The author discusses several factors which have in the past decade made it difficult for school personnel directors to establish quality teacher selection procedures. He identifies some basic criteria and methods for the selection process, emphasizing direct observation of the candidate's teaching performance as a selection tool. (SJL)

Examines forces which are undermining the principal's leadership role and ability to effectively administer the school: teachers and unions; the competency movement; political and community interest groups; and media pundits. (SJL)

Six highly gifted and creative students, ages 12-17, from lower socioeconomic homes responded to an open-ended questionnaire about teacher behaviors and qualities they liked and disliked. Students liked teachers who were positive, creative, respectful, sincere, knowledgeable, flexible, stable, and warm, and disliked teachers who had opposite…

Problems in high schools have less to do with the relationships of students with their teachers than with the inadequacy of faculty-administrator relationships. This paper focuses on this problem and on the structural basis out of which these relationships develop. (Author/RK)

Outlines issues of personality factors/communication style, teaching style/philosophy, and classroom management style that should be explored by teachers before they embark on a collaborative venture into inclusion, where special and general education teachers team for extended periods of the school day. (SR)

Discusses a series of year-long writing activities using portfolios in eighth-grade science class. Notes that students received feedback about their performance from multiple sources. Suggests that students found this formative focus productive and valuable, and took a more active role in mastering the course content than if the course had been…

Notes that students' legitimate expectations of privacy and school officials' need to maintain school discipline and safety often collide. Outlines guidelines for searching in the following instances: student lockers; drug dogs; student trips; strip searches; and urinalysis. Suggests that training for all administrators, faculty, and staff in the…

Contends that learning centers must obtain "curricular congruence" with the classroom to provide remedial students with the content and strategies they need for achieving success in subject-matter classrooms. Suggests that better efforts are needed to coordinate remedial and classroom instruction. (MS)

Offers recommendations for curriculum renewal, indicating the major ways each of the four major disciplines (secondary English, social studies, mathematics, and science) can improve by the year 2000, and presenting an incremental strategy for achieving such gains. (SR)

Suggests what the mathematics curriculum in middle and secondary schools will be like in the year 2000. Looks at the preservice college or university preparation of mathematics teachers, and their role in the public schools. (SR)

Reviews research on students' attitudes toward reading. Argues that, given more free reading time and more choice about what to read, students are more likely to form the habit of lifelong reading. (SR)

Notes that schools are still a long way from becoming multicultural in its expectations and behaviors. Suggests that counselors can play a crucial role in helping minority children (especially Native American children) make sense of seemingly "strange and unreasonable" school behaviors and expectations. Discusses value conflicts between mainstream…

Provides a profile of the learning-disabled adolescent student. Supports a child-centered, whole-language philosophy of teaching advocating literature-based instruction across the curriculum for such learners. Analyzes written and verbal responses of three male students to determine the potential of such an educational approach. (HB)

Finds that African-American students (age 13): (1) perceived themselves as having had significantly less exposure to instruction than did European-American students; and (2) scored significantly lower in mathematics achievement than did European-American students. Notes that parental support significantly determined attitude toward mathematics for…

Examines perceptions of principals and beginning teachers. Finds agreement on several issues: the nature of first-year teachers' problems, the importance of Fall orientation, and the helpfulness of mentors. Identifies two issues that principals overlooked: the importance of the principal's role in the induction process and the beginning teachers'…