Male elementary school teachers are in the minority in their schools and in their profession. Men who want to teach young children face sexism. The shortage of male public school teachers troubles child advocates. Two Florida programs recruit African-American men to teach in special education classes. (MLF)

Board members running for reelection against teacher union opposition should differentiate classroom teachers from the union, promote their board experience, research the issues, prepare early for the campaign, analyze the reasons for union opposition, anticipate psychological warfare, mount a positive defense, admit mistakes, and turn union…

In "Hosford," a teacher led a discussion with 3 13-year-old boys in a special-needs class about words with multiple meanings that included obscene ones. The teacher's contract was not renewed. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in the teacher's favor and declared that primary and secondary school teachers have enough academic freedom…

In "Boring v Buncombe County Board of Education," a high school teacher sued a school board over her transfer to a middle school. At issue is a board's power to control the curriculum and a teacher's right to academic freedom, specifically selecting a controversial play for four students in advanced acting class. (MLF)

Although the executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association is expected to announce his candidacy for governor, scant evidence exists that, in either state of federal government, teachers-turned-politicians act as a monolithic force on behalf of education issues. (MLF)

Examines a recent decision by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in "Montgomery v. Carr," which determined whether the law permits a school board to have an antinepotism or conflict-of-interest policy that prohibits spouses, parents, and children from working in the same school or district. The court found that the school district…

Interview highlights with board members who are also teachers indicate that, although teachers are demanding a greater say in school operations, they are not necessarily using access to school board seats to attain it. (MLF)

In "Boring vs. Buncombe County Board of Education," the 4th U.S. Circuit Court reversed decision involving a school board's control over curriculum in a North Carolina high school. Controversy was over a play chosen for an advanced acting class that had been approved by principal. Decision says public school teachers have absolutely no right of…

Explains Connecticut's Teacher Negotiation Act (October 1979), designed to bring about negotiated contract settlements resolving board/teacher impasses and thereby avoid strikes. Responses to the author's questionnaire of Connecticut board members, district administrators, and teachers reveal broad recognition of the law's effectiveness but doubt…

Detractors of Connecticut's Teacher Negotiation Act, who represent board members and teachers, claim the law currently takes away too much negotiating power from their respective groups. (JBM)

The author's five steps for basing school teacher salaries on position rather than seniority include (1) developing job descriptions, (2) establishing job components for various school positions (such as education and experience), (3) assigning values to these components, (4) tallying point values, and (5) building a salary structure based on…