Presents readers' responses to an ethical dilemma "What Should a Teacher Do When a Parent Defines Academically Rigorous Education Differently Than She Does?" Notes that responses focused on defending practices rather than working with parents. Presents suggestions from a principal for a K-2 school, including developing an assessment profile of the…

Discusses four principles involved in teaching beginning reading most effectively, related to: (1) the literacy environment at home, child care, and school; (2) experiences to develop concepts and related vocabulary; (3) developing understanding of purposes of print; and (4) enjoying books and being read to. Discusses how these principles can be…

Discusses eight principles of teaching young children to read, write, and spell. Considers teachers' broader goals for themselves and their students, research findings on assisting children's language development through instruction, and the effect of teaching and educational experiences on a teacher's instructional style. (JPB)

Reflects upon, and makes recommendations for, teaching young children to read, write, and spell. Focuses on meeting children's emotional needs, essential components of healthy emotional development, how reading is typically taught, and learning letters and phonics. Stresses the importance of paying equal attention to developmental ages and stages,…

Describes learning that takes place during children's play. Scenarios involve a 15-month-old who tries to work keys into a sideboard, a 2 1/2-year-old who takes a truck from other children, and a 4-year-old who plays with blocks with other children. (RJC)

Focuses on factors that thwart true school-parent partnerships in the development and education of children. Factors include a family's socioeconomic status, democratic issues, the creation of school systems, gender bias against women, teacher priorities, racism, and classism. (Author/BB)

Discusses ingredients inherent in democratic, ethical, and moral character and practices and the ways in which early childhood caregivers and teachers can institute democratic practices in their classrooms with young children. Considers the uses of discipline in democratic child care and education. (BB)

Discusses three different approaches to child rearing: autocratic, anarchic, and democratic. Maintains that the use of each approach results in the development of a particular kind of character and behavior in the child. Also discusses John Dewey's efforts to define democratic character and his experiments with teacher attempts to develop this…

Presents teachers with guidelines for being sensitive to Native Americans and other people of different cultures and for teaching young children about cultural diversity. Stresses the need for inclusiveness of all cultural groups, especially Native Americans, in the classroom. (BB)

Early childhood teachers need to integrate math education into the daily routine of the classroom by using counting books and physical props and also by emphasizing the mathematical aspects of play and other components of the curriculum. (MDM)

Presents 15 ways for teachers to make early childhood programs developmentally appropriate. (BB)

Describes the beginnings of Head Start in detail. Discusses Head Start's record in providing health care for low-income children. Compares early Head Start with the program of recent years. Discusses ways in which Head Start emphasizes children's health and helps Head Start parents and family members. (BG)

Discusses two contrasting philosophies of education for three-, four-, and five-year-old children: the developmentally appropriate approach to learning and the academic or behavior modification approach. Discusses the manner in which preschool children learn self-esteem and self-discipline in both educational settings. (BB)

Presents preschool and kindergarten teachers with ideas and guidelines for teaching mathematics, focusing on the processes of classifying, comparing, matching, adding, and subtracting in relation to number sets, especially as children encounter sets in play settings. (BB)