This paper argues that the progressive, revisionist reaction within Catholic education and schooling, as well as within Catholicism at large, to the challenge of modernity is a mistake. In view of modernity's malaises, it advocates instead the affirmation or reaffirmation of the ideal of traditional Catholicism as the only authentic response for…

What is the task of educators at a time when mainstream American culture is increasingly characterized by a declining interest in and misgiving about national politics? How one answers this question will have a grave impact not only on higher education but on the future of democratic public life. There are no simple solutions says author Henry…

Presents a humorous speech given to high school English teachers on two serious subjects: externally imposed standards and standardized testing, and anti-intellectualism in the classroom and in the culture. Argues that English teachers themselves are responsible for some of the anti-intellectualism they encounter by teaching literature in an…

In interpreting the intellectual and cultural contexts of gifted education, this book considers how and why U.S. schooling fails to care for intellect and to develop the talents of all children. Rather than acting as stewards charged with nurturing intellectual development, schools concertedly devalue intellect, and this shortcoming is most…

If schools were strongholds of intellect, the most academically able would be stars. Gifted kids often have trouble with school; academically uninterested kids enjoy cult-hero status; and the humanities are undervalued. Schools' purpose has been to train future employees and consumers, not create intellectual citizens. (MLH)

Traces current educational philosophy and practices to 19th-century philosophers who proposed the "mudsill theory," the notion that ordinary children could not be intellectually successful and must be coerced and prepared for work by compulsory schooling. Points to the success of relatively underschooled self-sufficient Lancaster Amish…

This investigation was undertaken to determine if economically deprived students' behavior, attendance and achievement would improve as a result of teacher-parent dialogue and contact through Family Involvement-Communication System (FICS) training. The procedures developed as FICS training were based upon the following assumptions: (1) low-income…

This paper examines the dynamics of authority relationships and curriculum enactment in a lower-level, college-preparatory US History class. It explains how a teacher and his students construct a relaxed order shaped by uncertain educational goals, the use of entertainment, and students' wants. Ambiguity and entertainment in the teacher's practise…