The quality gap between education products and commercial entertainment has narrowed greatly, thanks to improvements in computer technologies and software. However, as Neil Postman suggests, the printed word is far from passe. If children are educated to understand words and ideas, they can make discriminating choices in the chaotic realm of the…

To remain competitive in world markets, the United States must boost the skills of its work force. Two attractive school-to-work approaches are apprenticeships (based on European examples) and high school academies promoting specialization in financial services and other fields. A sidebar discusses the growing momentum for building state workplace…