This review essay affirms the work Mr. Red does with his students to support their learning about evolution and how his approach agrees with the realities of teaching evolution in the American South. It then shows how focusing on understanding, but not necessarily belief, adds to Mr. Red's apparent neutrality a complimentary pedagogical approach…

This article is a response to Kassam, Avery, and Ruelle's insights as presented in this forum on rural science education. Topics considered include troubling the urban/rural divide in the context of Indigenous knowledge and expanding to include the common Canadian notion of the "remote," a designation rooted in our national colonial…

This paper is a reflection on the way that a background in sociocultural theory and research actually saved my teaching career by allowing me to shift from being a dispenser of knowledge to a cultural neophyte attempting to understand where he is. Teaching then is understood as a reading exercise which is undertaken in a particular place which…

"Rural education": the phrase conjures up unflattering images of broken blackboards and slates, lackadaisical teachers and students, rote learning and of outdated teaching techniques and suppressed creativity. Yet, these images are completely out of consonance with modern India and a knowledge-based society. This article describes a new…

Describes the experiences of one teacher-consultant who was sent to conduct inservice workshops for English teachers in a rural environment. Considers the nature of the word "rural" and the kinds of problems encountered in rural settings. (HB)

A fifth grade teacher in a rural Kentucky school discusses three years of classroom experiences applying the Foxfire approach, focuses on the democratic decision-making process and the importance of student self-esteem, describes student-project problems and successes, and lists student accomplishments. (SV)

Describes the beginnings of the Foxfire instructional approach; its spread in eastern Kentucky, supported by the Eastern Kentucky Teachers Network; and its special relevance for rural and Appalachian children. Includes comments by teachers and students about their educational experiences and class projects. (SV)

This article proposes the use of special education knowledge within a general education framework. Research on federal policies to achieve educational equity has shown that special education policies have created elements of an unequal educational system. Rural educators need to move beyond "special education" in rural settings, to address the…

A mother describes the troubles she and her daughter had with her daughter's education until Robert Owens gave a weekend workshop on values-based accelerated learning. Knowing that there are different learning styles that can be matched by appropriate teaching styles enabled her to understand her daughter's problems and develop strategies to help…

Examines elements of the telecommunications delivery system as a means of teaching vocational education. The author discusses costs of teleconferencing; telecommunications consortia at the state, national, and local level; access to off-campus students; satellite teleconferencing seminars; slow scan video teleconferencing networks; and two-way…

This paper examines the educational needs of rural students and suggests ways that college programs can be adapted to the learning characteristics of rural students. Rural students are likely to be global learners, have a strong preference for cooperation, view learning as a social experience, have an aversion to individual recognition, experience…

This paper is the personal journey of one teacher from a rural childhood, through a small university, to a rural school, and eventually to the city. It contrasts the intense challenges that rural teachers and students face with the unique opportunities afforded them by virtue of being rural. It includes an attempt to piece together the factors…

The educational potential of agriculture stems from the diversity and tangibility of its components. As a science based human activity, it may provide the educator with a unique combination of educational opportunities in a context which is authentic and accessible to the pupil and to the teacher. (JHZ)

An education methods teacher evaluated her own teaching while supervising two former students during their student teaching semester. She found that her students used some of her methods, but there were some things that only the cooperating teachers could teach. Cooperating teachers need more staff development and should work more closely with…

Because it is Internet-based, telelearning is less centralized than distance learning. Learners can access a wide range of information and attend virtual classes. Increased flexibility will lead to education for individual learners rather than classes. Teachers will have to consider technological, organizational, and pedagogical changes to move…