Summarizes recommendations generated in six workshops along several themes, including the need to redefine school readiness; expand the role of schools and teachers; more fully integrate the growing cultural diversity of our population into the learning equation; and develop new readiness assessment instruments. The specific recommendations are…

Highlights issues facing teachers who have mentally ill students in their classes and ways for teachers to address the issues. Discusses in-school interventions, out-of-school treatment, and the role of the teacher as mediator in helping students relate to other mentally ill students and in offering support to parents. (MAB)

A survey of parents (n=844) of school-age children and parents (n=297) of gifted/talented children found strong public support for programs addressing special needs of gifted/talented students, especially if those programs do not reduce services to average or slow learners. (JDD)

Contends that no issue has captured more forcefully the attention of the public than the increasing presence of weapons on school campuses. Discusses prevention and intervention strategies that show promise in stemming this national crisis. Includes a chart with both long- and short-term strategies for teachers and administrators. (CFR)

Describes the similarities in the educational philosophies of Mao Zedong and John Dewey that arise despite developing in disparate cultures. Suggests that these similarities were rooted in maternal modeling of benevolent action. Indicates that the era's social transitions and exposure to common philosophical sources caused the similarities. (38…

Examines mass media's power and techniques as an influential teacher of multicultural issues, and explores how schools can build on the media-based construction of multicultural education. It is argued that when schools increase student involvement in analyzing the media's message system dealing with diversity, they play a greater role in…

Describes how elementary teachers across the country deal with holiday issues by embracing new traditions that honor and respect many cultures and student diversity. The article suggests that good communication between schools and the communities they serve is vital to keeping holidays happy. (SM)

The two major reports of the Holmes Group--"Tomorrow's Teachers" and "Tomorrow's Schools"--contain sharply contrasting rhetorics: the rhetoric of democratic values and scientistic rhetoric. Critical analysis of the reports suggests that the contrast highlights the contradictory tendencies embedded in the reform movement. (IAH)

Examines majaor constituent ideas of education (from Durkheim, Plato, Rousseau, Dewey), suggesting that they are mutually incompatible and consequently result in an incoherent concept of education. Proposes an educational scheme that would develop the kinds of understanding developed in cultural history, which would require focus on imaginative…

Residential schools for students with blindness or visual impairments should be viewed as organizations that can provide the leadership for improved services statewide. Residential schools can become active partners in their communities by maximizing the use of the school's facilities, expanding outreach services, and developing cooperative…

The changing purposes of schools for children with visual impairments are analyzed in relation to their evolution, current practices, and future functions. It presents three models emphasizing the developing heterogeneity in orientation and services: the school as the resource center, the life-skills center, and the magnet school. (JDD)

A strengthened student aid partnership between the federal and state governments and colleges needs to use existing funds more efficiently, regulate how students receive aid more effectively, and delineate the rights and responsibilities of each of the major partners more adequately. Better cooperation would benefit taxpayers, institutions, and…

A 1991 survey of 135 school districts and 6 specialty schools in North Carolina obtained data on the performance of specific health-related procedures in the school setting. Results indicated a patchwork approach to meeting students' special health care needs, with school personnel, parents, and health professionals all coordinating and performing…

Presents some data on student participation in community-service activities. In 1996, about half of students in grades 6 through 12 participated in community service, with 26% participating on a regular basis. Students were more likely to participate if an adult in the household did also and if the school arranged participation activities. (SLD)

Maintains that assigning schools responsibility for solving societal problems results in mission clutter, the root cause of failure in public schools. Discusses how mission clutter occurred and its dangers, focusing on the loss of critical educational focus, impediment to teacher recruitment and retention, occupational stress, and unfair…