A husband and wife team of Montessori-trained teachers started a private school in Brewster (New York) that also serves as a home school resource center. Their practices include mixed-age grouping, learner-centered instruction, optional standardized tests, parents in the classrooms, and frequent field trips. They endured 3 years of dealing with…

Educator and author Tom Armstrong talks about events that influenced his radical educational philosophy; the interconnectedness of spirituality, culture, and the inner learner in all of us; the difficulty of linking spirituality to education in light of the First Amendment; attention deficit disorders and the medicalization of education; and the…

Chris Mercogliano's book about a free school in Albany, New York, advocates liberating children's life energies from the destructive forces of regimentation, repression, and control on which public education is based. An educational philosophy is needed that pays attention primarily to emotional and interpersonal issues, since academic learning…

Explores the transnational character of social studies in Australia from 1930 to 1970 and the far-reaching nature of ideas and decisions made during this time. Specifically examines a historical case study of the adoption of social studies in Queensland from 1950 to 1970. Discusses the influence of U.S. based pedagogy. (MJP)

Examines the use of the "Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Iesu" (a set of comprehensive rules and regulations for Jesuit colleges) among the Jesuit colleges of St. Petersburg (Russia). Although suppressed by Pope Clement XIV, the Jesuit colleges flourished in Russia. Discusses the relationship of the "Ratio" to this…

This article discusses the lack of attention to the ethical, political, social, and cultural dimensions of teaching in many teacher education programs and argues that all teacher educators should shoulder the responsibility of helping prospective teachers become routinely reflective regarding moral and ethical issues and providing equal…

Discusses Stephen Brookfield's book, Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. Presents three categories of assumptions he believes teachers must make about their teaching: paradigmatic, prescriptive, and causal. States that Brookfield encourages engaging in critical conversation with peers in order to improve teaching methods. Provides strategies…

The problem with standardized testing is that it is standardized. Different learners learn differently, different teachers teach differently, and different teacher-learner combinations work differently at different times and in different ways. Standardized tests must be abandoned in favor of methods of creative evaluation that address the needs of…

Examines verbal/linguistic and visual/spatial intelligences and their relationship to Montessori education. Aligns Gardner's philosophy of these two intelligences with Montessori's specific counterparts in the prepared environment. Defines assessment in light of observation and the definitive clarity of Montessori activities. Suggests that…

Subdivisions are General Works on Intellectual Freedom and Censorship; Bibliographies; Library Bill of Rights; School Libraries and Young People; Public Libraries, Academic Libraries, and Library Education; Selection Policies; Racism, Sexism, and Social Responsibility; Censorship and National Security; Intellectual Freedom, Censorship, and the…

Praises, defends, and attempts to explain the unique characteristics of the lecture teaching method as practiced by Soviet educators. Firmly committed to the lecture method, Soviet educators refined this technique to the level of dazzling verbal performances complete with syllogisms, elaborately constructed arguments, and a touch of theater. (MJP)

Discusses the career and contributions of Russian educator and psychologist G. I. Chelpanov. Chelpanov founded Russia's first Psychology Institute and actively promoted psychological research and education. His resistance to Soviet efforts to introduce Marxist dogma into psychological research ended his career. (MJP)

Considers the effects upon, and responses to, World War II by Soviet higher education. Although wartime conditions seriously depleted the student population as well as educational facilities, Soviet education remained productive. Discusses higher education's contribution to the victory and includes statistical data. (MJP)

Provides an insightful summation and critique of David Elliott's "Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education." Praises the book for its broad selection of thinkers and diverse array of topics. Claims, however, that the book places undue emphasis on performing and stoops to ridiculing rival theories. (MJP)

Discusses two practices of the centuries-old Chinese Confucian academies that might benefit the American college teacher today: how Chinese academies have fostered student-teacher rapport and how they developed student motivation to learn. The origins and loss of these traditions are also examined. (MSE)