"Terrorist," "son of bin Laden," "camel jockey," "raghead," "towel-head"--variations of the same epithets resurface in each generation with the same painful impact. While Muslim students in public schools were objects of derision and harassment long before 9/11, the situation in the past decade has become markedly worse. Bullying and harassment…

The ideas of multiple intelligences introduced by Howard Gardner of Harvard University more than 25 years ago have taken form in many ways, both in schools and in other sometimes-surprising settings. The silver anniversary of Gardner's learning theory provides an opportunity to reflect on the ways multiple intelligences theory has taken form and…

Most school leaders by now have heard about blogging but may not have thought much about how and why they should consider adding a blog to their school district's communication plan. Superintendents may be among the least likely in K-12 education to see the benefits of blogging and other social media. The problem with reacting to current problems…

In this era of unforgiving accountability and test scores with high-stakes implications, important lessons can be learned from charter school marketing. Scrutiny of the regular public schools has never been more sharp-edged. Charter school proponents are becoming increasingly aggressive in promoting themselves as a viable alternative for…

In this article, the author talks about some of the challenges facing gifted education today. Here, he talks about some common misconceptions related to what just gifted education means. For example, it is generally thought that education for gifted children is a program separate from the rest of the curriculum. In other words, offerings in gifted…

Among the many issues that public school leaders and teachers often deal with is the proper role of religious belief and practice within their schools. The law regarding how the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applies to the public school context can often seem complex and confusing, with some cases holding that a school improperly…

Notes in recent decades, child advocacy has failed to support a cohesive group of committed congressional representatives and to rally existing organizations to common causes. Suggests the proliferation of advocacy organizations for specialized programs was counterproductive and that future efforts should provide adequate funding for existing…

To penetrate illusions of power and control (the world as logical, leaders as controllers, progress as quantifiable, power as hoardable, organizational charts as restructuring, and risk- taking as policy-directed), leaders must connect with followers through values and common purpose. (MLH)

Phyllis Schlafly's and Beverly LaHaye's essays on outcome-based education contain numerous inaccurate points, assertions, conclusions, and allegations that have appeared in various conservative newsletters. OBE is a time-honored, highly effective, common-sense way of designing curriculum, delivering instruction, and documenting student learning…

School leaders should realize that consultants cannot substitute for developing collective actions within the organization. The "Consultant from Oz Syndrome" stems from placing undue confidence in external sources, confusing consultants with magicians, and denying their limitations. While journeying down the yellow brick road of…

Holland says comparing public and Catholic schools is pointless, since they have different values, financing, admission practices, and political realities. Paserba and Bennett, two Catholic superintendents, disagree with Holland, citing similarities in negotiating labor contracts, serving special-needs children, satisfying accreditation…

Forcing the left-wing educational extremists' agenda upon innocent school children is unacceptable. Parents' legitimate curriculum complaints have been largely ignored. Christianity is the majority U.S. religion. Citizens for Excellence in Education boasts 1,350 chapters and 185,000 active parents. CEE's agenda is returning academic excellence,…

A Texas superintendent debunks six legislative advocacy myths. Actually, superintendents have more political clout than board members. They should work with legislators even when the state legislature is not in session, communicate effectively by telephone, work with "noninfluential" legislators, influence the state education…

Just as technology has changed the way teachers teach and students learn, so too has technology transformed the way our industry manages school construction programs. Gone are the days when a school construction project had to be planned around the limitations of the contractor rather than the needs of students. Also different are the ways schools…

The 1940 school discipline list, a "national teacher survey" of the top seven offenses has been extensively cited by outspoken school critics. The list, along with its 1990 counterpart, has been traced to T. Cullen Davis, a wealthy Texas businessman-turned evangelical Christian/education lobbyist. The conflation of school discipline with social…