Self-empowerment techniques are personal growth activities that are used over time to create a sense of self-worth, personal accountability, and power in an individual. Generally, the goal of these techniques is to recognize, accept, and act upon individual hidden reserves of talent, ability, and courage. The techniques are learned experientially…

Educating young people to give them alternatives to violence for their futures is explored in this examination of the causes of violence in schools and society and possible solutions. The challenge is one of moving from cultures that condone violence and intolerance of difference to cultures that are both more tolerant and more peaceful. Part I of…

To keep up with the rapidly changing American economy, schools must produce individuals who are more flexible, more versatile, and more adaptable in planning and actualizing their careers and lives. Three categories of basic skills--generalizable, transitional, and problem-solving skills--form a comprehensive model for identifying and predicting…

Here is an easy-to-read and inspiring text that explores the nature of young people and the effects traditional discipline strategies have on them. The author recommends humanistic approaches that promote personal growth in students rather than the common system of reward and punishment that aggravates underlying psychological issues and…

The project of writing and assembling the rhetoric-reader "Reading the Landscape: Writing a World" came from a wish to open for discussion a strong feeling that thinking about the land and a person's relationship to it empowers people as writers. The objective was to develop a composition course related to the environment that will…

This book discusses the centrality of rhetoric in the academy, asserting the intimate connection between language and knowledge making and stressing the need for a change in the roles of teachers and students in today's classroom. The goal is mutuality, or sharing authority between teachers and students, and allowing everyone an equal voice. For…

For her sabbatical a professor of teacher education at Emporia State University returned to the elementary classroom after a 20-year absence to teach in a third/fourth combination classroom in the Emporia, Kansas Public Schools. The return to elementary classroom teaching provided the professor with the opportunity to utilize some of the social…

Talk is an important medium of instruction and assessment in schools. By talking to pupils and listening to what they have to say teachers assess and support pupils' learning. For pupils to be successful and make the most of the learning opportunities offered, it is important that they become active participants in the discourse of the classroom.…

All over the world educators work towards social justice in a variety of classroom projects. How might teachers of English language arts be informed by this variety of projects--all of which involve young people and their teachers exploring relationships between language and power? Theoretically, protagonists of critical literacies have many…

Examined the life histories of early adolescent participants in Artists in the Making, a program designed to motivate inner city youth through participation in visual arts classes. Student interviews indicated that, despite participant diversity, there were several common themes, including self-discovery, problem solving skills, opportunities for…

Examines the rise in school exclusions in England during the 1990s. focuses on topics, such as: defining school exclusion (a student experiencing school expulsion or suspension), the number of excluded students, who is excluded, and reasons for excluding students. Includes the views of excluded children and addresses a 1999 government initiative.…

Presents a project designed to break down barriers between immigrant and host-culture students using multiple forms of literacy. Focuses on Bosnian students who have recently immigrated to the United States via refugee camps and other nations. Demonstrates that encouraging results can occur when students and families are brought together in…

By using group activities for learning, cooperative student effort for school events, and peer pressure for classroom discipline, Japanese teachers involve and empower their students. While American students feel that classrooms are teachers' sacred ground, Japanese students appropriate them as their rightful community. Instead of stressing…

Analyzes the evaluation of student feedback to a tutor in the Open University (Great Britain). Discusses tutor effectiveness in supporting individual students; group tutorials; self-help and mutual support by students; formative feedback on written assignments; participatory evaluation; and power relations, including "pseudoempowerment."…

A study involving 14 preschool children (7 with disabilities) found that the children with disabilities were provided with more choices than the children without disabilities. Children both with and without disabilities, however, initiated choice making opportunities at the same rate. Female children were provided with more opportunities to make…