This article provides a description of the birth of The Odyssey Initiative. As teachers, this group of three, all educators, knew that there was outrage about the state of education in America. Griping about our nation's schools has almost become a pastime, and with very good reason. However, they found the solutions being offered to save our…

Increasingly, educational reform is linked to the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs). Definitions of PLCs vary, but generally the concept refers to a group of educators who "continuously seek and share learning, and act on their learning" (Hord 1997, 6). Stoll and her colleagues, concluding their review of the current state of…

In this essay, the authors discuss what it might take to develop knowledge that can help education policymakers and schools attain their goals. In reading both the research and the current policy environment, the authors identify several fundamental reasons why it is so difficult to develop the knowledge needed to inform policies that might enable…

Why did our former president and the late progressive U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone support the charter public school approach, while rejecting public funds for private or parochial schools? Why has civil rights legend Rosa Parks been a strong charter supporter? Why has the number of states with some form of charter law grown from one in 1992 to…

For teachers and schools and schoolchildren, the politics of education is a no-win situation. Public schools serve public purposes. That mission makes them political, so the interests of the children and teachers are at best secondary. This document explores the author's opinion about teacher educators and their default into the hands of the…

Review of service-learning research shows that, although sustained involvement improves civic development, few schools require substantial service hours. Sensitivity to type of placement makes a difference. Problems of definition and measurement of diverse activities hinder research interpretation. (SK)

A vast information gap exists between medical experts and the general public who are expected to perform as responsible health consumers. Considers the responsibility of health educators and the goals of a health-care system to develop a nation of individuals who understand the functions of their bodies. (Author/RK)

Discusses the adolescent father and the persons involved in intervention, education, and health-care delivery for adolescent parents. (Author/RK)

Suggests a framework for the classroom teacher or individual school to develop an individualized health education curriculum. (Author/RK)

Presents a brief summation of recent developments in education in the United States and in Europe. (RK)

Six years ago the late Commissioner of Education, James Allen, proclaimed the "Right-to-Read" as the educational target of the current decade. The object of this program was to develop reading skills among Americans lacking such skills. An evaluation of that program was presented. (Author/RK)

Explores the failure of textbook publications to report on the role of women without sex-stereotyping them. Comparisons of males and females in positions of dominance or as central figures in textbooks were made. (RK)

Attempts to propose a cognitive process model of problem finding, operationally define problem finding, and to present empirical evidence for the proposed model. (Author/RK)

Kohlberg's theory of moral development explains some of the moral confusion emerging from the diverse, yet justifiable, reasoning in our complex society. This interview attempts to clarify Kohlberg's moral theory and relate its meaning to educational practice. (Editor/RK)

Discusses the legal basis for teaching morality in public education and provides ten suggestions for educators. (Editor/RK)