The author is a historian of education and has written often about the educational enthusiasms and fads of the past century. One of her books, titled "Left Back," tells the story of the rise and fall of one fad after another across the 20th century. In brief, what she has found is that in the land of American pedagogy, innovation is frequently…

Hollow reforms, like proposals that emphasize get-tough accountability over support for educators and widespread choice over quality neighborhood schools, enjoy their share of supporters. As the author watched the choice and accountability movements gain momentum across the nation, she concluded that curriculum and instruction were far more…

This article asserts that the Right wants textbooks to reflect their idealized past (two-parent families, mothers at home, obedient children), while the Left wants texts to reflect their idealized future (old people are not frail, race and gender are not issues, and blindness is not a disability). To accommodate both, publishers now censor…

Presents several tributes to Jeanne Chall, long-time educator and director of the Reading Laboratory at Harvard University. The tributes focus on Chall's historic contribution to the field of reading research; her beliefs about the ability of all children to read; her written works; her abilities as a teacher and as a mentor; and her ability to…

Profiles William Chandler Bagley, an educator and dissident who got branded a "reactionary" for insisting, 75 years ago, that all children should have access to a liberal education, regardless of their IQ. Bagley warned that IQ tests posed grave educational and social dangers. He also advocated for higher standards, better-educated teachers, and…

Reviews the history of ideas about the proper role of history in high school curricula. Asserts that the acceptance of social efficiency as the touchstone of curricula, as well as history's absorption into social studies, proved disastrous. Calls for reassessment of the inherent values of studying history. (KH)

Reflects on the development of secondary school standards and their alleged decline as evidenced by declining college admission test scores. Reviews recent educational research which suggests that teachers and school officials need to have higher expectations of students if they are to learn effectively. (APM)

Some of the New Right's criticisms of our education system, particularly those relating to sex and values education, reflect legitimate discontent in the wider population. School officials should be prepared to explain and defend their choice of curriculum materials; the best support for the public schools is an informed public. (Author/GC)

Discusses the controversy over multicultural education. Contrasts California's pluralistic approach with New York's particularistic approach. Argues for a multiculturalism that provides students with both an appreciation for America's racial and cultural diversity and a commitment to the common culture that unites all of us in America. (JS)