The Robert Bowne Foundation (RBF), which published "Afterschool Matters" from 2003 to 2008 and continues to fund the journal and related projects, is closing in December. "Afterschool Matters" sat down with Lena Townsend, executive director, to talk about RBF's legacy and continuing influence on literacy work in afterschool…

In this article, the author describes her journey serving in five school districts and finally becoming a business manager in her hometown in Wisconsin. Having become involved in professional organizations and working to share what she knows, she became recognized as a skilled business official and thus never had a problem finding a job or…

In teacher's idealized history classroom, students are abuzz with questions. They are eager to jump into a serious analysis of primary sources. They relish additional opportunities to engage historiographical debates. They are, as teachers like to say, "thinking historically." While there are few easy ways to create these idealized…

With policymakers across the country proposing questionable ways to evaluate teachers, it's time to listen to those who know what supports and systems are needed to enhance instruction: teachers. This article explores the work of professional educators--not just their accomplishments, but also their challenges--so that the lessons they have…

From the emphasis on lower-level test-prep materials to the disappearance of the subject altogether, elementary social studies is, in the best case scenario, being tested and, thus, taught with a heavy emphasis on recall; and, in the worst-case scenario, not being taught at all. In this article, the author responds to Jeff Passe's views on…

The New York State Education Department's Center for Learning Technologies was developed in February of 1982 with a mission to provide assistance to educational and cultural institutions to ensure effective implementation of the new technologies. This paper describes the concept of inservice training using technology at the national and state…

Responds to the article "Opportunities Lost: Teachers Learning about the New York State Social Studies Framework" by S. G. Grant. States that Grant loses an opportunity to provide the type of social analysis needed to extricate teacher educators from their complicity in New York State's regulation of teaching by misconstruing…

Responds to the articles "Another Opportunity Lost?: Maybe Professional Development Experiences Aren't Supposed to Teach Teachers Anything about the New York State Social Studies Framework" by Sandra Mathison and "Misconstruing Constructivism and State Regulation of Teaching (Unlearning What We Know about Educational Reforms)"…

Responds to the article "Opportunities Lost: Teachers Learning about the New York State Social Studies Framework" by S. G. Grant. Contests ideas on the professional development opportunities used with the New York social studies framework. Considers the intentions of the professional development as political and the role of assessment.…

The author discusses the case of Rose Freistater, a teacher at James Monroe High School. Freistater's application for her teaching license was rejected by the New York City Board of Examiners due to overweight. Although a number of overweight and underweight teachers were rejected by the Board of Education in the ten years that the standards had…

Discusses areas in which school libraries and staff will benefit from their inclusion in a statewide network of libraries. (CLB)

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…