Provides an overview of China's music education system. Notes that there is in Chinese education a different emphasis upon conformity and the individual. Finds a separation between ideals and action in both the Chinese and United States programs. States that efforts to move the Chinese program away from training are still rudimentary. (KO)

Substance abuse is pervasive in both rural and urban settings. Previous attempts to educate America's youth as to its dangers have not reduced the numbers of adolescents involved in the drug culture. The assertiveness-based "Just Say No" campaign attempts to counter peer pressure to use drugs, but is hampered by our society's…

Debates about how moral education ought to be provided have engaged many of the best minds in education and stirred public controversies throughout U.S. history. The vast array of European peoples who settled the American colonies brought a commitment to moral education and a variety of approaches to the task. While French and Spanish settlers…

Presents strategies to help students resist peer pressure. The peer pressure reversal technique involves checking out the scene, making good decisions about their actions, and acting to avoid trouble. A reproducible student page provides several suggestions of wording for students to use in saying no to their friends. (SM)

Argues that one of the most valuable contributions that an internationally oriented education system can provide is to inhibit the development of an overly conformist attitude. Contends that the ability to dissent is essential for healthy personal and societal functioning. Recommends that education about dissent should be made compulsory. (CFR)

Compares 1989 National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools' report, "Charting a Course: Social Studies in the 21st Century," to a similar curricular endeavor during the 1930s. Finds the 1989 version conformist, narrow, prescriptive, overly content oriented, and not reflective of educational research. Because of its academic…