The author contends that education is implicated in the perpetuation of social inequity if it continues to present itself as the institution through which equality of opportunity is realized. Educators will make a step toward equity when they recognize that students do not have equal opportunity. (MD)

There are concrete ways to bring international concerns into classrooms. The answer to whether we want to do so can only emerge out of civic and professional debate. Lists of organizations and resource materials about hunger and related problems are provided. (MLF)

Whatever its causes, racial isolation is social dynamite. Problems and destiny of America and American education cannot be separated from fate of American cities, which daily grow poorer, more violent, less socially cohesive, and more isolated. Problems cannot be addressed without taking racism into account. Schools can help students understand…

For too many children, our society is a fearful wasteland that mocks adult pieties and nurtures nihilism. The threat of violence cannot be dispelled with metal detectors, weapons checks, and secured hallways. Educators must adopt classroom practices that promote and strengthen peaceful relations among students and become more effective advocates…

According to Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve" (1994), public education cannot alter the economic, social, or political stratification of American society. Intelligence is supposedly being combined and concentrated, and there is no inexpensive, reliable method to raise IQ. Actually, the book justifies the economic status quo and a…

This report is designed to help Pennsylvania policymakers compare two current school reform ideas that are intended to improve student achievement: private school vouchers and class size reduction. It begins with a brief history of educational vouchers, then reviews the achievement effects of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cleveland, Ohio,…

Grim statistics on poor children, homeless families, and child abuse belie our civic leaders' public assertions of love and concern for children. Children are often not well-served in their relationships with adults. Educators need to cooperate with others to create social policy that treats children as valued persons, not commodities. Includes…

Neoconservative advocates of private and religious school choice are trying to exploit the dissatisfactions of poor, predominantly minority parents to create a publicly funded private school system free of public control and oversight. This alternative system would inevitably reproduce and legally sanction the "separate but equal"…

The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program is a statewide effort in Wisconsin to increase the academic achievement of children living in poverty by reducing the student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through grade 3 to 15:1. This report is the second of five annual evaluation reports. During the 1997-1998 school year, the SAGE…

The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program is a statewide effort in Wisconsin to increase the academic achievement of children living in poverty by eventually reducing the student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through grade 3 to 15:1. During 1995-1996, the Sage program was implemented in 30 schools in 21 school districts. Over…

The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) is a statewide effort in Wisconsin to increase the academic achievement of children living in poverty by reducing the student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through third grade to 15:1. Schools participating in SAGE are also required to implement a rigorous curriculum, provide before- and…

According to National Council for the Social Studies and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development respondents, the issues deemed important--nuclear disarmament, pollution, worldwide wealth and poverty, and alternatives to the U.S. social-economic-political system--are not included in the social studies to the extent they should…

Adults need to acknowledge the nature of this world more frequently in their discussions of youth violence. The media's focus on retribution and punishment reflects the popular anger over "bad" kids. Seeds of evil have sprung from an unkempt societal garden where widespread child poverty, disintegrating home environments, child abuse, a…

In 1998, the Keystone Research Center published a comprehensive review of research on two high-profile ideas for raising educational achievement: lowering class size in the early grades and instituting private school vouchers. This report presents a research update, emphasizing results since early 1998. Over the past 2 years, the evidence on the…

Economic inequality is tearing our civil society apart. Addressing this problem through school governance reforms (vouchers, privatization, and charter schools), or curriculum changes (teaching new basic skills), or a new instructional focus (Rifkin's civil sector) ignores the real challenge: redistributing wealth and softening inequalities.…