The history of calligraphy and its insertion into the "cursus studiorum" of Italian schools is rebuilt, starting from the end of the 18th century. The history of teaching calligraphy was connected in fact not only with the development of writing styles and instruments but--particularly in the Italian context--it was burdened with other…

Graphic organizers are immensely popular--and much utilized--in many classrooms, particularly at the elementary level. These creative and innovate teaching tools are a very effective addition to the teaching repertoire and may be designed to maximize precious class time. For the secondary social studies teacher, their instant appeal and universal…

People confront stereotypes every day, both in and out of the classroom. Some ideas have been carried in the collective memory and classroom textbooks for so long they are generally recognized as fact. Many are constantly being reinforced by personal experiences, family discussions, and Hollywood productions as well. The distinct advantage to…

"Difficult" or "challenging" topics to teach include racism, violence, genocide, bullying, gangs, abuse (physical, emotional, and substance), slavery, suffering, hatred, terrorism, war, disease, loss, addiction, and more. But by confronting them with students, in the safety of a classroom through thoughtfully constructed lessons (ones that take…

In late December of 1951, a news story out of Mims, Florida, shocked the nation. The story contained elements of prejudice, discrimination, injustice, lynching, rape, bombings, and murder. The story not only made headlines across the country, but also the world. On the evening of December 25, a bomb was placed under the floor joists of the bedroom…

When Americans from the eastern part of the United States began moving west in large numbers in the mid-nineteenth century, tensions escalated and conflicts erupted between and among settlers, railroad workers, ranchers, the United States military, and numerous Native American tribes. Incorporating balanced consideration of these diverse and…

Formal mathematical methods remain, for most high school students, mysterious, artificial and not a part of their regular intuitive thinking. The authors develop some themes that could lead to a radically new approach. According to this thesis, the teaching of programming languages as a regular part of academic progress can contribute effectively…

September 11, 2001, is a day most American high school students remember. They may not fully grasp the events that took place, the reasons behind the terrorist attacks on the United States, or their implications, but they remember. They were children when this national trauma occurred--and they saw those unforgettable television images of the…

In the late summer of 1888, officials at the U.S. Department of State appointed John Henry Haynes of Rowe, Massachusetts, to become the first U.S. consul in Baghdad. At that time, Baghdad--along with all of present day Iraq--was part of the Ottoman Empire, as it had been for more than three centuries. In his fourth dispatch, a single-page,…

Recently an earnest, brilliant, and learned Italian woman, Dr. Maria Montessori, has become famous, probably beyond her desire, for her contribution to the knowledge of little children and for the embodiment of her own and the discoveries of others in what she likes to call "a method of a new science of education." Her scientific investigations as…

This book supplies a growing want of busy times, when so many are prevented by the struggles of business from sitting down to the consecutive systematic study of a formal treatise. In the writing of science chapters within this book, the highest literary ambition of the author has always been to combine clearness and simplicity with some attempt…

Of the educational work of the Young Women's Christian Associations only a part is done in the educational departments. The whole association is an educational project. For specific pieces of education, it organizes educational committees and departments in those associations that are large enough, and classes in those that do not maintain…

No movement in education in recent years has taken hold of the imagination and emotions of the American business man more effectively than education in accident prevention. This appeal to the business man is perhaps due more than anything else to the fact that when the educator begins to talk of education in terms of saving human lives he is using…

There is no part of the education given in the schools of a democracy like this one that is of more importance to society and State than that which has to do with social and civic relations. The purpose of the lessons contained in this bulletin is to enable teachers of children in the elementary grades in city schools to make a good practical…

A centenary tribute to Wilhelm Vietor, whose work marked the start of modern methods of language teaching in Europe, describes the educational philosophy behind the reform movement. The movement focused on the value of spoken language and established an alternative to the grammar translation method. (MSE)