One of the most consistent regularities observers would see in schools is the grouping of children by grade. The authors' work with schoolchildren causes them to ask, what is a grade beyond a group of children at a particular age? In this article, the authors share a glimpse of an activity involving inference and logical necessity that they…

A large-scale, nationwide analysis of Teach For America teacher turnover presents a deeper picture of which TFAers stay, which ones leave the profession and some suggestions about why they leave. The authors learned that nearly two-thirds (60.5%) of TFA teachers continue as public school teachers beyond their two-year commitment; more than half…

The two biggest educational issues facing China are critical and related--how to provide for equality of educational opportunity and how to maintain an intellectual community that is both "red" and expert. (Author/IRT)

Last month, Phil Riner began discussing his project of teaching digital photography and prosocial behavior skills to inner-city fifth-graders. This work led him to generate some very specific procedures for camera care and use. Phil also taught the students some simple rules for taking better photos. These rules fell into four broad categories:…

Research tells us we can learn complex tasks most easily if they are taught in "small sequential steps." This column is about the small sequential steps that unlocked the powers of digital photography, of portraiture, and of student creativity. The strategies and ideas described in this article came as a result of working with…

Learning can easily be fostered in three major agencies: the school, work-related institutions, and society in general. Teachers, who may be found in all three places, would be ministers, merchants, or mechanics--but first they would be teachers. (Author)

Reviews the year in public education-bashing. Debunks columnist George Will's claims about teachers' preference for private schools, Willard Daggett's claims about youngsters' VCR programming skills, and two outrageous "Family Circle" and "Business Week" articles. Meanwhile, SAT scores are rising, school buildings are…

A fifth-grade teacher describes the program he used to cover death, dying, and funerals in a three-day unit. (IRT)

Teachers consistently viewed public schools more positively than did the general public, assigning them their highest grades ever. Teachers believe parents' lack of support and interest are schools' greatest problem; the public chose drug use. Inner-city teachers rated public schools lower than did other teachers. (MLH)

Fifth-grade teacher describes her experience teaching Chippewa-Cree children at Rocky Boy Elementary School on the Rocky Boy reservation in Montana. (PKP)

According to the respondents (state department of education personnel), mainstreaming activities have progressed significantly since 1971, with only a relative minority, roughly one-fifth, of the districts lagging behind the others. (Author)

Instead of teaching his fifth-graders a formula, a teacher leads them to discover an important mathematical concept on their own. Learning through discovery is probably the very essence of meaningful understanding and retention. (Author/MLF)

Once a month, fifth-grade students in an Indianapolis, Indiana, classroom can use tickets earned through good behavior and academic achievement to purchase donated items and baked goods. Students are in charge of organizing the activity, keeping track of student "earnings," and managing a student "bank." (PGD)

Allowing a fifth grader who caused problems in regular classrooms to exert control over some learning activities led to the student's involvement in the activities, his commitment to their completion, and the development of a situation that made learning to read desirable and acceptable to him. (PGD)