The sheer size of the United States discourages an outward-looking mentality. Such insularity is counterproductive, since the experiences of other countries, particularly Western Europe, can be illuminating. There, teachers have greater status and schooling standards are higher. Even Third World schools are major contributors to national…

Although bureaucratic decentralization lies at the heart of educational restructuring, many state-level reform strategies adopted since 1983 perpetuate the regulatory orientation of school improvement. This article assesses the restructuring movement, exemplified by the Coalition of Essential Schools, and the overall politics of American…

Although the vast majority of articles cited by Jeanne Chall and Marie Carbo fit the patched-up program evaluation category, the outcomes of nine randomized field experiments are the best evidence available in the research literature. Systematic phonics is an example of the weak instructional treatments presently plaguing education. Includes 16…

Unfortunately for students, school reading has become an institution-- a powerful, organized machine that dooms the whole educational enterprise to mediocrity. This article presents 31 grievances against the present system and advocates replacing the vacuous, contrived subject called reading with the teaching of genuine subjects. (MLH)

Choice can potentially transform schooling if it is properly understood, carefully thought through, and implemented in stages. Genuine diversity means offering parents and students a range of educational options from preschool through high school. However, the U.S. currently spends more on one Stealth bomber than on all magnet school programs.…

School choice should be promoted only under conditions guaranteeing that costs will be outweighed by benefits. Implementing choice means developing an effective assignment policy, conducting parent surveys, providing for adequate staff involvement, committing to parent outreach, managing effects on individual schools, and setting up a…

To provide a school choice program for purely political reasons is reprehensible. The St. Louis (Missouri) model, based on a court-approved desegregation settlement, has demonstrated that citizen commitment and adequate funding can create a successful, equitable program. (MLH)

If Minnesota public school choice programs were as bad as Judith Pearson's "Kappan" (June 1989) article alleges, most teachers would not support them. There would be declining cooperation among rural school districts, little interest in handicapped or "unattractive" students' needs, and a teacher shortage. As this article shows, the reverse is…

Responding to Joe Nathan's praise of Minnesota's school choice programs in the same "Kappan" issue, this article cites teacher opinion poll deficiencies; mistaken correlations involving open enrollment, rural district cooperation, and enabling state legislation; and insufficient program implementation and evaluation data. The hidden agenda may be…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Texas teacher training institutions are squaring off because of Texas SB 994, a law that eliminates undergraduate degrees in education and caps required credit hours in undergraduate teacher education courses. This article interviews Carl Parker, Hendrik Gideonse, Mary…

Lack of respect for teacher preparation programs is pervasive. Various education associations' recommendations have spawned three kinds of policy activity: state limitations on teacher preparation programs, alternative certification programs, and increased local school district authority for continuing teacher development and recertification.…

When literacy is promoted as the solution to all economic, social, and educational ills, illiteracy becomes the "disease" causing these problems. Literacy cannot guarantee employment or personal success, but is powerful enough to transform the world. Children need to see powerful uses of literacy in the school environment. Includes 18 references.…

Instead of studying children's knowing, American educators have applied policies and procedures from factories and assembly lines of the early 1900s. Three factory-oriented themes are paramount: mass production, cost effectiveness, and efficiency. This article suggests a Piagetian alternative to the present mechanistic model. Includes seven…

Reflects on educators' current preoccupation with assessment of higher order thinking skills. Easy-to-mark, forced-choice, pencil-and-paper tests with single numerical scores may trivialize the wonderful complexity of human capabilities. Includes 17 references. (MLH)

A recent study of deans in leading universities found that education deans had significantly weaker connections to practice in the field than their counterparts in law and architecture. School administration, unlike other professions, has failed to rely sufficiently on practice to generate theory. A professional studies approach offers new…