The natural world and the scientific and mathematical tools we use to explore, measure, and understand it should fill us with awe and wonder, and light all kinds of inspirational fires in us. On a planet so desperately in need of scientific breakthroughs, engineering innovations, and newborn technologies, we should be thrilled by the excitement in…

What motivates families to consider an independent private school education and ultimately make the commitment to enroll their children? The Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) surveyed 2,300 parents of private school-bound students in 2014 to answer this question. Based on the results of the survey, this brief article highlights five of…

The promise of education at a private Baltimore (Maryland) school rests in the idea that scholarship is the key to autonomy, self-determination, and self-fulfillment. The Park Heights Street Academy serves as a haven for the able adolescent who has been misplaced for social, political, economic, or academic reasons. (Author/MLF)

Through law-related education, students learn how society faces the need for legal structure. The law-related curricula of many schools share certain aims: to provide knowledge and a positive attitude toward the law, to improve analytical thinking, and to examine the fundamental values of our society. (Author/MLF)

The director of Woodberry Forest Summer School outlines the implementation and operation of his program as a model for similar endeavors. (SJL)

The small percentage of private schools with flourishing senior project programs share common characteristics of program philosophy and design. These programs help students take advantage of available programs such as the annual two-week long Chesapeake cruise of the 60-foot schooner "Dawn Treader." (SB)

Proposes School Year Abroad program, held in France and Spain, as a workable model for internationalizing American education at the secondary level. Program focuses on language and culture in literature, history, art, and language courses (taught in the foreign language), while offering quality education for college preparation as well. (JD)

Introduces "Facing History," a recent innovative use of an historical event, the Holocaust, as a means of educating students and teachers to the meaning of such things as human dignity, morality, conflict, decision making, survival, and individual responsibility. (JD)

Describes the curriculum involved in teaching "Facing History and Ourselves: The Holocaust and Human Behavior," a program written for secondary social studies students, and gives samples of student and educator reactions to the course. (JD)

Advocates the use of daily journal entries as a vehicle for student expression to chart the process and progress of the course, "Facing History and Ourselves: The Holocaust and Human Behavior." Cites examples of student journal entries and suggests procedures for keeping journals. (JD)

Describes high school English courses which use a seminar approach, emphasizing discussion and writing, to promote a cooperative, student-centered critical and analytical method of teaching literature. (CM)

Advises precautionary measures for adventure programs: establishment of an authority to control choices concerning school wilderness trips (what trips are allowed, who leads, who goes, what about safety measures); preparation of an up-to-date statement of policies and procedures; and continuing evaluation of the programs. (JD)

At a Virginia private school, a student-led organization inspired by the National Coalition Building Institute works to end minority groups' mistreatment. In a comfortable, small-group setting, participants examine information and misinformation about themselves and others. Sharing a universally painful human experience is the starting point. (MLH)