To attract and retain high-quality teachers, the education system must address science teachers' sense of professional isolation, administrators' lack of receptivity to thoughtful teachers' ideas, egalitarian salary compensation schemes, and lack of professional recognition. An outstanding chemistry teacher-turned-pharmaceutical saleswoman is…

Recently, the National Academy of Sciences promulgated national standards for science education and defined scientific literacy. Literates should be able to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena; understand popular-press articles on science; and evaluate the quality of scientific information, based on source and method. A fictional…

Book banners are generally successful because they have a wide network of support, including national coalitions with sophisticated organizational methods--such as electing certain people to school boards. School officials should get organized and devise defensive strategies, such as inviting critics to class, asking what they would like to…

In "Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin," Stephen Jay Gould swats at nostalgia over extinction of the .400 batter--due more to game improvements than slumping batters. The better the averages, the harder it is to be a standout. As for grade inflation, today's students are studying harder subjects, and general achievement…

Two middle-school students unsuccessfully challenged a Phoenix school's mandatory school uniform policy. The attorney representing the district interpreted the appellate court's decision as providing assurance for public schools that such policies are constitutional, provided they are content-neutral, not aimed at suppressing any particular…

Asserts that many privileged parents are sacrificing other children to their own and mortgaging their own children's lives. Affluent high-achievers often back ultraconservatives' efforts to derail detracking reforms, believing education is competitive and their children deserve more consideration than have-nots. Principals must appeal to parents'…

Because professional teaching portfolios serve as visual representations of teachers, their contents should be determined by individual teachers and should vary significantly. Portfolios might contain a table of contents, resume, statement of philosophy, official documents, letters of recommendation, evaluations, photographs, self-goals, goals for…

Faculty at an Illinois school felt that going beyond test scores to collect more substantive evidence of their curriculum and teaching seemed innovative, but underestimated how important the selection and assembly process was to the children. Over time, faculty learned to "hang loose" about portfolio contents, specify containers, make item…

A digital portfolio is a purposeful collection of work, captured by electronic means, that serves as an exhibit of individual efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas. The CD-ROM format provides an ideal medium for storing and displaying electronic portfolios. Items included document what an individual knows, how knowledge was…

In the zeal to promote much-needed governmental funding of infant day care, there is tendency to glamorize alternative care-giving arrangements. In most cases, the quality of infant care will be optimized when delivered at home by mature, competent parents or parent surrogates. These benefits should not be devalued to bolster the cause of infant…

Only by providing schools with a choice of valid, well-supported models of schooling can we make the change process manageable for school personnel and satisfy the conflicting demands of the public. Education professionals have the expertise to sort through the many puzzle pieces of school reform and assemble coherent, detailed schooling images…

Describes a classroom-based teacher education program that helps men and women move from other occupations through a period of "risky imbalance" to meaningful new role of rural school teacher. A survivor of the 1960s, the Upper Valley Teacher Training Program is a state-approved, nonprofit, independent program using services of academics from many…

A collaborative effort between George Washington University and the Fairfax County Public Schools enables people with undergraduate degrees to complete coursework for secondary teacher certification in a single year. The program has established close ties between theory and practice. Interns are placed in the district's 23 high schools, where they…

Since Brown University lost its four-year court battle over athletic program equality issues, most colleges and secondary schools have learned to settle when sued under Title IX. Virginia Tech, University of Kansas, and Howard University are illustrative cases. Since nearly all high schools and colleges are vulnerable, it is wise to prepare for…

Many important human activities involve accomplishing goals without a script. There is no formula for true problem-solving. Heuristic, cognitive "rules of thumb" are the problem-solver's best guide. Learners should understand heuristic tools such as means-end analysis, working backwards, successive approximation, and external representation. Since…