Shares how the author developed as a writer through examples using literature and philosophy. Discusses her thoughts on the National Writing Project. (MG)

Critiques Allan Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind" for idealizing "mind" as a container (casket) open only to indifference or the quest for certitude. Unlike Bloom, teacher educators deal with young people reared in a consumerist world dominated by the electronic media and beset with social realities like AIDS, homeless…

Philosophical interest in reason is traced historically from its classical roots to its current context. While philosophic enquiry has had little discernable effect on what is happening in schools, educational philosophers should pose significant reflective questions to educators and help clarify the language of issues being discussed. (BS)

Presents a response to papers by several authors as they appeared in the current issue of this journal, noting similarities and differences in their opinions, and taking issue with their decontextualization and lack of attention to cultural and social issues (with the exception of Leach). (SM)

An existential approach to teaching looks for meaning in the social and individual realities of being human. Personal reality involves the possibility of self-consciousness, of choosing, and of unpredictability integrated with the individual's motivation to produce a successful approach to action. (JMF)

Calls into question whether the role of literacy and the function of schooling is to accommodate economic, social, and political structures. Examines multiple viewpoints of literacy and the difficulty of constructing a concept of literacy appropriate for diverse persons and changing circumstances. (SK)

Examines writings on educational theory and philosophy in the 1960s, discussing the dynamism, turmoil, and conflict of this era, when educational philosophy came into its own as a vital discipline. The paper notes that both the analytical and existentialist trends of this era shared an emphasis on doing philosophy rather than on philosophical or…

Several educational philosopers address concepts of educational adequacy that extend far beyond objective measurements of achievement or competencies. The author of this essay contrasts the European concept of education as an initiation into a world of understanding and imagination with the American tradition of education as serving social and…

The existential contexts of education reach far beyond the conceptions of Goals 2000 or the appalling actualities of family breakdown, homelessness, violence, and other "savage inequalities." Classroom encounters with the arts can move the young to imagine, extend, and renew. If the arts' significance for growth, inventiveness, and…

Teacher educators must again pose searching and complex questions; questions that provoke interdisciplinary interests and lead to examinations of assumptions that can enrich the educational foundation for future teachers. (JN)

This colloquium report contains two papers that present perspectives on the book, "The Closing of the American Mind," by Allan Bloom. The first paper, by Maxine Greene, covers the book's philosophy. It asserts that the book deals with issues of American literacy on a superficial level, and actually is more concerned with refuting points…

This article encourages teachers to think about how they teach. Teachers must pay attention to their actions, interventions, and their own life history. The vision and value of teaching are explored. (DF)

Depicts the isolation which results when education, particularly language arts education, is concerned primarily with the acquisition of skills. Urges educators not to lose sight of the fundamental purpose of the language arts, which are to help people make and articulate meaning from their experiences, to empower people, and to imagine…