The essays in this collection are designed to provide an overview of the most pressing issues and ideas with which English teachers contend today and will contend in the near future. The contributors, 22 English teachers and educators, have attempted to view change in a sufficiently broad perspective to enable them to make responsible predictions about the 1980s, taking into account the social and economic variables that will necessarily affect the United States during this time. Titles of the essays reflect concerns for the following topics: (1) writing and the English curriculum; (2) literature study in the 1980s; (3) language and the English curriculum; (4) holonomic knowing (a very generalized model of holistic learning); (5) oral English and the literacy imperative; (6) reading and the teaching of English; (7) the basics in the 1980s; (8) English in the elementary and middle schools; (9) the training of English teachers in the 1980s; (10) the media, media literacy, and the English curriculum; (11) computer-assisted English instruction; (12) English as a second language in the 1980s; (13) English and vocational education; (14) dealing with sexual stereotypes; (15) English for minority groups, for the gifted and talented, and for the handicapped; and (16) needed research in the teaching of English. (RL)

In this revolutionary book, a renowned computer scientist explains the importance of teaching children the basics of computing and how it can prepare them to succeed in the ever-evolving tech world. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children. We have Mindstorms to thank for that. In this book, pioneering computer scientist Seymour Papert uses the invention of LOGO, the first child-friendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Papert argues that children are more than capable of mastering computers, and that teaching computational processes like de-bugging in the classroom can change the way we learn everything else. He also shows that schools saturated with technology can actually improve socialization and interaction among students and between students and teachers. Technology changes every day, but the basic ways that computers can help us learn remain. For thousands of teachers and parents who have sought creative ways to help children learn with computers, Mindstorms is their bible.

The Education Dilemma: Policy Issues for Developing Countries in the 1980s focuses on the questions on the adequacy of the Western European and North American model of formal schooling exported to developing countries. The selection first offers information on an overview of the policy issues in the 1980s, future of formal education in developing countries, and factors which promote school achievement in developing countries. Discussions focus on the effect of schooling variables on achievement; comparison of the importance of schooling inputs and home background; educational production function and its limitations; and theories of learning and schooling. The text then examines preschool age investment in human capital, policy implications of instructional technology, and the impact of American educational research on developing countries. The publication takes a look at common assumptions about education and employment, education and employment after independence, and the influence of education on migration and fertility. Topics include education and migration, fertility and education, socializing effects of educational institutions, educational and individual entrepreneurship, and education and access to labor market. The manuscript also surveys education, class conflict, and uneven development and investment in education in developing nations. The selection is a valuable reference for educators and researchers interested in the application of the Western European and North American model of formal schooling to developing countries.