have negative effects on learning and self-concept. States that while grading has a long tradition of sorting children for college entrance, there is limited evidence that grades serve a valid purpose. Argues that this practice should be abolished and an evaluation system established that provides a more valid estimate of…

Looks at different waves of school reform beginning with Sputnik in the 1950s. Examines influences in today's reform, including industrial influences and school choice. Argues that the origins and outcomes of school reform have more to do with what is happening outside the school than within it, and that schools must think beyond objective indices…