Parent participation in elementary school classrooms provides teachers with a valuable and varied resource, but also requires deeper teacher involvement in students' private lives and skill in managing time. The growth of a parent participation program in Salt Lake City, Utah, proves such programs can succeed. (PGD)

A teacher who returned to the classroom after 11 years of absence notes that discipline is much more a problem now than before and attributes much of the change to the way parents excuse their children's behavior. (IRT)

Describes a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) sponsored program of after-school activities available to the district's elementary students. (IRT)

The National Governors' Association Task Force on Parent Involvement and Choice believes that public education's current structure cannot deal effectively with the nation's diversity and demand for compulsory education. Key recommendations include adopting legislation that allows families statewide choice of schools and junior and senior…

Reviews public responses to 18 questions about significant school issues, such as (1) the most important problems facing schools today, (2) support for antidrug measures in local schools, (3) rating the schools on success characteristics, (4) the goals of education, and (5) attitudes about AIDS. (IW)

Praises United States Secretary of Education William J. Bennett's 1986 elementary education report for presenting worthwhile observations on values, parents' responsibility, and teachers' professional roles. Criticizes Bennett's omission of implementation strategies, especially concerning the federal government's role in assisting minority and…

Rather than shielding children from stress, parents and teachers should assist them in developing coping mechanisms that will enable them to adjust to the realities of life. This article offers guidelines for achieving that goal. (Author/WD)

Comments on the author's participation in the Elementary Education Study Group and on United States Secretary of Education William J. Bennett's 1986 report, "First Lessons." Praises Bennett's appreciation of poor families' efforts to help educate their children and his call for more challenging curriculum content and higher academic…

Due to working parents, unsafe home conditions, and mass-media pressures, schools are becoming increasingly involved with providing child care for school-age children. While afterschool care poses a number of design, funding, and equity problems, schools and communities can resolve them to the great benefit of the children served. (MLH)

Almost half of the 13 million children aged 13 and under are estimated to have no supervision after school hours. Communities and schools must develop responses to the problem tailored to local needs. (MD)

This paper declares war against the miseducation of young children, who learn best through direct encounters rather than through formalized inculcation of symbolic rules. A variety of socioeconomic forces (including the civil rights and women's movements) are forcing preschoolers into learning environments originally designed for school-age…

Teachers can gain strength to continue in their profession by consciously forging links--personal, parental, professional, promotional, and practitioner--that bind them to various constituencies. (MLF)

Twelve Colorado school districts changed to a four-day week during the 1980-81 school year. This article discusses the advantages of the move and offers some cautions. (Author/WD)

Summarizes "First Lessons," the author's 1986 report on elementary schooling. Acknowledges society's complexity, the nation's ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, parents' importance, and changing family structure. Examines curriculum content and quality, principal and teacher effectiveness, and school policy issues, including the need for rigorous…

Approximately 20 percent of school children are members of families experiencing separation or divorce. This article clarifies 10 major issues affecting these children and provides guidelines for school administrators and teachers who must contend with their special needs. (Author/WD)