Authors and education consultants Jane Kise and Ann C. Holm explore how teachers and leaders can treat challenges facing their schools as "polarities" which require regular work and attention to the needs of the entire community, as opposed to quick, one-time fixes. This approach not only provides more effective solutions to ingrained…

The win-win approach to solving conflicts, which has become popular in the business world, should be a natural for the school environment. Win-win thinking can foster a cooperative school climate by meeting educators' and students' needs for dignity, belonging, and respect. Yet win-win thinking faces a number of obstacles in schools, writes…

Ethical teaching dilemmas generally fit four patterns: individual versus community, truth versus loyalty, short-term versus long-term, and justice versus mercy. Research discloses five core shared values: compassion, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect. When choosing among end-, rule-, and care-based resolution approaches, teachers'…

Concern over the moral condition of American society is spawning a new character-education movement requiring teachers to create a moral community, practice moral discipline, foster classroom democracy, teach values through the curriculum, stress cooperative learning and conflict resolution, and foster caring beyond the classroom. (MLH)