Beginning with two different scenarios depicting a face-to-face conference on the one hand and, on the other, a computer or electronic conference, the author argues the advantages of electronic conferencing and describes some of its uses. (JBM)

Describes the impact of the "information society" and new developments in microelectronic technology on both physical and intellectual labor and discusses future alternatives and consequences in jobs and education. (JBM)

Satirical/fictional account of one superintendent's obsessions with high technology, computers, and computer literacy. (JBM)

Offers 12 steps for increasing students' self-directedness and "time on task" in the classroom and displays the positive results of a recent study in an unspecified California high school that examined the effects of individualized inclass "calendars" designed to meet the needs of various types of students. (JBM)

Examining the history of a "promotion by achievement" program begun in 1973-74 in Greensville County, Virginia, the authors argue that the effects of the program were not racially discriminatory as alleged by a 1980 suit that led to the program's termination in 1981. (JBM)

Describes the efforts of a Maryland high school to strengthen its position in the community by means of public service radio messages, a "positive family contact" system that emphasizes positive reinforcement of student achievements, and a weekly newspaper column that acknowledges the contributions of "students, staff members and community…

This article's review of recent educational materials dealing with mental health and the classroom includes research into school setting and organization, early detection and remediation, curriculum, and teaching and counseling. The authors also describe a model program in Memphis, Tennessee, and offer various steps for teaching social skills.…

Argues that an April 20, 1983, United States Supreme Court decision upholding the discharge of a former New Orleans assistant district attorney may have negative consequences for the free speech rights of public employees, including teachers. (JBM)

The first of two articles describes the efforts of retired University of Toronto alumni to provide volunteer assistance to their alma mater. The second article discusses a Social Studies Human Services Program that has led to improved school-community relations in Bangor, Michigan. (JBM)

This article briefly discusses the reasons for national leaders' recent interest in education and makes recommendations for sustaining the renewed concern, sorting out priorities, and dealing with major unattended issues, especially financing proposed reforms. Suggestions are made for appropriate action by the federal government, states, and…

Recommended starting points for educational reform include streamlining the governance structure; extending the school year; returning greater responsibility to parents for student performance; instituting more challenging curricula and grading systems; establishing programs for gifted students; improving teacher salaries, training, and licensing;…

Steps can be taken in the areas of curriculum, testing, and tracking to raise educational standards for all students. Specifically, local and state authorities should cooperate to tighten course requirements, tie standardized examinations to the curriculum, and institute a demanding common curriculum in the years before high school tracking. (MJL)

Major inadequacies of "A Nation at Risk" include: the assumption of a monolithic American education system; the recommendation of a college preparatory curriculum for all students, which overlooks individual needs; a failure to address elementary education; underestimation of teachers; and the absence of practical suggestions for financing and…

"A Nation at Risk" is criticized as the latest in a series of unproductive remedies for public education. The public's materialistic refusal to pay for educational excellence is the root of the many problems that educators can best address by making difficult choices among well-known alternatives. (MJL)

This essay criticizes as myths (1) a view of students as receptacles for information, (2) the assumption that new knowledge can be poured into an inelastic school year, and (3) the assurance that students are magically ready for work or college at 18. Instead, student motivation is offered as the key to reform. (MJL)