Dedicated to Seth Kreisberg, this document is the first journal issue of the Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). It begins with "The Real Ropes Course: The Development of Social Consciousness" (Shelley Berman). The other articles are presented in five sections. The first section, "Our Relationship to Society," contains: (1) "What Should Schools Teach and Students Learn?" (Vito Perrone); (2) "Is Education for Social Responsibility Anathemic to American Culture? (The answer should be no, but is it?)" (Milton Kleg); and (3) "An Inclusive Reality" (Michael Hartoonian). The second section is "Understanding our Interdependence" and contains three articles: (1) "Conflict Resolutionland: A Round-Trip Tour" (William J. Kreidler); (2) "A New Way of Fighting: Resolving Conflict Creatively" (Linda Lantieri; Tom Roderick); and (3) "Reflections on Conflict Management as an Empowering Process for Students...And for Me" (Joan May T. Cordova). The third section, "Opportunities for Social Contribution," contains one article: "Human Rights Education: A Statewide Commitment" (Nancy Schniedewind; Bonne Sue Adams; Winifred Evers Pardo). The fourth section, "Developing Participatory Understanding," contains three articles: (1) "A Democratic Approach to Teaching about the U.S. Constitution" (Clarissa Sawyer); (2) "Stepping into Other Perspectives: Holistic History and Students at Lakeside School" (Dwight Gibb); and (3) "Using Oral History to Address Social Issues in the Social Studies Classroom" (Sam Totten). The fourth and final section is "Exploring Real World Issues" and includes three articles: (1) "Be Prepared: Using Controversial Topics or Methods in the Classroom" (John Zola); (2) "Teaching for New Ways of Thinking: The ESR Soviet Education Project" (Larry Dieringer); and (3) "Challenges in the ESR-Soviet Collaboration" (Alan Shapiro). (DK)