Describes a class activity designed to play up the blurred boundary between fiction and nonfiction. Notes that students filled out Internal Revenue Service tax forms for people who might exist and that other students created biographies and autobiographies from the fictitious tax forms. (RS)

Despite overwhelming obstacles, including teacher shortages and woeful underfinancing, the Nomlinganiselo School in New Crossroads, South Africa, is well managed. The teachers are dedicated; the students are fed, cared for, and eager to learn. The key ingredient is the partnership Principal Makasona has formed with teachers and parents. (MLH)

Describes a variety of children's books that can help elementary students explore the qualities that make good leaders. The books (fiction and biography) include stories about past Presidents, people who did inspiring deeds, people with admirable qualities, and children who ran for school office. (SM)

Questions the use of professional artists as appropriate role models for students learning about art making in the classroom. Examines a biography of one artist and reviews research on the psychological and social circumstances that facilitate art production. Suggests that the creation of those circumstances in the classroom would be complicated.…

During the early twentieth century, Eugene V. Debs supported abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work for women, and pensions for both men and women. (Author/JOW)

Three women working together at Columbia University developed a teacher education knowledge base that was not dependent on theory, experiential learning, or research. Teacher education as university study was developed to support an ideology directed toward a vision of citizenship qualities and personal development considered essential for…

The dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management, Lester Thurow, is a world-class economist and author of books advocating the need for a more competitive U.S. economy. The United States is the only industrial country lacking a postsecondary education system for noncollege bound students. In a world economy, student quality matters more than natural…

Presents Paul Salmon's old-fashioned, common-sense guidelines for success in practical school administration. The maxims advise on problem ownership; the value of selective neglect; the importance of empowerment, enthusiasm, and effective communication; and the need for positive reinforcement, cultivation of support, and good relations with media,…

According to the late Ralph W. Tyler, the purpose of life is learning. The school's role is to help children (and adults) discover scholarly activity. Teaching is a complex process that requires continual learning. The goal is to become self-directed learners. Cooperative problem solving is best pursued independently of outside financial…

Transcribes an interview with Milt Hinton, a noted bassist, jazz musician, jazz historian, and music teacher. Hinton reflects on his approaches to teaching, his feelings about the state of music education in the United States, and his dual roles as a soloist and support player. (DSK)

Provides a rationale for including biography projects that represent diverse contributors to science and mathematics. Describes a biography-project assignment used in a methods course for secondary teacher preparation, discusses preservice teachers' comments about the assignment, and makes connections to current research on equitable instruction.…

Claudio Sanchez, education correspondent for National Public Radio, grew up in two cultures, saw his parents' marriage dissolve, and watched his mother toil to keep family together and get her children educated. Sanchez spends working hours searching for stories illustrating that kind of travail. Focusing on issues of abandonment and neglect, he…

Notes that an event described in first-person will vary from one told from a third-person point of view or from an omniscient viewpoint. Offers a variety of books written from different viewpoints on the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806). Gives 10 questions for stimulating student response. (PA)

Argues that a view of First Ladies as "activist political partners" is the rule rather than exception, despite their omission from most textbooks. Suggests that biographies of First Ladies offer a fascinating way to study presidential politics and to illuminate the role of women in U.S. history. Discusses several First Ladies. (DSK)

Presents descriptions of (1) the 1997 winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children ("An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly"); (2) the 5 Orbis Pictus Honor Books; and (3) 12 other outstanding nonfiction titles selected by the award committee, 6 dealing with history and biography and 6 dealing with the…