Twenty years ago ...
APRIL 6, 1983
- One of the most hotly contested issues at the 80th annual meeting of the National Catholic Educational Association is a “pastoral letter” to Roman Catholics from the U.S. bishops on the moral and theological implications of nuclear war. The letter, which covers concepts such as “just war” and “limited nuclear war,” is intended to provide a “moral and religious” guide to choices on war and peace.
- An 18-member advisory committee to the 19-campus California State University system recommends that the system—which is the nation’s leading producer of teachers—substantially tighten its standards for selecting and training teacher-candidates.
- After angry protests by Hispanic parents, the Illinois state board of education approves new bilingual education rules that make such programs optional for all school districts, except Chicago. There, the mandate requiring a “transitional” bilingual education program in every school with at least 20 students with a common language other than Spanish would remain.
10 years ago ...
APRIL 7, 1993
- The Clinton administration is forced to delay the introduction of a bill to authorize national standards for student performance, after Democrats argue that the bill should include “opportunity to learn” standards designed to ensure every school has the capacity to bring all its students to higher achievement levels.
- A proposal by New York state Commissioner of Education Thomas Sobol to make work experience a prerequisite for graduation is watered down by the state board of regents into a limited experiment involving six pilot projects, each to receive $125,000 from the state.
- A study by two Western Carolina University professors concludes that Americans must change the way they view schooling if the country is to build a “world class” education system. The scholars contend that while other nations view education as a serious enterprise requiring hard work, Americans view learning as fun.
The full text of these stories is available online at www.edweek.org.
