Maintains that early formative experiences have a strong impact on the way beginning teachers think about teaching and about becoming professionals, and that teacher training institutions must accommodate and deal with the autobiographies of preservice teachers; otherwise, future beginning teachers will teach as they were taught. (SR)

Recalls memorable moments from the author's public school life which imply that the best possible learning environments are active, meaningful, personalized, and collaborative; nourished by conversation, by reading, and by writing among teachers, administrators, parents, and students; and that the best teachers are learners. (SR)

Recommends a variant of desktop publishing for classroom publishing of newsletters, school newspapers, and class-compiled and individually authored books, taking writing beyond traditional classroom contexts with teacher as sole audience. Promotes cut-and-paste production using whatever computers and software are available as expedient and…

Imagine, in a short story medium, teaching in a public school system in which standardized tests have become the reason for and purpose of education. (SR)

Argues that we must become critical thinkers about critical thinking. Issues addressed include: (1) knowledge vs. information; (2) substance vs. form; (3) learning and meaning making; (4) affective and cognitive engagement; (5) cultural pluralism and a community of learners; and (6) accountability and assessment. (SR)

Claims "why" questions are asked out of curiosity or criticism. Discusses eight methods of answering (appealing to authority, tradition, popularity, practicality, or feelings, admitting ignorance, turning the question back, and addressing reasons). Argues that "why" sits at the very heart of learning. (SR)

Describes how a sixth grade teacher and her eleven students (with a typical range of math abilities) explored the mathematical concept of "infinity" through play. Discusses the pedagogy of critical/creative thinking. (SR)

Maintains that our understanding of learning cannot be complete until we recognize the symbiotic relationship between cognitive and affective means of knowing. Asserts that in the development of critical thinking, aesthetic forms, perceived intuitively, become the criteria against which the child intellectually measures the "fit" of the component…

Examines four autobiographical self-narratives to see not what they are about, but how the narrators construct themselves. Proposes that an individual's ways of telling and conceptualizing eventually become recipes for structuring experience itself (past and future). (SR)

Profiles the poet Arnold Adoff: his life, influences, theoretical underpinnings of his work (balance, integration and utility), and the work itself. (SR)

Reviews ten books in two major categories (Professional References and Instructional Materials), which can assist teachers in helping children develop critical power in literacy. (SR)

Discusses the rich potential of Logo (a computer programing system for children) and particularly LogoWriter (its word processor) as learning tools in the language arts. Cautions against their use as rote exercises. (SR)

Presents the 1987 Teachers' Choice list of outstanding books. The books (primary, intermediate, and advanced), chosen annually in a regional-national process, have high literary quality, contain teachable concepts, elicit thoughtful responses from children, provide pleasure, and lead children to discoveries about literature. (SR)

Discusses experiences as Curriculum Supervisor for the Halifax County-Bedford School District in Nova Scotia, including curriculum development based on each school's community. (MS)

Contends that by using nonfiction writing as a daily developmental process, a child finds a predictable, nurturing, and accepting environment which helps teachers understand their students, helps children learn, and promotes acceptance of both the student and the child. (MS)