In this interview, psychiatrist Barry Garfinkel and "Kappan" Senior Fellow Jack Frymier explore appropriate school responses to the growing adolescent suicide problem. The three strongest social correlates of youthful suicidal behavior are family background, youth unemployment, and decreasing religious observance. Superintendents need to control…

A mother of a 16 year-old suicide victim writes to school counselors who let her down by not informing her of important changes in her son's activities, personality, and choice of friends at school. The letter also addresses two psychologists in a psychiatric hospital who suppressed information about the boy's suicidal intentions and his…

Educators can help families overcome adolescent alienation by thoughtfully "mentoring" or advising each youngster throughout high school. While advising cannot substantially change painful conditions in a young person's life, a well-designed advising system can contribute to students' development and involve their families. (MLH)

Shows how certain aspects of notions about profession, professionalization, and professional education have proved useful in structuring the Study of the Education of Educators (SEE) research project. Highlights the preoccupation with professional status, commenting on 15 additional features shared by education and other professions. Includes 25…

Reviews two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that could have important ramifications for public schools and higher education. The High Court must decide whether a government agency may require its employees to take a drug test and whether state and local government employees may be sued for damages if failure to act caused injury to an innocent…

When four exceptional principals from the Northwest were interviewed, they described considerable job satisfaction. However, all were considering quitting because of dissatisfiers related to policy and administration, lack of recognition and growth opportunities, and too little responsibility. Role conflict, fatigue, personal awareness, sense of…

Efforts to empower teachers will be aided by parallel attempts to strengthen principals and other supervisors' ability to perform their job better. Principals need to be specifically trained in using personal power to help empower their teachers. Further research is needed concerning the exercise of power in schools. Includes nine references. (MLH)

Little evidence exists to support Marie Carbo's notion that matching teaching methods to individual reading styles is superior to more traditional instructional approaches. This article refutes Carbo's claim that children can be readily divided into reading styles and that matching instructional and reading styles will produce better student…

Responding to Steven A. Stahl's critique of the author's reading style claims, this article cites four successful pilot programs using the Reading Style Inventory. All four schools demonstrated dramatic reading gains. Generally, holistic reading instruction methods appear to match most closely the reading styles of young children and poor readers.…

Although administrators may view grapevines as threats to established leadership, informal communication is necessary to keep an organization functioning smoothly. No one can completely control the grapevine or its accuracy, but astute administrators can learn to cultivate and use informal communication systems wisely. (MLH)

Neither hyperrationalist nor decentralist reform strategies will seriously improve educational quality. Successful reform strategies incorporate three dimensions: the authorized movement, regional or localist responses, and conversation, involving changes in school rhetoric. States must create a context for developing organizational competence at…

Critically reviews the major school reform studies. Apparently, billions have been wasted on poorly conceived, but politically popular reform movements that have sapped schoolpeoples' energies. Two reform-inhibiting factors (educators and politicians'"intuitive wisdom" and a weak empirical knowledge base) might be overcome by initiating local…

Education by charter is a model for restructuring school districts that promotes long-term, continuing educational improvement. Groups of teachers can request funds directly from the school board to implement specific instructional programs. The usual administrative layers between teachers and school boards are nonexistent. Charter life cycles and…

Criticizes Marie Carbo's article, "Debunking the Great Phonics Myth" (in Kappan's November 1988 issue), for waging a relentless debate against phonics and falsely attributing low U.S. reading achievement scores to a phonics emphasis. Clears up confusions and inaccuracies in Carbo's article concerning first and second editions of the author's book,…

A person does not need to be culturally literate (as defined by E.D. Hirsch) to read American contemporary fiction. This article explores alternative definitions, barriers to cultural literacy, and suggestions for change: building on students' interests, providing out-of-classroom learning experiences, sharing anecdotal material, and emphasizing…