Describes how educators and parents in a property poor school district implemented a successful middle school plan (raising students' achievement levels, attendance records, and affective development) in the face of economic recession, increased taxes, and school budget cuts in the economically depressed city of Rochester, New Hampshire. (SR)

Investigates what would happen when a ninth-grade honors English teacher taught a poem that he was encountering for the first time along with his students compared with what happened when he taught a poem that he had read and taught many times before. Notes that the teacher and the students felt the classroom dialogue improved when the teacher was…

Presents suggestions to introduce computer technology and make the change process easier for teachers: identify a purpose for computers in the school; involve teachers in the decision-making process; provide ongoing staff development; recognize the pitfalls of the change process; do not mandate the use of computers; and be involved with the change…

Discusses judicial decisions bearing on the nature of academic freedom as a constitutional right of public school teachers. Summarizes cases that recognize a teacher's right to teach contrary to the wishes of school authorities, and cases that uphold the state's right to control the public school curriculum. (SR)

Questions whether a radical shift in the factual content of American schools' curricula has ever occurred. Reviews a representative high school social studies textbook, finding that it contains more historical terms than does Hirsch's famous list. (NH)

Argues that developing students' higher-level thinking abilities will reinforce fact-oriented competencies necessary to successful performance on scholastic achievement tests. Presents guidelines for: (1) developing a teacher training program; (2) supporting teachers as they modify teaching strategies; and (3) evaluating students on the basis of…

Offers constructive suggestions to social studies teachers on specific ways to present social studies content. Contends that educators must develop strategies based upon student needs--strategies that help teachers link students to the people, places, and things that make up the social studies. (MS)

Discusses the need for and qualifications of a long-range planning coordinator for school districts. Suggests performance responsibilities of a long-range planning coordinator. (MS)

Discusses why inclusion is being proposed, who the children involved are, whether there is strong support for inclusion, when it will be implemented, how the classroom teacher's role will change, and whether it will work. (SR)

Considers the relationship between the mentor and the beginning teacher. Presents the findings of a study focused on the mentor's perception of patterns of contact with new teachers. Examines four aspects of the contact between mentors and new teachers. (HB)

Reviews literature on critical thinking and physical education. Suggests that students in physical education classes are predisposed to critical thinking, but only in an environment that is carefully structured. Argues that teachers must shift from teacher-centered to more student-centered lessons. Discusses the role of the teacher, cooperative…

Describes how the Arizona Department of Education's rush to implement the AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards) high school graduation exam provoked justifiable protest from parents, students, school officials, and education experts in the state. Argues that, if critics and advocates are unable to work together, it will be Arizona's…

Describes the author's three-week trip touring Japan with other American teachers, principals, and superintendents to learn about Japanese culture and receive an insider's look at Japanese education. Discusses hearing from Japanese education officials, traveling in and around Tokyo, visiting Japanese schools, and a weekend with a Japanese family.…

Discusses the need for school districts to develop lucid, comprehensive policies on family and community involvement. Discusses what teachers can do to lead the way, and what school districts can do. Discusses critical issues in such policy: budget/resource allocations, assessment of outcomes, and the collaboration process. (SR)

Describes case study groups, a method to help teachers and other school personnel see what developmental and adjustment issues students face. Describes how case study group members collect information from a range of sources, code the information into behavioral anecdotes, spot gaps in information, and select new experiences that might help…