Reviews Ralph Smith's article "The Question of Elitism." Questions Smith's criteria for excellence and his assertion that art must be judged by a single, absolute scale. Argues that populism is pervasive in all aspects of American life and that elitism is deadening to culture. (BSR)

Special educators are urged to exercise caution in using the standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics as comprehensive criteria for developing and selecting programs for learners at risk for school failure. The need to transpose the standards into valid, replicable, instructional programs is stressed. (Author/DB)

This article contrasts two traditions in American education affecting gifted education: Hamiltonian elitism and Jacksonian egalitarianism. It recommends instead the Jeffersonian tradition of equality of opportunity but not necessarily of outcome. Discussion is in the context of saving funding for gifted education despite the negative impact of…

Programs for academically gifted students are being sacrificed to address elitism charges and budget crunches, at the same time that funding for students with other exceptional education needs is expanding. Gifted students can be reenfranchised by preparing teachers appropriately, differentiating course content, and improving pacing and grouping…

European research and practice in gifted education vary by country, because of political, economical, and ideological influences. This paper examines activities in eastern and western European countries, emphasizing research activities in the Federal Republic of Germany, and outlines such controversial factors as equality of chances,…

Representatives of 23 institutions report that they are incorporating cohorts in their school administrator preparation programs. Students typically report a sense of belonging and social bonding, new collaboration and networking opportunities, enhanced professional confidence, and a strengthened ability to reflect on practice. Liabilities include…

David Baker and Cornelius Riordan mistakenly claim that Catholic schools failed in the 1950s because they were mediocre. Their article is a house of cards built on a distortion of history and a single new finding that Catholic schools' social-class composition has changed. The "elitism" problem, stemming from rising costs, can be remedied by more…

Highly visible roster of villains--people who have retarded or damaged public education--would encourage those in power to exercise more perspicacity. Top baddies are Congress (for lobbying for curative instead of preventive programs), Lewis Terman (for advocating tracking), James Bryant Conant (for advising high schools to become larger). All…

Driven by mandates to serve and educate their communities and by political and financial pressures, museum's are seeking ways to alter their so-called elitist attitudes to draw in a more diverse group of visitors than they were able to in the past. Focuses on the Brooklyn Museum. (LZ)

Presents an excerpt from a lecture entitled "Educating the Imagination." Considers the danger of elitism, the danger of being pulled into a kind of art-for-art's sake world. Tries to find connections between the imagination, the arts, and the continuing pursuit of social justice. Talks about imagination in connection with the arts, in…

Criticizes Evans Clinchy's lead article in the June 1994 "Kappan" ("Higher Education: The Albatross around the Neck of Our Public Schools") for setting up an adversarial relationship between universities and public schools that is overdrawn, overblown, and distorted. Clinchy is misinformed about universities' practice-teaching…

This paper discusses how elitism and anti-intellectualism have affected the teaching of intellectually gifted students. It examines methods of identifying the intellectually gifted child. It traces trends in education of the gifted through history and discusses the issues of equity, elitism, and anti-intellectualism which have resulted in…

In a world conditioned by what Margaret Meade and others have called an underlying system of inherited inequalities, it is natural that educators in particular should try to promote at least some semblance of equality of opportunity. Because the creation of an elite of some kind seems to be a natural and unavoidable by-product of every society,…

This essay constitutes a thoughtful tool for art education curriculum design and teaching. It outlines a curriculum for art education, K-12, that attempts to do justice not only to the seriousness and complexity of art but also the demands of schooling and aesthetic learning. It updates developments in the art education field and addresses the…

Raymond Callahan's superintendent vulnerability thesis suggests that school superintendent behavior is subject to the political winds of local school boards, in turn dominated by the economic values of American businessmen. This thesis inspired a body of research termed "dissatisfaction theory," which describes the sequence of events…