The new literacy goes beyond the requirements for a high school diploma, including capacities once demanded only of a privileged, college-bound elite. This book concerns this new, higher literacy and whether current educational restructuring efforts are likely to foster such literacy in all students. The study used informal interviewing techniques and examined classrooms for evidence of nine general climate indicators conducive to a literacy of thoughtfulness. The first chapters focus on rural America, especially the Deep South, where teachers are educating children to leave their communities. The third chapter describes education on an Indian reservation, where the colonial model is waning. Chapter 4 describes the conflicts and contradictions in a troubled, but typical urban school district unintentionally engaged in undermining literacy efforts. Chapter 5 broadens the notion of "policy environment" and describes the contributions of a governor, a legislature, a state school board, and a district judge. Chapter 6 describes a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, school district that is addressing serious problems in positive ways. The next chapter describes the Toronto (Ontario, Canada) School District, where the most advanced form of literacy thoughtfulness is occurring. Chapter 7 tells how local and provincial policies sustain this literacy, and chapter 8 sums up findings from all the schools, districts, states, and Canadian provinces visited. The book contains an index and a bibliography of 214 references. (MLH)