Teaching load, academic freedom, student caliber, colleague caliber, and other factors that make up the academic environment determine the effectiveness of faculty. (HS)

The success of classroom activities must always be kept in mind by the teacher. Six important factors explain how to achieve this success. (MF)

The improvement of college teaching rests not on improving the instructors, but on improving the contexts of teaching. (RA)

Lists some of the rewards of being a developmental educator and then discusses the harsh realities of a poor image, lack of institutional support, restrictions on facilities and resources, territorial jealousies of academic personnel, different types of students, and demands by evaluators for miracles. (AYC)

Philadelphia's Parkway Program is an alternative high school featuring great teacher autonomy. Recent reductions in force and teacher reassignment for racial balance led to the discovery that both teachers who had originally selected Parkway and those placed in the program involuntarily wished to remain in the program after experiencing it. (PGD)

Teacher professionalism and educational restructuring have the same goal--to make teachers more responsive to their students. To transform teaching into an authentic profession involves six changes: reforming teacher education and licensing, restructuring schools, reforming unions, improving accountability, and bettering salaries and working…

Previous educational reform efforts have not made significant, lasting improvements because they focused on correcting visible structural flaws. Educational organizations are social organisms held together by a symbolic webbing, not formal systems driven by goals, official roles, commands, and rules. Deep structures and practices must be…

Discusses the impact on El Cerrito High School teachers of the bankruptcy of the Richmond Unified School District. Suggests that the teachers have lost the luxury of a moment to reflect. (RS)

Recounts a dinner conversation between 2 high school English teachers: a 30-year veteran, and a former protege planning to enter college teaching after 5 disappointing years pursuing a vision of classroom integrity. Both seem disillusioned by incessant daily interruptions and distractions beyond their control. Sadly the teacher attrition rate…

Examines the teacher shortage in public schools and describes a survey that asked Catholic school teachers why they chose to work in a religious environment. Discusses responses, including: (1) 45% said they wanted to share the faith with their students; (2) 9% said they needed a job; and (3) 12% said that they had attended a Catholic school.…

A majority (60%) of 61 winners of outstanding young agriculture teacher awards identified seven important problems/challenges for beginning teachers. At the top were classroom management and discipline, time and organizational management, and management of Future Farmers of America activities. (SK)

Offers suggestions for creating a prepared environment for teachers, within the context of Montessori practice. Maintains that teachers' status can be ensured by practices such as giving concrete individual acknowledgments, creating social times together, learning together, doing purposeful process work, exhibiting respectful behavior,…

Discusses Louisiana teacher resignation case wherein the trial court ruled and the appeals court affirmed that the resignation was not made under duress and thus the district had not breached the teacher's contract. Discusses other court decisions dealing with issues of voluntary resignation and withdrawal and their implications for principals.…

According to the Texas State Board of Education in 2002, 60% of teachers in Texas classrooms quit the profession after only five years in the classroom. In 1998-99, Texas filled over 63,000 teaching positions. Most vacant positions resulted from existing teachers retiring (11,000) or leaving the profession (46,600). A recent study in Texas…