Regardless of sustained interest in abstinence-based sex education programs, a substantial portion of the teenage population engages in behaviors placing them at risk for HIV infection. At present, educating students and changing their unsafe voluntary behaviors is the only "cure" for AIDS. An effective education program is built around the peer…

When discrimination or harassment occurs, the school administration is responsible for investigating the problem and, if necessary, reporting it to appropriate authorities. Protected classes include gender, race, sexual orientation, color, age, national origin, religion, and disability. To prevent discrimination claims and ensuing negative…

Increasingly, colleges and universities are privatizing housing, attracted to the limited financial outlay and involvement in management. Critics fear that institutions' financial positions will be compromised if the private developers have problems, and that institutions will lose control of financial aspects and quality of residence-hall life,…

Today's students need countless opportunities to turn information into knowledge that helps them understand themselves, others, and the world. Emergent teacher leadership will help students practice democracy. Principals must partner with teachers to create time for staff to converse, learn together, and convert schools to learning centers. (MLH)

Harold Kushner, the author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" (1981), insists that public schools should never advocate particular religious views nor serve as forums for debating religious values. However, shared values such as truthfulness, accuracy, personal responsibility, acceptance of limitations, kindness, and cooperation…

Against the backdrop of child abuse, hunger, and poverty, curriculum cannot be restricted to considerations of subject matter or planned activities. Teachers and administrators must nurture children in schools and provide them with safe environments. All the world's children, no matter how or where they live, are our children and constitute our…

Community service can raise students' self-esteem, develop moral character, and help students feel part of their community. However, school leaders need to be aware of the potential pitfalls associated with mandating community service. These include liability, cost, logistical hassles, and possible negative psychological effects on students. (MLF)

To avoid embarrassment and financial cost of incurring cost disallowances on federally-sponsored projects, college and university administrators must pay particular attention to these management areas: compensation (release time, overload, and others); costs (allowable, attributable, transfers, and others); consulting; certification of time and…

Discussion of academic freedom and college teacher dismissal first examines the expectations that institutions should have of faculty, traces the history of academic freedom in America, and looks at conditions that might constitute adequate cause for teacher dismissal. Examples are drawn from court litigation. Catalysts in the institutional…

A survey of 1,427 students (grades 4 through 7), 176 teachers, and 9 administrators in a Connecticut district revealed that children learn about computers from more experienced persons, enjoy independent exploration, and believe computers are for everyone, especially workers. Teacher expertise varies greatly. (MLH)

Charter schools must answer to public entities (bureaucratic accountability) and to participating parents, students, and teachers (market accountability). This study examines bureaucratic accountability, highlighting regulatory approaches of statewide charter-school authorizers in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Michigan. CSA's favor a…

Schools and society have roles in creating low self-esteem among young African American males, who encounter negative statements and put-downs. Addresses the power of words as used in the home, school, and community, underscoring the importance of parents and educators considering the potency of words, stressing the need for thoughtful use of…

Drawing on the concept of a narrative, this article describes three basic patterns underlying the roles and relationships between parents and educators in urban schools: the deficit, in loco parentis, and relational narratives. The author offers evidence for the narratives from the research literature and from her interviews and participant…

A report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education on school employees' sexual misconduct with students is drawing fire from national education groups and has attracted only qualified support from the agency itself. The report by sexual-harassment researcher Charol Shakeshaft concludes that such misconduct is "woefully understudied," but…

The hidden curriculum in schools is frequently reflected in clothing worn by students. Schools grapple with the implications of dress codes as they relate to the appropriateness of the items students wear and, in this study in particular, to the messages placed upon tee shirts. Legal precedent indicates that schools have the right to eliminate…