American society exudes both a deep-rooted hostility and a chilling indifference toward youth, reinforcing the dismal conditions that increasingly characterize young people's existence. Children and teens are losing hope for the future. An education professor (and former basketball scholarship student) provides enlightening insights from his own…

Contends that the Bush Administration's "America 2000" plan is a political and ideological statement that substitutes the logic of the market for the principles of democracy and ignores the need for multiculturalism in the schools. Provides some general recommendations for educational reform. (30 endnotes) (MLF)

The boundaries between entertainment, education, and commercialization collapse through Disney's reach into diverse spheres of everyday life. Disney's "innocence" is a promotional mask covering its aggressive marketing techniques and influence in transforming children into active consumers. Although Disney's films are joyous and adventurous, they…

Deplores the current drive toward cost efficiency, restructuring, and vocationalization of colleges of education. Cultural studies offer an opportunity to redefine educational theory and practice and educate teachers and administrators to play a vital role in renewing civic life. Concerned with empowerment and the democratic process, cultural…

Discusses media culture and the populist construction of nationalist identity, highlighting right-wing conservatives Pat Buchanan's and Rush Limbaugh's cultural conformist viewpoints. Leftist intellectual Richard Rorty's notion of national identity constricts the principles informing a multicultural and multiracial society. Educators need a…