Annual Editions: Education 07/08

UNIT 1. How Others See Us and How We See Ourselves1. The Biology of Risk Taking, Lisa F. Price, Educational Leadership, April 2005The author clearly discusses the physiological bases of adolescence. It is a very important essay on this matter. This article illuminates the wonders of puberty and explains why educators need to have a positive outlook on kids in early puberty.2. Squeeze Play, Glenn Cook, American School Board Journal, January 2006The author discusses the political pressures on American school board members. The concept of "local control" of American schools is being altered in its meaning by pressures from state legislatures, Congress, and national special interest pressure groups. The author describes the dilemmas school board members face under these pressures.3. Democracy's First Step, Kathleen Vail, American School Board Journal, January 2006Vail considers the importance of local school board membership in sparking the public service careers of several prominent American political leaders. The non-partisan political nature of school board membership is intended to distance school board elections from party politics. Reflections by prominent past school board members are summarized.4. Social Science and the Citizen, Society, January/February 2006Here is a summary of issues relating to academic freedom in higher education regarding the role of social science in citizenship education. Issues relating to alleged discrimination in searches for new faculty members are raised.5. Parents Behaving Badly, Nancy Gibbs, Time, February 21, 2005Parents can behave wrongly, and it is thus important that parents and elders learn to be in communication with educators. There is a need for understanding between parents and teachers.6. Sobriety Tests Are Becoming Part of the School Day, Patrick O'Gilfoil Healy, The New York Times, March 3, 2005This article deals with sobriety tests for kids who might come to school having used alcohol. Basically it describes what school districts are doing to try to prevent kids from coming to school with alcohol on them.7. The 37th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, Lowell C. Rose and Alec M. Gallup, Phi Delta Kappan, September 2005This annual poll of the public's attitudes toward the public school system continues to be a very valuable source of information regarding the current state of publicly supported education.UNIT 2. Rethinking and Changing the Educative Effort8. Dancing Lessons for Elephants: Reforming Ed School Leadership Program, Jerome T. Murphy, Phi Delta Kappan, March 2006The author discusses the controversies surrounding the leadership training programs for school administrators in colleges of education. He argues that educators must face the more than twenty years of criticism of school leadership programs that prepare school principals, superintendents, and other school leaders.9. Textural Perceptions of School Time and Assessment, Eric D. Turley, Phi Delta Kappan, February 2006The issue of how time is conceived in schools is explored here and related to alternative forms of student assessments (testing). "Team testing" (or group testing) is defined and explained.10. The Father of Modern School Reform, Nick Gillespie, Reason, December 2005This article includes an interview with Milton Friedman whose ideas regarding how to reform schooling in the 1950s sparked the modern educational reform movement. He argued for universal school vouchers decades ago, one of the first (possibly the first) to do so effectively. Friedman vigorously defends the concept of universal school vouchers.11. Friendly Competition, George M. Holmes, Jeff Desimone, and Nicholas G. Rupp, Education Next, Winter 2006The authors of this essay deal with the question as to what extent the existence of charter schools might motivate or cause improvements in public schools. They discuss the difficulties encountered when attempting to answer this question accurately. They argue that the presence of charter school competition increases traditional public school performance by about 1 percent.12. Urban and Rural Schools: Overcoming Lingering Obstacles, Paul Theobald, Phi Delta Kappan, October 2005The author provides a very good historical summary of the social and economic background of the development of rural and urban schools in the history of the United States. He also briefly provides some of the English background for American schooling. He argues that rural and urban schools share many of the same problems, yet there is a great cultural divide between them. Rural and urban educators try to bridge this divide.UNIT 3. Striving for Excellence: The Drive for Quality13. Alternative Approaches to High-Stakes Testing, Leon M. Lederman and Ray A. Burnstein, Phi Delta Kappan, February 2006The authors discuss possible alternatives to high-tension individual classroom assessment that may promote improved student performance. They recommend better educational technologies in classroom assessment and keypad-based formative assessment to help students meet new state and national accountability standards.14. What Colleges Forget to Teach, Robert P. George, City Journal, Winter 2006The author contends that colleges should prepare students to understand better the history of American civilization and not simply to focus on class, race, and gender issues or differences. He relates the educational mission of colleges teaching young adults to the broader cultural and political traditions of the nation. What he argues applies to the mission of secondary schools and the education of adolescents. Civic education must be our focus.15. Boys at Risk: The Gender Achievement Gap, Glenn Cook, American School Board Journal, April 2006This is a brief article on the differences in school performance between boys and girls in the elementary school years. The author describes what some schools are doing to improve the school performance of boys and to narrow the gender gap in terms of school achievement.16. Standardized Students: The Problems with Writing for Tests Instead of People, Bronwyn T. Williams, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, October 2005The author provides a critique regarding how standardized tests are used in schools. This author believes that not all forms of literacy education can be dealt with effectively by standardized accountability testing. The teaching of writing is used for the justification of the author's position on this topic.17. Observer: A Little Ethics Left Behind, Alan Greenblatt, Governing, July 2005The author discusses the ethical issues that need to be considered to prevent "cheating" by educators regarding student performance data. The article is brief yet it raises ethical issues of which we all need to be aware.18. Keeping Score, John Cole, American Educator, Spring 2005Cole provides an argument regarding standardized testing in which he defends standardized tests as a good thing for educators and students. The standards on which tests are created need to be appropriate for the student. He believes Congress "gave the farm away" when it allowed states to develop their own standards.UNIT 4. Values, Society, and Education19. Character and Academics: What Good Schools Do, Jacques S. Benninga et al., Phi Delta Kappan, February 2006The authors present a strong case that well-defined and implemented character education programs should exist along side traditional academic programs in the schools. Students need to learn about such values as respect for person, civility, honor, perseverance, and many others.20. Patriotism and Education: An Introduction, Joel Westheimer, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2006Westheimer contends that every student should learn love of country, yet he addresses the question of the right of dissent and what students should know about it. Patriotism represents a complex idea; ho
w should the schools approach it?21. Patriotism and Accountability: The Role of Educators in the War on Terrorism, Pedro Noguera and Robby Cohen, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2006The authors address the idea of patriotism in school. They argue that students should learn critical reasoning skills, which will enable them to defend their country when it is right, yet also to be able to think critically about their country's policies.22. Should We Teach Patriotism?, Diane Ravitch, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2006Ravitch reminds us that historically the schools have taught students about patriotism and responsible citizenship. Thus, the public schools have historically been responsible with this nation's democratic ideology.23. Promoting Altruism in the Classroom, E.H. Mike Robinson III and Jennifer R. Curry, Childhood Education, Winter 2005/2006The authors present ideas on how to teach about altruism in educational settings, especially in classrooms. They raise the question as to how we can teach students about self-sacrifice, not contingent on reward. They argue that teachers can be great role models to their students regarding caring, compassionate behavior toward others.24. In the End You Are Sure to Succeed: Lincoln on Perseverance, Harold Holzer, OAH Magazine of History, January 2006Holzer looks at Abraham Lincoln's ideas on personal perseverance, a very important value. The author found this anecdote among Lincoln's private papers.UNIT 5. Managing Life in Classrooms25. Welcome to the House System, Daniel G. Green, Educational Leadership, April 2006The author describes an interesting case study on how the faculty and students at a junior high school came up with an idea for improving the quality of life in their school. It is called the "House System."26. Discipline: Responding to Socioeconomic and Racial Differences, Doris Walker-Dalhouse, Childhood Education, Fall 2005Walker-Dalhouse discusses reasons for discipline problems in schools. She relates her essay to issues related to fairness and equity in relationships between students and teachers. She also addresses racial, ethical, and social class relationships in classrooms. The article used Marva Collins's methods of classroom management.27. Reach Them to Teach Them, Carol Ann Tomlinson and Kristina Doubet, Educational Leadership, April 2005This article discusses two models, with reference from both, on how to help students. The author goes on to discuss how teachers can be respectful and share stories with students.28. Dealing with Rumors, Secrets, and Lies: Tools of Aggression for Middle School Girls, Betsy Lane, Middle School Journal, January 2005The author discusses in very interesting detail how girls and boys will use lies and rumors to achieve their personal goals in their social lives, and offers suggestions on how to reach out to students.UNIT 6. Cultural Diversity and Schooling29. The Heightened Significance of Brown v. Board of Education in Our Time, William G. Wraga, Phi Delta Kappan, February 2006The author discusses the great constitutional ramifications for every American citizen today from the historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. He reminds us that the Brown decision also affirmed other important American civic ideals; he suggests that some of these ideals may now be a hazard.30. The Role of Social Foundation in Preparing Teachers for Culturally Relevant Practice, Ann Marie Ryan, Multicultural Education, Spring 2006The role of course work in cultural or social foundations of education in the preparation of teachers is discussed. Such content encourages teachers to consider "culturally relevant pedagogical teaching styles." Possible means by which to implement culturally relevant pedagogy in the schools are suggested.31. Tolerance in Teacher Education, Sandy White Watson and Linda Johnston, Multicultural Education, Spring 2006Watson and Johnston provide suggestions as to how to help pre-service teachers become culturally responsive ones. They present the concept of "microcultures" and suggest teaching young teachers how to become more aware of multicultural teaching contexts.32. Dialogue Across Cultures: Teachers' Perceptions About Communication with Diverse Families, Arti Joshi, Jody Eberly, and Jean Konzal, Multicultural Education, Winter 2005The authors discuss issues relating to how teachers' perceptions of others influence how they communicate with culturally diverse families. They make suggestions for translating cross-cultural understandings into practical teaching strategies.33. African American Boys and the Discipline Gap: Balancing Educator's Uneven Hand, Carla R. Monroe, Educational Horizons, Winter 2006Literature on how African American boys interact with teachers is reviewed, and Monroe takes a critical view of how their teachers interact with them. The "discipline gap" in the classroom is discussed. Cultural and racial prejudices are suggested by the author as the cause of this situation.34. Grooming Great Urban Teachers, Michele Foster, Jeffrey Lewis, and Laura Onafowora, Educational Leadership, March 2005The authors report on specific teaching goals and classroom pedagogical methods used by effective urban teachers as well as specific means by which to get pre-service, becoming teachers, involved in learning the best teaching practices that are effective with minority students.UNIT 7. Serving Special Needs and Concerns35. Hearts and Minds: Military Recruitment and the High School Battlefield, William Ayers, Phi Delta Kappan, April 2006Ayers discusses his study of military recruitment practices in American high schools. As part of this project, he also interviewed a group of wounded American veterans from the war in Iraq, each of whom had one thing in common: each has received the Purple Heart.36. City's Pupils Get More Hype than Hope, Sol Stern, City Journal, Winter 2006The author explores political dimensions of operations in urban school systems, and he is critical of the effectiveness of mayoral control of major city school systems. He argues that much publicity is addressed to parents and students, yet there is less hope for students because of the political power plays for control of urban school systems.37. Approaching the Unavoidable: Literacy Instruction and the Internet, Jacquelynn A. Malloy and Linda B. Gambrell, The Reading Teacher, February 2006Malloy and Gambrell report on how the rapid pace of technological change in schooling leads to the use of online reading instruction in addition to this use of traditional printed text materials. They offer clear examples as to how this can be done.38. Acting White, Roland G. Fryer, Education Next, Winter 2006How "acting white" can have possible adverse long-term effects on minority students is discussed. The reasons for this phenomenon are documented by the author. He reports on how he gathered his research results. The social costs to high achieving minority students are documented.39. How Boys Learn, Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens, Educational Horizons, Winter 2006The authors present a discussion of their inquires into how boys think. They raise important questions regarding why boys receive most of the failing grades on tests and girls receive very few failing grades. They raise the questions: "What should teachers do? Change the curriculum for boys? Teach the boys differently?" They argue that gender differences really occur in the brain. There is also a brief discussion of human brain development in early childhood.40. The Overdominance of Computers, Lowell W. Monke, Educational Leadership, December 2005/January 2006Monke explores the question as to whether or not we are putting an overabundance of emphasis on the use of computers in student learning. He raises important questions as to whether or not we ought to seek some balance between the use of computers and traditional methods of learning.41. Morality, Medicine, and Meaning: Toward an Integrated Justification of Physical Education<
/B>, Sigmund Loland, Quest, 2006The author provides an in-depth review and analysis of research on physical education as part of a student's overall educational experience. He asks: What are the values of physical education? How should it be integrated into a student's overall educational experience? He raises moral justifications for physical education.UNIT 8. The Profession of Teaching Today42. Starting with the Soul, Sam M. Intrator and Robert Kunzman, Educational Leadership, March 2006The authors argue that teachers need ways of teacher renewal as educators. They need to have opportunities to restore their passion for teaching that they may be inspired to teach from their professional "souls." They describe two professional development programs for teachers and suggest others.43. The Satisfactions of Teaching, Elliot Eisner, Educational Leadership, March 2006Eisner gives examples of two great teachers, Elie Wiesel and Mamie Till Mobley, and discusses their careers as teachers and the characteristics that made them great. A distinguished educator himself, the author discusses those characteristics that can lead to greatness in teaching.44. Mayhem in the Middle: Why We Should Shift to K-8, Cheri Pierson Yecke, Educational Leadership, April 2006The author argues that we should shift from the model of middle schooling prevalent in the United States in recent years back to K-8 schools. She cites two case studies to support her thesis and offers ten programmatic strategies for the transition.45. Guess Again: Will Changing the Grades Save Middle-Level Education?, James Beane and Richard Lipka, Educational Leadership, April 2006Beane and Lipka argue that changing the structures of schooling is not to face the real problems of the current model of middle schooling. They offer six suggestions for trying to address problems with the current model of middle schooling.46. Developing Social Justice Educators, Jeffrey M.R. Duncan-Andrade, Educational Leadership, March 2005The author presents a description of how teachers can teach for social justice in society and how they can focus on social justice concerns in their classrooms. He offers his conception of a social justice philosophy for educators, and offers examples of how three teachers have done this.47. The Boss in the Classroom, Louis P. Masur, The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 2, 2005The author offers specific suggestions as to how to help students see greater significance to the subject matter that they learn in school by using popular culture artists, especially musicians, to liven up course work. He uses Bruce Springsteen as an example in this article, as well as other popular artists such as Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.UNIT 9. For Vision and Hope: Alternative Visions of Reality48. The New WWW: Whatever, Whenever, Wherever, Tom March, Educational Leadership, December 2005/January 2006The author argues that the great technological advances offer great things for the future of how we can or will be educated. The new WWW will be universal, worldwide in scope. We will be able to learn "whatever, whenever, wherever." People can learn on personal handheld devices as well as by using personal computers. In the future people will have many modes to access knowledge.49. Listen to the Natives, Marc Prensky, Educational Leadership, December 2005/January 2006Prensky makes the case that today's students in the schools of the 21st century have more advanced electronic knowledge than most of their older teachers whose skills are based on 20th century knowledge. Therefore, teachers should talk with their students and ask them what they know about the new technologies. He refers to today's students as "digital natives." Many of their teachers are "digital immigrants."50. The Future of Education: Four Scenarios, Robert Sanborn et al., Current, March/April 2005The authors identify four scenarios for the future of education in the next twenty years. It may be that what actually will occur is a combination of two or more of these scenarios for the future of education.51. Deja Vu All Over Again?, Henry Levin, Education Next, Spring 2006Levin contends that schools of the future will continue to operate pretty much as they do now in the first decade of the 21st century. We continue to rediscover the "wheel" in education; thus, many current predictions for the future of education are echoes of rhetoric concerning the future of schooling, first conjured up in the 1990s. We will see what the future will bring.52. An Emerging Culture, Christopher Bamford and Eric Utne, Utne Reader, May/June 2003The authors provide a worldwide vision of how the innovative alternative Waldorf School System has come about, which is part of the vision for a better human condition created by the social vision of Rudolf Steiner. Steiner's vision of a better human future has been played out in many different fields of human endeavor, education being one of them.