It has been well established that controversial issue discussions are an integral component to a high-quality civic education. However, as the United States has become increasingly politically polarized, teachers have become more hesitant to engage students in discussions of controversial political issues. Two decades worth of literature on…

National right-wing media and their viewers are alleging that critical race theory (CRT) is "infecting" public school classrooms, fueling an assault on how schools should discuss race, racism, and our nation's history. This turmoil over curriculum and teaching "sensitive" topics is deeply upsetting to teachers. Principals can…

Deciding which instructional strategies to employ is a complex issue faced daily by middle school teachers. Although a wealth of literature on developmentally appropriate and responsive middle school instructional practices is available, the extent to which these strategies are employed is often unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to…

Many talented beginning teachers leave the profession in the first 2 years. The author explores the reasons and presents a plan for principals to follow to help retain beginning teachers. (MD)

Teachers aware of education as an ecological concern in which organisms (the teacher and the learner) interact with each other and their environment (the learning situation) realize that education is not merely a matter of transmitting facts but also involves developing a consciousness of relationships, change, and potentials. (PGD)

Surveys teachers, administrators, superintendents, and school board members for opinions on whether each of 18 major characteristics commonly associated with effective schools could actually be included in the local school programs. Suggests courses of action for superintendents. (JW)

Homeroom "power" (the capability to affect students' feelings, attitudes, or behaviors) varies by meeting frequency and length, amount of student turnover, faculty members' length of assignment with one group of students, and number of allotted tasks. Homerooms can be revived to promote a communitarian spirit and serve students' need for…

The administrator must lead in the acceptance of linguistically different students and initiate changes in teacher attitudes toward such students. (Author/JM)

A substitute teacher advises regular teachers to support effective substitute teaching by maintaining a seating chart, leaving detailed lesson plans, grading work done in their absence, and training students to sit quietly awaiting class. (MJL)

Teachers cannot be members of learning communities without time for regular reflection, research, collaboration, and innovation. A private academy developed a formalized learning process dividing faculty into three groups. Each undergoes an evaluation year, a learning development year (with reduced teaching load), and a consolidation/practice…

Many middle schools use teaming or other models to create smaller teaching and learning units. Too often, schools align these models with characteristics advocated in the literature, rather than focusing on collaborative work environments' effects on teachers' and students' lives. These structures' true value lies in the collaborative work…

The current standards movement cannot succeed unless a school's culture is committed to helping all students achieve excellence. Principals must build a schoolwide culture of quality focused on learning projects. Teachers should design projects backwards, using standards and assessment rubrics based on actual student products and performances.…