Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public Schools' two new coeducational African-American immersion schools are not segregationist. Key programmatic changes are based on an African social education concept and include staffing based on teaching experience (not race or gender), teacher class assignments lasting two or more years, teacher home visits, staff…

Describes an African-American parent's efforts to ensure that her daughter be treated fairly in a second grade classroom. Because some teachers mistakenly believe that African-American children are not capable of performing well in the classroom, these teachers may inadvertently convey lower expectations and damage African-American students'…

Advises administrators to use their summers to relax and recharge their intellectual batteries. Reading suggestions include Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth," Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club," China Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," Paule Marshall's "The Chosen Place, the Timeless People," and numerous…

Roland Christensen describes case-method teaching as a "complicated interaction" that seeks "to blend cognitive and affective learning modes." A Vancouver (British Columbia) high school incorporates Christensen's principles by presenting social studies problems drawn from real events and corresponding to the eleventh grade curriculum. The keys are…

Literary case studies do not offer solutions to problems but allow readers to engage in life with other human beings and empathize, understand, and share responses with others. This involvement and willingness to admit human frailty and vulnerability provide a type of learning for prospective teachers not found in pedagogical textbooks. (five…

Methods such as phonics or whole language can never ensure that children learn to read. Children must learn from people--from teachers initiating them into the readers' club and from authors' writings. Children's relationships with teachers, each other, and the learning task itself are supremely important. Observation, not testing, gauges student…

Drawing on specific examples in elementary school classrooms and flying instruction analogies, this article shows how teachers can creatively combine tenets of both holistic and direct approaches to reading instruction. Students are more likely to use reading and writing effectively when teachers themselves are empowered to select intelligently…

Tracking structures are grounded in widespread and historically rooted beliefs about human capacity, individual differences, and the learning process. Successful detracking requires a reconstructed curriculum, an expanded instructional repertoire, provision for special needs, alternative assessment and grading practices, and a process fostering…

Reviews school finance changes through the 1970s and 1980s and outlines key 1990s issues, including basic school finance reforms linked with state or national educational goals; site-based management and budgeting; teacher compensation; accountability systems tied to student performance; public school choice; and nontraditional issues such as…

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale assists underprepared college freshmen by employing the mentoring talents of retired faculty members, supplemented by a noncredit course stressing study skills and adjustment to college. Suggestions are provided for developing and orienting retired college faculty for similar programs. (MLH)

Schools are discovering a wealth of experience and expertise available in their communities' senior populations. The graying of America guarantees older adults' continuing availability as a volunteer force. This article provides advice on developing intergenerational and outreach programs, stressing recruitment strategies and benefits of senior…

Computer Ease is an intergenerational program designed to put an Ohio elementary school's computer lab, software library, staff, and students at the disposal of older adults desiring to become computer literate. Three 90-minute instructional sessions allow seniors to experience 1-to-1 high-tech instruction by enthusiastic, nonthreatening…

Describes a principal's reaction to the destruction of his career resulting from unfounded sexual harassment charges. Blackballed by the educational community, he became an excellent car salesman and author of a book on parental involvement. Advice for other administrators judged "guilty by accusation" is provided. (MLH)

The Controlled Parents' Choice Program in White Plains, New York, successfully combines equity and racial balance concerns with parental opportunity to select a child's elementary school. The program's success hinges on expressed parental preference, guaranteed priority for siblings, residential preference, formal deadlines, a lottery, waiting…

Describes an elementary school principal's struggle to obtain parent, staff, and student assistance with problem student behavior at neighborhood bus stops. Instead of personally monitoring bus stops, this principal shared her authority, took some risks, improved her patience and listening skills, identified common goals, and involved many people…