The core challenge is this--a difficult ethical decision, where values are in play and both sides have powerful moral arguments in their favor. One case presented in this article outlines a dilemma faced by one teacher who became a superintendent herself. The case exploded dramatically in a midsize metropolitan school district, where a principal…

Describes teaching a course, "Vietnam Literature," to high school seniors and reviews some books about the war, including Philip Caputo's "A Rumor of War," James Webb's "Fields of Fire," Tim O'Brien's "Going After Caciato," Michael Herr's "Dispatches," and Al Santoli's "Everything We…

Explores the concept of "null curriculum"--what schools do not teach. Attempts to define the term, focusing on possible uses in theory, research, and practice. While hard to define and limited as a research concept, "null curriculum" can inform cosiderations of curriculum goals, content, and selection criteria. Lists eight…

It is argued that religious studies, offered in Australian public schools, are justified for their value in a liberal arts education, particularly as they support examination of three principles: skepticism, exclusivity, and relativism. These criteria are applied in assessment of religious education in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria.…

Recent years, increasing diverse attitudes to religious education in the classroom make many private and public school face the controversy of "should religion be taught as a subject at schools?" (Kaiser, 2003; Slattery & Rapp, 2003; Wallace, Forman, Caldwell & Willis, 2003.) As a result, many administrators and teachers are making efforts in…

Costa Rica has rich ecological resources and has been a steady political force in turbulent Central America. Most recently, it has become a battleground between pro- and anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) political forces. This case study examines the roles of U.S.-based cotton ("Gossypium hirsutum" L.) seed companies, anti-GMO…

Simple role-play simulations can not only demonstrate the dynamics of a conflict but also create awareness of multiple perspectives even among populations relatively set in their opinions. To teach my student population of military officers, I utilize simple, nongame simulations of multisided Middle East conflicts that not only facilitate learning…

America's sense of community is broken down; its sense of connectedness and the collective is "collapsing." That these senses ever existed is a matter for considerable debate. But, as the new millennium gains momentum and neoliberalism seeks expansion, the author argues that a focus on rekindling these concepts of community,…

This article discusses methodological and philosophical issues linked to action research. The concepts of subjectivity and objectivity--potential sources of bias that mislead researchers in dealing with these concepts--and how to cope with them are discussed. Controversial issues of truth in positivism, postpositivism, and other schools of…

One version of a first year seminar in rhetoric examines the President Kennedy assassination controversy as seen by several writers in a rhetorical framework that stresses the difference, particularly in regard to the writers' approaches to truth, in intellectual and imaginative discourses. The assignments, three major writing projects, introduce…

Increasingly, college students are challenging the content of courses and criticizing faculty as promoting their own viewpoints in the classroom. Some feel faculty cannot and should not attempt to "neutralize" their lectures; others prefer that teachers encourage communication and public debate on controversial issues. (MSE)

Although critical to understanding human sexuality and reproductive physiology, the male and female reproductive anatomy is often minimally covered by teachers. For teachers and students alike, it is often an embarrassing topic to discuss. This activity allows students and teachers to identify the parts of both reproductive systems with little…

Evolution is a central underlying concept to a significant number of discourses in civilized society, but the complexity of understanding basic tenets of this important theory is just now coming to light. Knowledge about evolution is constructed from both formal and "free-choice" opportunities, like television. Nature programs are commonly…

Evolution was introduced into the senior secondary school Life Sciences curriculum in South Africa for the first time in 2008. Research in other countries shows that evolution is an extremely controversial topic to teach, raising serious concerns for teachers. Curriculum change theory dealing with "stages of concern" suggests that…

Today, even though "social justice" programs exist as a virtual growth industry on US campuses and many universities have incorporated classes on race and racism into their curricula, everyone continues to be faced with the perception that race is a "controversial" topic that has to be broached with care due to its "sensitive nature". This is even…