March 4, 1992
Education Week, Vol. 11, Issue 24
Education
Opinion
Teaching the Toughest Lesson--About Death
Death is a topic most teachers would rather not discuss, let alone teach. It is easy to understand why surveys show that very few elementary-school teachers deal with the subject in any planned manner in their classes. Death is an uncomfortable topic to think about, so we look for reasons not to teach it. We rationalize by thinking inwardly, "How can I even begin to explain something to my class of small children that I don't understand well myself?"
Education
Opinion
Graduate Study and the 'Culture of the Profession'
The central message of a new book by Patricia Albjerg Graham, former dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and now head of the Spencer Foundation in Chicago, is that school reform can succeed only if it is a collective effort of society's component parts.
Education
House Budget Panel Approves $15-Billion Peace Dividend
The House Budget Committee last week approved a budget resolution that calls for a $15-billion reduction in defense spending, and includes two different options for the use of those savings.
Education
'Bolder' Federal Science Efforts Needed, Lawmakers Say
The coordination of federal programs that support precollegiate mathematics and science education has improved dramatically under the Bush Administration, but not enough to make the programs a significant force in helping the nation's schools meet the national education goals, lawmakers said last week.
Education
Plant Closings Spell New Budget Worries For School Officials
The stream of plant closings and layoffs announced by leading companies hit by the continuing recession and pressures to become more competitive is forcing school districts to contend with local economic upheaval and vast uncertainties in preparing budgets and considering long-term plans.
Education
Whittle Unveils Team To Design New Schools
Chris Whittle, the Tennessee businessman who has set his sights on developing a chain of innovative for-profit private schools, last week announced an eclectic group of seven "core team" members--including two nationally prominent education-reform advocates- to design the project.
Education
Members of 'Core Team' for Edison Project
The following are the members of the Edison Project's "core team":
Education
District News Roundup
Two Brooklyn high-school students were shot and killed last week inside their school by another 15-year-old student, New York City police reported.
Education
Denver Schools, Board in 'Power Struggle' Over Testing Policy
In a test of Denver's new system of school-based management, several schools are engaged in what is being called a "power struggle" with the board of education over the right to set testing policy.
Education
People News
The Connecticut Board of Education has appointed Vincent L. Ferrandino as the state's new education commissioner.
Education
Project 2061 Teams Fine-Tuning Models For Science-Education Reforms
In the schools that Philip Gay and his colleagues envision, science would no longer be a compartmentalized course in a student's daily schedule, but an ongoing, inquiry-based, interdisciplinary process reflecting a personal search for knowledge.
English-Language Learners
Tailor Bilingual Ed. to School Needs, Calif. Study Says
Local educators should stop arguing about the one best approach to educating language minorities and instead focus on tailoring programs to fit the needs of their own schools, a study released by the California education department last week urges.
Education
Mass. Governor Seeks To Strip State Board, Chief of Power
Even as Massachusetts officials continue their search for a new education commissioner, Gov. William F. Weld is proposing to strip that office and the state board of education of much of their authority and responsibility.
Education
News Updates
Six La Crosse, Wis., school-board members have been targeted for recall in part because they voted in favor of a plan to bus some wealthy and poor students away from their neighborhoods to promote socioeconomic balance in district schools.
Education
Members of History-Standards Panel
Following are the members of the National Council for History Standards:
Special Education
Students With Disabilities Are Overlooked In Push To Measure Skills
In the nationwide push to measure the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that young people gain from school, students with disabilities are being overlooked, according to a new study.
Education
Grant To Help N.Y.C. Teachers Earn Their Master's
The DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation last week awarded a $1.2-million grant to Hunter College and Lehman College to help uncertified teachers in New York City's most disadvantaged schools earn their master's degrees.
Education
Federal File: Booby prize; Deck shuffling; New recruits
On last week's Grammy Awards television program, Michael Green, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science, took a wipe at the Bush Administration's America 2000 education plan for its neglect of the arts.
Education
N.J. Legislature Clears Measure To Delay Local School Elections
New Jersey lawmakers have set up the first major potential confrontation between the new Republican legislative majority and the Democratic Governor by approving legislation to postpone local school elections in the state for three weeks.
Education
Q&A: Researcher Examines Young Students' 'Coping' Strategies
While the "coping" skills of adults have been the focus of many studies, less is known about coping mechanisms that work best for children.
Education
News In Brief
The Tennessee House last week approved a half-cent increase in the state sales tax, thus clearing what had been seen as the biggest obstacle to funding for an education-reform bill that has been the focus of legislative debate over the past two years.
Education
N.Y. College Gives Seniors a Chance To Learn if They Make the Cut in One Day
Nervous laughter and subdued, preoccupied banter about college, the Super Bowl that would take place later in the day, and hometowns fill Bryan Library on the campus of the Episcopal High School, a private high school here.
Education
New Study Links Past Sex Abuse, Teenage Pregnancy
Nearly two-thirds of all teenage girls who become pregnant may have been sexually abused as children, one of the first reports to study the possible relationship between these two problems has found.
Education
Students Claiming Sex Harassment Win Right To Sue
Victims of sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination in schools may sue for monetary damages under federal civil-rights law, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week.
Education
Column One: Students
As the 1992 election campaign season moves into full swing, a number of organizations are gearing up voter-registration drives and education efforts aimed at young people.
Education
State News Roundup
The Illinois superintendent of education has proposed eliminating the state's 57 regional superintendents and transferring their powers to a single, state-run regional system.
Education
Shortcomings in Schooling for Deaf Students Lamented
WASHINGTON--Little has changed for hearing-impaired schoolchildren in the four years since a federal commission concluded that the education of deaf students was "unacceptably unsatisfactory," witnesses last week told a House panel beginning work on extension of federal deaf-education programs.
Education
Expanding Their Horizons
If one were to design a town square for the "global village,'' the small town of Machias, Me., probably would not head the list of possible locations.
Education
Pell Provision Dropped, Senate Passes Student-Aid Bill
WASHINGTON-After dropping the most contentious component of a bill reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and deferring consideration of another controversial proposal, the Senate late last month handily passed the measure by a 93-to-1 vote.