Aboard a train heading out of Minneapolis toward frontier North Dakota, Era Bell Thompson in her autobiography "American Daughter" (1946) describes a landscape that grows steadily bleaker with each mile farther west: "Suddenly there was snow--miles and miles of dull, white snow, stretching out to meet the heavy, gray sky; deep banks…

This paper focuses on how community educators might collaborate to help break the cycle of frustration, failure, and violence that shadows many disadvantaged inner-city African American students. It suggests that persistent, race-based inequities in urban areas are a major factor in this syndrome. These causes are proposed to be disparity in…

This guide is intended as a resource for educators who wish to use films on aging to teach humanistic values. There are three main divisions in the guide: (1) descriptive and analytical notes on 12 films about aging, (2) suggestions for instructional programming, and (3) an annotated filmography. The first section includes film-study questions on…

Public health nurses (n=191) were queried regarding their observations of alienation in families who abuse their children. Comparison was made of social isolation and powerlessness in abusive families and a control group of non-abusive families, through the Internal-External Locus of Control Scale and FIRO-B, with significant differences noted in…

Reports figures indicating a rise in teenage suicide in Canada. Shows how the problem is compounded by silence resulting from official and parent reactions and social taboo. Discusses some of the causes of teenage suicide and explains the role of the school and family in suicide intervention and prevention. (SB)

Since 1982, the "MetLife Survey of the American Teacher" has examined issues related to education from a variety of perspectives. Surveys in 2001 and 2002 revealed that feelings of alienation from school are prevalent among students, teachers, and parents at the secondary level, resulting in breakdown of the educational process. People do not feel…

This book explores parental participation in the public schools as an opportunity for personal growth and empowerment and as a source of support for educational goals and needed resources. The first chapter explores developmental, psychological, and sociological theories that deal with human potential and how this is related to participation,…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a study on indirect bullying behaviors in girls and the link between girls' peer relationships and bullying behaviors. The study used self-report and peer nomination instruments to survey 987 Australian girls in individual classes from Year 6 to Year 10 in 7 South Australian Catholic and independent schools, 5…

Increasing social fragmentation has resulted in human alienation and a subsequent lack of power to achieve. Education must initiate a renewal process by providing a "public space" or a common world in which human beings with diverse backgrounds can integrate individual perspectives toward common action to improve schools and society. (Author/MJL)

Argues for a definition of revelation as a process of speaking and listening. Using this premise, argues that revelation is a process of personal relation that cannot be exclusive to any religious group. Discusses the implications of this definition for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. (MJP)

Analyzes three different types of discrimination. Individual and institutional discrimination refer to actions intended to have a negative impact on women and minorities. Structural discrimination refers to policies supposedly neutral in intent but that produce negative effects. Provides concrete examples of each. (MJP)

Traces early twentieth-century educational reforms that created the social studies as a field to restructure information into knowledge and promote citizenship. Presents the National Council for the Social Studies' skill objectives. Argues the social studies, although firmly based in social criticism, must still evolve to adequately address the…

Argues that teacher education in general lacks using personal testimony as a form of pedagogical reflection and interrogation. Asserts that, through the use of personal and public narrative, teachers can overcome their postmodern cynicism and discover an enlightened, modernistic set of ideals and ethics to convey to their students. Contains 36…

An African-American freshman at Harvard University keeps a diary of her first year at college, noting experiences of racial isolation and solidarity, and the difficulties in being both Black and female in the highly competitive Harvard environment. A recurring theme is that of her alienation from others. (SLD)

Compares the course of change of two groups of conduct-disoriented adolescents in two theoretically distinct residential treatment programs. Despite an overall trend toward improvement in both groups, there was little significant difference between the rates of progress over time. Supports the need for qualitative research focusing on the…