Never having been a principal, I've always been curious about what it takes to be one. Over the years, I've been privileged to meet a number of K-8 principals and have almost always come away impressed. I don?t have to tell you how complex and challenging the principal's job has become, especially since the No Child Left Behind Act took effect.…

A critical, often neglected element in school renewal is developing a sense of community among students and adults. Few decision-makers understand the long-term benefits: students that are more ethical, caring, socially adept, academically motivated, and better behaved. High expectations and an engaging, challenging curriculum complete the…

Summarizes findings of report "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development," released in 2002 by the Arts Foundation Partnership. Report describes certain important relationships between the arts and academic and social skills. Describes what principals can do to link the arts with other subjects. (PKP)

Manipulatives make possible an indispensable form of hands-on investigation in science instruction. A Yale University study found that simple objects kept elementary-age children involved and entertained with very high levels of attention and concentration. Manipulatives also encourage social interaction, enhancing cooperation, harmony,…

Many aspects of social change in the United States are reducing the amount of caring and interpersonal contact available to children, thus enhancing the likelihood of social failure. Schools and other social institutions can be reorganized and redirected to provide more positive social support. (PGD)

Children's ideas strongly shape classroom life in Japanese elementary schools. Japanese children identify goals for self-improvement, work hard to achieve them, and then choose new goals. Events like the Yotsubashi Festival are not diversions from the curriculum, but designed to help children develop socially, emotionally, ethically, and…

Describes the successful operations of a middle school's experimental Student Study Center, designed to utilize inschool suspensions as educational and social rehabilitation programs for at-risk students. (IW)

The coauthor and developer of Logo (a computer programming language for children) describes (1) the changes in his responses to debates about computers in education, (2) some of the uses of the new LogoWriter in the classroom, and (3) how one fifth-grade class used LogoWriter in a biology unit. (IW)