One More Year To Remember
Dan Lukiv

february 1

a child stands
alone at the crowded mall
and cries

february 2

a cloud-snake
winds between icy
river banks

full text >>>

The Constitutionality of Mandatory School Uniform
Loreen Princz

Introduction

The increase of violence in our schools has left educators, parents, and politicians scrambling for a solution on how to make our schools safe and ensure the safety of our children.  In 1996, former President Clinton suggested the institution of school uniforms in public schools across the nation in an effort to decrease violence in our schools. 1  This policy promised not only a reduction in school violence but also order and structure in the classrooms.2   In a memorandum to Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, Mr. Clinton wrote:

If student uniforms can help deter school violence, promote discipline, and foster a better learning     environment, then we should offer our strong support to the schools and parents who try them.3

In addition to the proposal, a manual was created by the Department of Education, with input from the Department of Justice, to be utilized as a guideline for instituting such policies.4  This manual was then distributed to each of the Nation’s 16,000 public school districts.5  Clinton concluded in his 1996 State of the Union address::   
full text >>>

Can Competing Visions of Adult Student Empowerment Complement Each Other?
Alice Lai
Eric L. Ball    

Introduction

As college faculty who recognize that education is always inescapably implicated in questions of politics and power (Apple, 1995), lately we have been thinking about the notion of adult student empowerment in relation to teaching and learning. This is because empowerment is one of those buzzwords we find our colleagues and ourselves frequently muttering in cross-disciplinary, college-wide discussions about how best to work with students—for example, discussions about curricula, how to structure learning environments, or strategies for evaluating student work. Our colleagues and we often support our arguments about what should or should not be taught and who decides, or about what kinds of standards and other expectations students should or should not be held to by faculty, by appealing to the importance of empowering students. Yet, in these discussions, the word "empowerment" seems to imply different meanings to different people, and these meanings are seldom explicitly clarified. In this essay, we seek to unpack some of these meanings of student empowerment without intending necessarily to propose one particular best definition. In doing so, we suggest that several of these meanings share an overall vision of empowerment which views students as individuals. Then, we contrast that with a vision of empowerment which focuses primarily on students as members of sociocultural groups. Subsequently, we discuss how individual-centered and group-centered visions of empowerment can both complement and conflict with one another, and we maintain that educators should continually keep open the question of what empowerment means as they reflect on how to work with students
full text >>>

Teaching with a Tangible Twist: From Theory to Practice
Jason Schmitt

Introduction

Although service learning has become a “go to phrase” for academicians and scholars alike, the associated benefits and ramifications on the communication classroom are less diagnosed.  Oster-Aaland, Sellnow, Nelson & Pearson (2004) find the cumulative interest of communication studies toward service learning has grown to a point that mandates systematic investigation of this mode of instruction.  The following represents an application of service learning initiatives toward the basic communication course. Due to the integration of service learning specifically geared toward aiding the university structure, this article will make the assertion toward evolving the service learning syntax to that of “tangible learning” in university service cases.  This approach, rooted in communication ideology, is represented by directly applying university service to a student’s education, with the goal of increasing the learning potential of students.   This cumulative exercise produced identifiable pedagogical benefits both in terms of illuminating course directions and relevance as well as instilling a sense of dual accountability as students worked both for a course grade as well as toward the support and respect of their peer network.  It may be found that exercises such as this blend critical pedagogy initiatives with a service learning salience toward the educational foundation of the college classroom.
full text >>>