Made up of rectangular boxes aligned on rectangular sheets of paper, the hallmark of the report card is the list of grades. Numbers or letters are intended to represent the achievement of a young person, who too often sits at a rectangular desk in a rectangular room, and provides evidence of learning by making pencil scrapings upon rectangular…

Ziegler and Phillipson (Z&P) advance an interesting and ambitious proposal, whereby current analytical/mechanistic theories of gifted education are replaced by systemic theories. In this commentary, the author focuses on the pros and cons of using systemic theories. He argues that Z&P's proposal both goes too far and not far enough. The future of…

This paper is designed to introduce readers to teacher-philosopher-practitioner, Paulo Freire and to illustrate the power of his educational ideals for the task of teaching leadership. Readers will encounter Freire, understand how one's definition of leadership needs to match one's approach to teaching leadership, review a proposed Freirean…

This essay offers a commentary on how the relationship between language and literacy practices in and out of school has been conceptualized. It draws upon two new books in the field. Shirley Brice Heath's new book, "Words at Work and Play: Three Decades in Family and Community Life," which makes use of rich ethnographic accounts of…

There is a case to be made for the integration of the Project Based Service Learning (PBSL) process and the design and construction of educational facilities. A growing body of research supports the notion that the formulaic educational system of the last hundred years may no longer serve the learning styles of new and future generations. Their…

Scotland has a strong learner-centred system of adult literacy and numeracy education. Examination of the Scottish system can usefully highlight the issues associated with application of this approach in adult education more generally. Two important aspects are the need for highly skilled educators and the difficulty of evaluating such systems.…

Today's specialists are required to be actively involved, independent, flexible, original thinkers, and well trained both generally and professionally. Results of a sociological survey of 2,000 students at Urals State University indicate that a majority of students are at an average level of well-formed professional competence, and less than 1…

Over the past decade, the Gurian Institute has trained more than forty thousand teachers in more than two thousand schools and districts, both coed and single-sex. The institute's trainers have worked with public and private schools, Montessori schools, and a variety of charter and independent schools in fifteen countries; it has therefore been…

Explores the use of autobiography as a tool for increasing student participation, uncovering student attitudes and values, and as a source of examples for lectures and class discussion. Concludes that information gathered can be used to alert students to potential problems of using summary statistics and nonrepresentative samples when generalizing…

The development of aesthetic sensitivity in creative students is discussed, and sample techniques are described. The importance of valuing the individuality and uniqueness of the artistically creative and aesthetically sensitive child is stressed. (CL)

Described is the concept of Benjamin Bloom's Mastery Learning as a teaching method. The author concludes that, by its very definition, Mastery Learning cannot be superimposed on traditional education. (KC)

This response to Gersten and Dimino (EC 606 357) sees whole language as a perspective on language instruction rather than as an instructional procedure. Three other perspectives on language instruction are suggested--cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental--and are illustrated with sample cases, to demonstrate their contributions to a…

Describes how a survey of the history of sex, love, and marriage in Western cultures is used in an undergraduate course on the sociology of emotions. Identifies several periods of history particularly suited to this use and describes assignments and course requirements. (AEM)

The imperatives and complexities of introducing human rights principles at primary and secondary school levels in postcommunist societies are presented, focusing on presentation of concepts of individualism, democracy, and human rights in textbooks; teaching practices that reinforce learner-centered approaches; and consideration of a national…

Suggests techniques for teaching about gender role socialization. Personal, qualitative data provided by children can be used effectively to: (1) highlight issues in gender role socialization; (2) generate research hypotheses; (3) stimulate creative research designs; (4) illustrate how gender role socialization occurs; and (5) illustrate the…