William Van Til's three proposed scenarios for the future of secondary education are examined 10 years later, and American education is found to have reached a critical point as it goes through a transition from one era to another. (DCS)

Two recent visitors to the People's Republic of China report on dramatic changes in that nation's educational system. Besides experiencing some student problems similar to those in the U.S. (such as disobedience, early maturity, and reluctance to attend school), China faces the major problems confronting any Third World nation emerging in a…

Traces the historical development of the contemporary dual school system that separates private and public schools in the United States. Reveals how nonpublic, religiously sponsored education predated the public schools, which were introduced in the 1830s. Points to a need to redefine the way we look at the two existing systems. (MD)

Discusses three cultural categories studied by Margaret Mead: pre-figurative (slow-changing); cofigurative (moderately changing); and post-figurative (rapidly changing). Schools must help our young persons recognize different ways of life throughout the world. We can no longer assume that our own practices, beliefs, and standards are superior to…

During the past two decades, three schools of research have increased our understanding of how individuals interact with their environments, abstract relevant data, interrelate new experiences with existing knowledge, and apply accumulated information to new tasks. New developments in learning styles, brain behavior, and thinking skills research…

If education is to be reformed to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, a new decentralized model based on colleagueship must be developed. Principals must share their vision of the school's purpose with teachers and set aside the "creaking norms" of an earlier day. All school professionals must be empowered. (MLH)

Our schools can no longer afford to be uncritical transmitters of historical traditions, values, and mythologies. To make the present and future world relevant to today's youth, the teaching of social studies and history must be reexamined and revised. Teachers must present developing young minds with an authentic panorama of New World development…

The U.S. family--the backbone of earlier societies--is rapidly degenerating, indicating the need for a social or educational agency surrogate for family caring and supervision. Time has demonstrated value-neutral education's devastating effects on our nation and our social interactions. Educators must help emerging adolescents form realistic…

All academic disciplines must accept the responsibility of training students in the basic higher-order thinking skills that will provide them with the cognitive processes to cope with the rapidly changing world of the future. Describes developing a program for thinking across the curriculum. (MLF)

Marshall McLuhan and George B. Leonard saw the world of 1989 as a place where "children can learn far more, far faster in the outside world than within schoolhouse walls." Their dream of graduates as enlightened explorers and researchers has not been realized. Education in the future must embrace both values and factual knowledge. Includes seven…

Creativity is an abstract concept, not a measurable, observable behavior. There is little correspondence between intelligence and creativity functions. Educators need not pierce the mythology of genius or formally define creativity to foster creative thinking. Teachers can nourish the seeds of creativity by engaging students' learning styles and…

To achieve common goals benefiting an evolving family of nations, educators should work to integrate schooling into a worldwide system that addresses twenty-first century social, economic, scientific, and religious issues and responds to the individual cultural, social, and developmental needs of all participating nations. (MLH)