It's understandable that federal education leaders, like Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, tend to focus on areas of broad agreement within education. But Joshua Starr suggests that they're neglecting important stories that need to be told. In particular, education leaders need to create a new narrative that recognizes society's collective…

"Kappan" editor Rafael Heller talks with the Guttmacher Institute's Laura Lindberg, one of the nation's leading researchers in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, about recent data and trends related to teens' sexual behavior, contraceptive use, pregnancy rates, and more, including their experiences with school-based…

People often think that power only flows downhill in school. The author draws on his own research observations, as well as the philosophy of Michel Foucault, to offer more nuanced insights. He explains that power is not a "thing" people can possess and that it flows in multiple directions, forming a web of influence. These insights…

The 2016 presidential campaign and its aftermath have underscored the extreme polarization of the electorate, the dismissal of people with opposing views, and the widespread acceptance and circulation of one-sided and factually erroneous information. In addition, only a small proportion of those who are eligible actually vote, and a declining…

The author, a 5th-grade teacher at an independent boys' school, gives a first-person account of how her constant assessments and requirement that her students be active participants in their own learning gainsays the need for high-stakes, standardized testing. She posits a "living assessment" that is intertwined, interactive and…

This article presents an interview with Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education Kevin Jennings on his ideas about school safety. In this interview, Jennings describes his plans for making schools safer for students and for developing a way to measure school climate that can drive such changes. Bullied in school, Jennings now devotes his life to…

The sense of calling that compels educators to persist through difficult times and cope with stressful situations, also puts educators at risk for burning out. In order to fight potential burnout, both schools and individual teachers must attend to the issue. Schools must develop themselves as supportive work environments and educators must be…

Reducing prejudice is not enough. The author argues that we also should promote allophilia, that is, feelings of affection, engagement, kinship, comfort, and enthusiasm for groups other than our own.

Unconscious biases affect one's relationships, whether they are fleeting relationships in airports or longer term relationships between teachers and students, teachers and parents, teachers and other educators. In this article, the author argues that understanding one's possible biases is essential for developing community in schools.…

Teachers and administrators are often directed to distance themselves from the children in their charge. Despite the land mines that accompany personal relationships with students, the authors argue that educators can still learn to build personal relationships with students. Personal-relationship building is one of the most important skills a…

All children can learn under conditions that permit and sustain steady attention to instruction and study. Given the necessary optimum conditions, it is likely that even average teaching can penetrate with positive effect simply because the only distraction would be the teachers themselves. (Author/IRT)

In this article, the author shares the lesson she learned from her young friend, Mirabel, whose mother was dying. By following the daily path of support taken by Mirabel, she learned that it does not matter whether schools have a hundred kids, a thousand kids, or several thousand kids. Teachers must make sure that they can make room for each one.…

The ability to take a playful outlook is important to creative thought, but too often schools recognize the legitimacy of structured games only, squelching creative play. Schools should cultivate natural playfulness so that children can adapt to our fast-changing world and learn to create new rules. (Author/WD)

In a steady diet of shocking daily news stories, the author saw one item that was particularly shocking. A 5-year-old kindergarten child just "lost it" in her classroom, went a little berserk, threw violent fits, and had to be restrained with handcuffs. Such an incident seems to beg for analysis, and countless columnists offered their insights and…

Critiques Arthur Jensen's concept of a "reality principle" in educational research from the March 1984 "Phi Delta Kappan." Emphasizes that objectivity and ideology are complementary, not contradictory, aspects of educators' work. (MD)