Although teaching for social justice is a widely recognized goal of many teacher education programs, there are few supports for new teachers who wish to continue this kind of practice. In this article, I discuss the ways that a group of four new teachers found flexible support for developing a vision of teaching for social justice through…

The continued persistence of sexism and institutional gender bias in schools is well documented. The empirical research in this area has uncovered a host of negative outcomes associated with gender inequity for all children. Research suggests that schools provide an excellent forum in which issues of gender inequities may be examined and…

In this article, the author argues that, wherever possible, English teachers should not consider English or English education curriculum as an end in itself but rather a "means" to an end--the building of a critical and compassionate community both within and beyond the classroom. Building such a community involves a re-imagining of the teaching…

School districts write mission statements about creating citizens of the world, but more and more, they want teachers to become robotic hands who deliver education programs designed and shipped from sites outside of classrooms. If people want an educated citizenry, they need teachers who know how to think about their students' needs and write…

In recent decades, federal, state, and local policies have demonstrated renewed efforts to address the concerns of both teacher quality and quantity, resulting in initiatives to attract, reward, and retain qualified people in the teacher profession. Initiatives to address the problems of teacher quality and quantity often take the form of…

This paper presents words of wisdom from the editors and editorial associates of "Rethinking Schools" that grew out of a discussion about an upcoming book project during a national meeting this July. The editors were asked to share their advice to someone who is new to the profession. The comments are not meant to be comprehensive, but they offer…

For many novice teachers, the first solo effort in the classroom is a "sink or swim" experience. With good pre-service preparation that includes extensive field experience, the beginning teacher may feel more confident, but even those with the most confidence still find the complexities of decision-making bewildering. For those novices who are…

In this article, the author explores her teaching experiences in order to better understand the nature of the professional knowledge needed to make use of conflict and to manage a particular teaching dilemma. The author's intention is to show that such a personal inquiry can reveal ways in which her story is a telling case that may enable others…

This article suggests some reasons why an urban education project in Australia might inform current debates surrounding teacher education. The first section provides a brief overview of the Australian education system from 1950--1980 as a way of introducing the larger historical context in which teacher education is situated. The second part…

As the former director of the Compton Fellowship Program, the author has an in-depth knowledge about the program. When she left the position in 1997, she became interested in doing research on the impact of the program. The author knew that she would filter the events and situations that took place through a lens which would influence her…

Civic education, democratic principles, peace and war are tangled together in many ways. When teachers teach children to be citizens, they inform them of processes and practices in which they can and should engage; they inform them of the relations they are to have with their state through its proper institutions; they teach them what they can…

Teaching in Northern Uganda is challenging considering the numerous obstacles and constraints that teachers must face on a daily basis, let alone the fact that they live in a war zone, constantly at risk of cross-fire. In this article, the author shares his experience working in Northern Uganda. He relates the life and teaching experiences of…

This essay provides interrelated principles for teaching and learning in times of heightened awareness of wars, disasters and human suffering. Purposeful teaching in times of crisis should occur both with children directly impacted by catastrophic events as well as with those less directly impacted. As a direct reflection of the author's most…

This article focuses on children living in areas of armed conflict, catastrophic events and on-going emergencies. Based upon her ethnographic research, the author wants to try to share some insights into the complexities of the world in which children sometimes have to fight to live. Her intent is to create a space in which a discussion can take…

It's a hot day in July. The author finds herself in a university classroom in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, listening as an Achenese elementary school teacher narrates a children's story. As the teacher breaks into song in the middle of the story, the 20 other teachers in the classroom join in. The author is awed by their talents and thinks about how…