September/October 1989
Teacher Magazine, Vol. 01, Issue 01
Education
Browsing
Writer and poet Philip Lopate worked for more than a decade as a writer-in-residence at a public elementary school in Manhattan. In his recent book of essays, Against Joie De Vivre (New York, Poseidon Press, 1989), he discusses the school's reaction to the suicide of one of its teachers: [T]here was something unique about suicide, I began to feel, which made a public school singularly ill-equipped to handle it. Schools are dedicated to helping children find their way into life, and an adult self-doubt so deep it denies the worth of life itself cannot help but threaten that environment. Since little children often regard their teachers as semi-parents, and since the offspring of suicides have a greater tendency to follow that self-destructive path than others, the suicide of a schoolteacher could seem a dangerous model. Beyond that, suicide is a defiantly private expression, a dissonance jamming public discourse, like a monotonously insistent burglar alarm than no one can shut off. The radical nature of the suicide act is that it both draws attention to a distressing problem and simultaneously obliterates the possibility of ameliorating it. By rejecting all human assistance, by announcing in advance that any relief will have arrived too late, it negates the whole raison d'etre of those in the "caring professions": teachers, nurses, social workers, psychotherapists.
Education
From Calculus to Curtain Calls
Picture a bare stage. An agile woman rushes out and shouts all the things she must do in a day. Then, in a burst of motion, she tackles the chores, her powerful body moving in a stylized, animated pantomime.
Education
Chicago Parents Take Control
While parental involvement means bake sales in most school districts, parents in Chicago are about to take the concept to new heights by assuming unprecedented control over their public schools.
Education
Opinion
Chaos
In the last 20 years, scientists have created an alternative set of ideas: Simple systems give rise to complex behavior. Complex systems give rise to simple behavior. More important, the laws of complexity hold universally, caring not at all for the details of a system's constituent atoms.
Education
John Gardner, White House Aide
For those who too often stare at a blank page waiting for the right words to come, White House aide John Gardner must seem blessed.
Education
Rob Angel, Inventor Of Pictionary
By the time he was 30 years old, Rob Angel had built a multimillion dollar empire out of the board game, Pictionary. Angel invented the game—a variation of charades in which clues are drawn rather than performed—and has guided it to worldwide sales of more than $14 million since 1987.
Education
Deborah Norville, Network Newscaster
As anchor of “NBC News at Sunrise” and frequent substitute anchor of “The Today Show,” Deborah Norville interviews world leaders, economists, entertainers, and other newsmakers. Her drive to get answers, she says, blossomed about 20 years ago in a 4th grade classroom in Dalton, Ga.
Education
Maya Lin, Innovative Architect and Designer
When plans for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., were unveiled in 1981, not everyone was pleased. Maya Lin's winning design was dramatically different from the white marble structures that are the standard in the nation's capital. Some thought it would never work.
Education
Sonia Manzano, 'Sesame Street's' Maria
For the past 17 years, Sonia Manzano has played Maria on public television's “Sesame Street.” But even before she created that popular role, the name had special meaning to her, thanks to her 6th grade teacher.
Education
Benjamin Carson, Pediatric Neurosurgeon
Dr. Benjamin Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, has been called a “Miracle Worker” and a “Surgical Superstar” for his pioneering surgeries on seriously ill children.
Education
An American Symbol Turns 50
The ubiquitous yellow school bus is one of America's most universal fixtures. This year it turns 50.
Education
Books Most Widely Assigned in Public Schools, Grades 7-12
See which books and authors were the most widely taught in U.S. public schools during the years 1988 and 1963 with research provided from the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature and the Educational Testing Service.
Education
Forging a Profession
For the first time in history, a national body with a teacher majority has defined what every classroom teacher should know and be able to do.
Education
Fixing the System From the Top Down
On April 26, 1983, the afternoon papers and evening television newscasts led with a startling story: A federal report released that morning proclaimed that a widespread failure of public schools had placed the nation “at risk.”
Education
Fields of Certification
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards plans to develop certificates in the 29 fields listed below. Each certificate will reflect the knowledge and skills that all teachers should possess.
Education
Dollar-Wise, Penny-Foolish
School lessons don't reflect the lessons learned about money in the real world, according to University of California researcher Mary Brenner.
Education
An On-Line Lifeline
There is plenty of evidence to suggest a teacher's experience in the first year of classroom teaching has much to do with whether he or she stays in the profession. Approximately 15 percent of new teachers leave teaching by the end of that first year on the job.
Education
Futrell's Farewell
When Mary Hatwood Futrell stepped down as president of the National Education Association last month, she left behind more than tear-streaked faces. She left an organization poised at a critical juncture.
Education
A Call for 'Real Incentives'
Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, wants to infuse some good old American competition into school reform.
Education
The Plight of Potential Dropouts
Teetering on the edge of academic failure, some at-risk students cannot—or do not—grasp the fact that they are doing poorly in school, and that their chances of graduating are slim, says an Arizona State University researcher.
Education
The More Things Change ...
Despite a half century of struggle in the nation's courts and legislatures, black Americans still face formidable obstacles in their quest for quality and equality in education, according to a comprehensive new study.
Education
Opinion
What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards seeks to identify and recognize teachers who effectively enhance student learning and demonstrate the high level of knowledge, skills, dispositions, and commitments reflected in the five following core propositions.
Education
Investing in Education
Is it money that matters? When it comes to improving student performance, maybe not, according to a recent study by an economist at the University of Rochester.
Education
Opinion
Toward A More Human Scale
Many large middle grade schools function as mills that contain and process endless streams of students. Within them are masses of anonymous youth. Student populations in a middle grade school exceed 1,000 in many jurisdictions and reach as high as 2,000 in some urban areas.
Education
A Volatile Mismatch
This fall, hundreds of thousands of young adolescents are returning to schools that fail to meet their needs and may even exacerbate many of their problems.
Education
How Much Math Is Enough?
When Paul Burke received a letter from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics soliciting his views on a proposed new math curriculum, he responded with an alternate plan of his own. He got a polite form letter thanking him for his comments.
Education
New Life For Parental Leave
When districts have no written parental-leave policy, teachers may find themselves having to resign their jobs if they want to stay home with their baby during its first year.
Education
Opinion
Among Schoolchildren
Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of a New Machine and House, spent a year with Chris Zajac's 5th grade class at the Kelly School in Holyoke, Mass. Read Kidder's intimate account of that year in this excerpt from Among Schoolchidren.