Despite the trend to do so, teachers should never treat race conversations with students as a "moment's theater," says Matthew Kay, a Philadelphia educator and author of "Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom." When white teachers stand up in front of students to declare they're…

In an interview, Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria," discusses schools, race, and identity today.

A Japanese-American teacher's personal experience with diversity helped her second graders value their differences and appreciate their similarities. Teachers of all ethnic backgrounds bring their views, values, dreams, and cultural baggage to the classroom. Teachers should consider what they represent and how they themselves view ethnic…

Teachers and students socialize one another in a reciprocal relationship. They both win--or lose--depending on the teachers' awareness and understanding. (Author)

The use of physical violence on students affronts democratic values and infringes on individual rights; furthermore, a study of school violence found a high correlation between physical punishment and violent behavior of students. (Author/MLF)

Gifted students come from all socioeconomic backgrounds. A broader definition of giftedness and improved assessment methods will help remove barriers that keep poor and minority students out of programs for the gifted. (TE)

The large achievement gap between white and minority children cannot be bridged by only improving schools. The factors which need to be looked into are health need of the children, providing stable housing to low-income families and increasing the number of professional caregivers during the out-of- school hours.

Besides linguistic and cultural components, bilingual education should include the "psychoinstructional dimension," that is, the dimension that includes a child's intellectual and personality traits derived from cultural and social class uniqueness. (Author/JM)

A review of the literature and a survey of practitioners' views show that the educational reform movement has done little to promote educational equity or to close the gender achievement gap. (Author/TE)

To address the issue of at-risk students, school systems must reexamine the value structure of schools and determine whether it is still valid. Curriculum developers need to be aware of socioeconomic class variables and develop school environments with a balanced perspective that enhance achievement for all students. (MD)

Current conflicts over test bias and "truth-in-testing" reflect differing aims of education and the increasingly important social role of testing in our society. (Author)

Criticizes the concept of structured immersion presented by Gersten and Woodward in the previous article. Points out questionable areas in the methodology and in interpretation of results in the research relating to implementation of structured immersion in Canada. (MD)

Robert P. Moses, teacher and Civil Rights activist, discusses contributions of his Algebra Project for predominantly minority youngsters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Taking and passing algebra in the eighth grade qualifies students for high-school honors math courses and improves their chances to enter college. Transforming neighborhood schools is…

The author's experiences as an urban school parent have convinced her that democratic commitments to school equity are central to creating appropriate and fair school choice. Three issues deserve educators' attention: the mixed results of voluntary desegregation programs, political and social agendas affecting public schooling, and the continuing…

The multiculturalism sought by Ronald Takaki is not ethnic separatism, but a serious scholarship that includes all United States peoples and challenges traditional master narratives of U.S. history. Class is a "hidden reality" of U.S. history. Multiculturalism affirms what this country stands for: opportunity, equality, and realization…