In separate articles under the same title, both authors stress the importance of students' feelings of self-esteem and well-being in the classroom. The frequency of interaction with teachers, which directly influences self-esteem, diminishes as children move toward ninth grade while attitude toward school and school subjects becomes increasingly…

Presents innovative, multiple intelligence math practices that can boost student learning and promote fun in the classroom. Suggestions include doing picture book math, working on open-ended problems, doing math all day and everywhere, and working on cooperative group math. (SM)

In an interview, Amitai Etzioni, a social scientist and director of the Center for Policy Research at George Washington University, discusses his ideas for stronger schools, at the heart of which are self-motivated students who are self-disciplined and responsible. (JMK)

Techniques for helping students who are inconsistent in their efforts and their work are discussed. (MT)

Five strategies to help elementary teachers encourage a love of reading in their students are showing how reading fits into one's life, identifying all children as readers, focusing on good reading experiences, pointing out when reading works, and encouraging talk about books. A sidebar provides suggestions for positive reading reinforcement. (SM)

Presents suggestions to assist elementary teachers in engaging their students in investigating real environments to develop true self-esteem and learn to cope with occasional frustration or negative feedback. One sidebar discusses how much self-esteem is enough. Another sidebar suggests questions to ask before praising a child. (SM)