Table of Contents
Cultural Literacy and the Schools
By E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
Literacy requires not just technical proficiency in reading but a body of background knowledge that gives meaning to the words. Dare we make a list of what a literate citizen needs to know?
Minority Representation in the Teaching Profession: An Affirmative Program
By Bernard R. Gifford
If present trends continue, the number of minority teachers will decline dramatically. The author sets forth a program to counter this development.
Socrates in the Classroom
Strategies for Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills
By Debbie Walsh
Concern over students' abilities to assess information, weigh arguments, and solve problems is leading to a new emphasis on critical thinking skills.
When More Is Less
The 'Mentoring' Problem in Textbooks
By Harrier Tyson Bernstein
Bombarded with demands to cover everyone's favorite topics, today's overstuffed textbooks have too often sacrificed clarity and depth.
Folktales: The Enchanted Lesson
By Charles H. Flatter
Folktales often reach deep into a child's fantasies, fears, and hopes and should be used with thoughtful planning and preparation.
A Portrait of Normal Adolescents
By Daniel Offer
If a teenager is not moody, rebellious, or antagonistic, what's wrong with him? Nothing, says the author.
Memory Research and Its Implications for Learning
By Robert Sylwester
Knowing more about how the brain stores facts and masters skills may help students improve the way they select, connect, and retrieve information.
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About American Educator
American Educator is a quarterly journal of educational research and ideas published by the American Federation of Teachers. Recent articles have focused on such topics as reducing the achievement gap between poor and affluent students, heading off student discipline problems, teaching an appreciation and understanding of democracy, the benefits of a common coherent curriculum, and other issues affecting children and education here and abroad. Total circulation, as of our most recent issue, is over 900,000.