Plans in Works for Center On Teachings of Mortimer Adler
A national center based on the educational concepts of philosopher Mortimer Adler is being planned at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The university is negotiating with the Chicago-based Institute for Philosophical Research, which Mr. Adler directs, to establish the center.
In The Paideia Proposal, Mr. Adler and 21 other educators argued that teachers should help all children gain access to a common core curriculum through a combination of didactic teaching, coaching, and teaching by asking questions.
The new center, which was still under negotiation last week, would evaluate the Paideia method, offer technical assistance to those interested in using it, and teach educators to train others in the Paideia approach.
David Dill, assistant to the chancellor and associate professor of education at U.N.C.'s Chapel Hill campus, said that if the negotiations were successful, the center would begin operating in the coming year.
The Youth Policy Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit group that tracks government policies affecting the young, has established an electronic data base to provide policymakers with current information on federal, state, and local initiatives on a range of issues.
The data--which will interrelate information on youth unemployment, teen-age pregnancy, homelessness, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, dropouts, and similar topics--will be available on Apple Macintosh disks. The organization also plans to set up an on-line version updated daily and accessible to subscribers.
The initiative was announced this month at a national forum co-sponsored by the institute and a number of social-services organizations to promote high visibility for youth issues in the forthcoming Presidential campaigns.
For further information on the data base, write John R. Bolz, Youth Policy Institute, 1221 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005; or call (202) 638-2144.
