One More Year To Remember
Dan Lukiv

november 1

at the mall, a man
in an electric wheelchair
looks tired

november 2

a lone bat
flutters between trees--
a jet climbs

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Mixed Methods Research and Action Research: A Framework for the Development of Preservice and Inservice Teachers
Anthony Onwuegbuzie Ph.D, P.G.C.E, F.S.S
Wendy B. Dickinson, Ph.D.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, signed into law by President Bush on
Jan. 8, 2002, has become a focal point of educational policy (United States Department of Education, 2001a). According to the NCLB, “States and localities will be given flexibility in the use of federal funds so that they may focus more on improving teacher quality. States will be expected to ensure that all children are taught by effective teachers” (United States Department of Education, 2001b, p. 5). Also declared was that “High standards for professional development will be set to ensure that federal funds promote research-based, effective practice in the classroom” United States Department of Education, 2001b, p. 6).

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A Deadly Silence:
Postsecondary Students Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder

J. Karen Reynolds, PhD.

I was nine years old when I saw a freak show. I can still hear the barker shouting, “See the elephant twins, seal man, fat lady, rubber man; freaks of nature! All yours for a quarter.” As the crowd pushed into a large tent, two figures appeared on a makeshift stage. The elephant twins wore short, terry bathrobes. Folds of leathery skin suggested arms, necks, and legs. When the display ended, the barker announced that postcards of the twins were on sale for ten cents. I rushed to buy my souvenir. I could not understand why the brother and sister were nude in the photograph. Years later, I learned that the twins shared a serious medical disorder called elephantiasis. The label “freak” took on new meaning for me. It came to signify individuals with mental and/or physical disabilities who existed on the borders of polite society.

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Reflections on First-Year Teaching in the College Classroom

Elizabeth Haller

Granted, with only five years of college teaching experience, I haven’t been in the field for that long.  But I have, apparently, been teaching long enough for colleagues to feel comfortable enough to approach me with questions about ways to improve their own teaching techniques.  I am speaking of one instance in particular.  One of my office mates, a first-year instructor, recently asked me about my first year teaching in the college classroom and how I handled certain situations such as “calming teaching nerves” and assigning group work.  During my first two years of teaching, I kept a weekly teaching journal in which I would write out some of my fears and frustrations regarding the classroom.  The purpose being that perhaps I could learn from my own mistakes and/or successes.  I let my office mate read two journal entries I wrote during this time, hoping they would provide her with some ideas as well as shed some light for her on how she is not alone in her fears.  One of those short entries is included here. 

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