Summarizes study that interviewed 25 rural teachers identified as having strong "principal potential." Only five teachers expressed interest in becoming principals. The seven "maybe's" felt principalship would have to change significantly before they would consider it. Many viewed the principalship as too distant from the…

In Hollywood movies, straight shooters often expose scoundrels' folly. School-based straight shooters seeking to clarify their positions and hear colleagues' views are hampered by lack of agreement about needed changes, an overly polite work environment, and contrived evaluation sessions. Recent Essential Schools initiatives show that…

Summarizes results of a study of 43 Israeli teachers' reactions to teachers' curriculum guides. Fewer than half the teachers interviewed made significant use of guides. Authors' intentions, as set forth in these guides, do not reach the teaching community and are felt to convey alienation, distance, arrogance, and lack of respect. Teachers did not…

Describes strategies to counteract aggressive responses when students exhibit aggressive behaviors. Promising practices include the conflict cycle, self-management, components of life space interviewing, anger replacement training, and relationship technology. (JPS)

In a recent study, teachers linked use of praise to principals' goals of promoting and reinforcing instructional performance. Teachers viewed praise as a positive, effective influence strategy that helped boost their confidence and pride and enhance feelings of satisfaction and belonging. Only work-related praise was viewed as influential.…

Summarizes findings of a five-year study of eight schools participating in the Coalition of Essential Schools/Education of the States Re:Learning project. Most schools appeared to lack consensus about the need for fundamental changes in school structure or teaching practices; changes began slowly, with individual or small-group efforts that…

A well-planned formal mentor program established for continuous peer support is the ideal system for both tenured and untenured faculty. A Pennsylvania program has six full-time mentors to help teachers during and after school. The program is rooted in the concepts and practices of peer coaching, counseling, and support. Mentors' qualifications,…

Award-winning Colorado Springs Superintendent Trevor Burnley has dedicated his energies to the "kid business"; he recently adopted his two young grandchildren and works diligently to keep schoolchildren away from the eight-ball. Faced with a slashed budget, he had to cut staff and freeze salaries, earning teachers' resentment. He…

A teacher educator--former teacher and principal, and mother of a developmentally delayed 12-year-old girl--discusses placement of special children from 3 perspectives. Under the best of circumstances, inclusion is a very good idea. With too little funding, training, or development, it can be a disaster. Selecting the right children for inclusion…

Educators possess a wealth of understanding and experience that can help colleagues deal with heavy work pressures more effectively within the framework of a whole school policy for stress management. The coping strategies discussed embrace a wide range of skills, knowledge, techniques, relationships, thoughts, and activities that may be…

One fifth-grade teacher feels it is unfair if some students learn one thing, while others learn something else. Teachers must agree on some core of specific content and resolve to teach it at appropriate levels. Core Knowledge Sequence for grades 1-6 provides model of grade-by-grade content including literature, U.S. and world civilization,…

Explores relationship between teacher perceptions of structural coupling in their schools and their perceptions of school robustness and effectiveness in study of 79 participating schools. Results suggested that teacher perceptions of relatively tight coupling of goal direction and work supervision structures and relatively loose coupling of…

Describes difficulties of Saint Paul's Saturn School of Tomorrow from planner, implementor, and evaluator viewpoints. The plan for a citywide, ungraded, downtown middle school called for an extended school year and the latest technology in a completely redesigned building with 4 teachers, 4 interns, and 162 students. Teachers were overworked, test…

Although modern technology is fundamentally altering the social and political landscape, the information network ends at the front door of most American high schools. Smokestack education, where adults dispense insight to disengaged students, leaves America ill-equipped to compete in the information-based, global economy. Educational institutions…

Since the state board adopted the Standards of Learning, Virginia high-school teachers maintain tighter schedules and more often use direct instruction instead of group activities to cover the new curriculum. A two-edged sword, the SOL has engendered an increased interest in professional collaboration. (MLH)