Recognizing that the task of those who teach the humanities is now to identify the common ground on which persons can gather to make responsible judgments about the quality of life in light of past traditions and the competing demands of the future, this collection of essays explores the changing definition of humanistic studies and their current place in the secondary school curriculum. Following an introduction by Benjamin Ladner on the humanities and the schools, the essays are divided into three sections: reshaping humanities inquiry, humanities at the threshold of the disciplines, and the humanities and school programs. The 11 essays and their authors are as follows: (1) "The Decline of Humanistic Studies in the American School Curriculum" (Herbert M. Kliebard); (2) "The Vision of the Humanities for the Young" (Robert Coles); (3) "Cultural Literacy: Time for a New Curriculum" (John McDermott); (4) "The Place of Language in the Precollegiate Humanities Curriculum" (Germaine Bree); (5) "The Teaching of History in American Schools" (Abraham Ascher); (6) "Values, Ethnicity, Social Science Research, and Educational Policy" (James A. Banks); (7) "Can the Humanities Be Taught in American Public Schools?" (Elliot W. Eisner); (8) "The Humanities and the Summoning Reader" (Benjamin DeMott); (9) "The Paideia Proposal and American Education" (Edwin J. Delattre); (10) "Precollegiate Humanities: Leadership and Curriculum Issues" (Francis Roberts); and (11) "Implementing Successful Humanities Courses and Programs" (Benjamin Ladner). (HTH)