Dr. Harry G. Judge of Oxford University, England, was asked by the Ford Foundation to conduct a series of visits to American research universities and their schools of education. His purpose was to investigate the role of the school of education in the research university, particularly at the graduate level. Dr. Judge visited ten universities and spent about 16 weeks in the United States. He prefaces his remarks on this experience by stating that he observed a seeming paradox, in that although education and schooling are of central importance in and to the United States, graduate schools of education display alarming symptoms of insecurity and self-doubt, stemming from the knowledge that their position within the world of higher education, and often within their parent universities, is always ambiguous and often resented. His observations on this paradox are presented in the form of an essay, followed by a "Letter from America," a response to his conclusions by a mythical American professor. (Author/JD)