Education

Would free higher education be possible in America? How did people in other parts of the world win and defend their right to affordable higher education? In this lesson, students examine the issue of rising student debt and proposals to deal with it, including free higher education. 

In this interactive lesson, students learn more about the high-stakes testing debate, explore different points of view about this issue, consider their own views, and identify actions they can take to address their concerns about high-stakes testing.

Students enter the test room with time-honored ways of playing the cheat. But what if they could tattoo their bodies with numbers if it pleased them and examine them anytime they wished?

Alan Shapiro's essay challenges us to consider current education policies and what real reform might look like.

Students learn about the Texas Board of Education's controversial new standards and consider whether they approve of ten items included in the new standards.

Educator Marieke van Woerkom provides timeless guidelines for opening up discussion on difficult issues--like the current economic recession--with your elementary and middle school students. Also included: links to resources on the economic crisis to inform the class discussion.

The court's recent ruling on the right of schools to conduct drug searches leaves some questions unanswered. Two readings, discussion questions and suggestions for inquiry help students consider the issue.

Student readings address the chief issues in today's reform efforts, obstacles to reform, and critical views of mainstream school reform. Discussion questions and suggestions for student inquiries and writing follow.

Because this federal law has personal meanings for students, it is an excellent subject for independent and small-group inquiries. Two student readings outline the law's major provisions, the Bush administration's defense of it, and criticisms.

The controversy at Louisiana's Jena High School offers a teachable moment for students to examine America's racial issues. A student reading presents an overview of the Jena events and comments by whites and blacks who live there. Suggested student activities include a microlab and subjects for...