American Educator
Spring 1999

 

Table of Contents

Remember Tiananmen Square
Support the Global Petition Campaign
By Sandra Feldman

Caution—Praise Can Be Dangerous (PDF)
By Carol S. Dweck

When we praise students for being intelligent, we give them the wrong idea about learning—and about themselves.

Ability and Expertise
It's Time to Replace the Current Model of Intelligence
By Robert J. Sternberg

What are we really measuring when we give children IQ tests?

From Aptitude to Effort
A New Foundation for Our Schools
By Lauren B. Resnick

People can become smart by working hard at the right set of tasks, and we must remake our schools to reflect that fact.

California's Charter Schools (PDF)
Promises vs. Performance
By Amy Stuart Wells

A new study from UCLA finds that charter school reform is falling short of its rhetoric.

Learning from California
By F. Howard Nelson

Some tips on identifying—and fixing—what's wrong with charter schools.

Edgewood Under Siege
Vouchers Come to a Texas School District
By Jeff Mandell

Will the public money being diverted to voucher schools bring down this high-achieving—and high-poverty—school district?

Vouchers and the Accountability Dilemma
An AFT Policy Brief

The public thinks that private schools should sacrifice autonomy in return for public money; but many private schools are calling that a poor exchange.

In the Shadow of Auschwitz
Teaching the Holocaust in Poland
By Burton Bollag

What do Polish school children learn about the disappearance of 3.5 million Polish Jews? Not much.

Ten Years After Tiananmen
Some Unsung Heroes of the Struggle

The stories of five Chinese teachers who carried on the fight for human rights after June 4, 1989.

Postcards from a Refugee Camp

Seven young survivors of Burmese oppression draw their nightmares and their hopes.

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