School leaders must withstand the pressures of the animal rights movement to disrupt the science curriculum. It would be tragic if this movement succeeded in turning a large number of students against the legitimate use of animals and, ultimately, against biomedical research. (MLF)

Describes the rails-to-trails movement, particularly in Ontario, where abandoned railways are converted to trails for hiking, skiing, cycling, and horseback riding. Proposes the often controversial rails-to-trails issue as a resource for discussion in outdoor leadership classes, focusing on rural and urban viewpoints. Also suggests using the…

Arguments against teachers asserting their own views about controversial issues say that neutrality enables students to develop autonomous reflection. Others claim that a nonneutral stance is morally preferable. There are some teaching situations in which a neutral stance may not be an option. (SK)

Examines the problem of how to account for the observation of research on cold fusion after the apparent closure of the controversy in 1990. Despite the controversy, scientists continue to work with cold fusion. Examines whether the controversy is in fact closed, creating a hybrid category, "undead." (Author/CCM)

Describes format and content for a seminar class about racism and psychological theories developed to explain its occurrence. Discusses the importance of having students evaluate theories and their supporting research, and the value of using multiple teaching methods to avert problems related to the sensitive nature of the subject. (DSK)

Considers rhetorical implications of silence as a contestatory strategy in a basic writing class where Mike Rose's "Lives on the Boundary" was the text. Finds students were reluctant to discuss the issues of power raised in the book, perhaps because of complex cultural and educational conflicts operating in some writing classrooms.…

Provides a conceptual framework that identifies three types of public issues and potential roles for public officials, the general public, and Extension professionals in dealing with them. Concludes with some specific advice for Extension educators involved with programming that addresses controversial topics when serving as content or process…

Discusses how to bring up and discuss the issues of race and class. Explores how to approach, in the classroom, the idea of the white supremacists and the anti-white name-calling in the book "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli. Proposes that educators who are involved with children's literature must rethink how they read children's literature. (SG)

This article is based on the data from a 2 year Department for International Development (DfID) funded research project, and looks at the perceived needs of teaching and learning about global issues, particularly war and conflict. Students want to learn about complex contemporary issues, particularly war and conflict, and have sophisticated…

This article examines debates over teaching Australian history in schools and notes a pervasive anxiety about what "our children" should know. The article sketches some of these debates, and while noting the politics of history teaching both in Australia and abroad, argues that its heavily politicized discourse has been further…

One of the most confrontational issues before American school boards and administrators is the effort by some Christian fundamentalists to have their views on life and its origins taught in science classes as a scientifically valid alternative to biological evolution. The issue continues to plague science education, suggesting that few school…

The Alpha course is possibly the most widespread and best-known evangelizing initiative of recent times. Billing itself as an introduction into "basic Christianity", Alpha is a programme that has been adopted worldwide by tens of thousands of churches. This paper overviews Alpha's attitude towards one of the most controversial debates in…

Objective: To integrate speaking practice with rhetorical theory. Type of speech: Persuasive. Point value: 100 points (i.e., 30 points based on peer evaluations, 30 points based on individual performance, 40 points based on the group presentation), which is 25% of course grade. Requirements: (a) References: 7-10; (b) Length: 20-30 minutes; (c)…

The field of styles presents three major controversial issues: styles as value-laden versus value-free, styles as traits versus states, and styles as different constructs versus similar constructs with different labels. We address these issues by proposing an integrative model of styles--the Threefold Model of Intellectual Styles--which divides…

Eighty years after the famous 1925 Scopes "monkey trial," which tested a teacher's right to discuss the theory of evolution in the classroom, evolution--and its most recent counterview, called "intelligent design"--are in the headlines again, and just about everyone seems to have an opinion. This past July, President Bush weighed in, telling…