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There has been growing concern about how best to meet the educational challenge of learner diversity. Some researchers (National, 1991) have raised questions about the efficacy of teacher education programs which attempt to deal with learner diversity and which explore changes in prospective teachers' roles in modifying instruction. However, other researchers (i.e., Banks & Banks, 1989; Bennett, 1990; Sleeter & Grant, 1988) have recommended that the following be included within the teacher education curriculum: At least one course in multicultural education that takes into consideration the needs of all students Information about the history and culture of students from a wide number of ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds Content about the contributions made by various groups Information about first- and second-language acquisition and effective teaching practices for working with students from limited English proficient (LEP) backgrounds Field experiences and student teaching opportunities with students from varying backgrounds

This background is important for the teacher to have in order to understand the rights and responsibilities of students as well as of teachers and parents. While having this information may not eliminate the stereotypes or misconceptions that teachers have about groups, it can serve to inform more directly future instructional decisions which they will make.

Many African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans have had educational experiences where they suffered as a result of negative social, economic, and educational policies (Banks & Banks, 1989). Practices such as referral of these students in disproportionate numbers to special education classes continue even today. With additional information, teachers may be able to ask further questions or request technical assistance in providing appropriate instruction before a referral is considered.

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Herman has taken her lessons to heart. When her 7-year-old son, Ian, was in preschool, his teacher worried that he wasn't verbal enough and suggested that Herman try some of her exercises on the boy. Herman pressed him to describe in detail what he saw when they were at home or on the street. "It worked!" Herman says.

KHAYELITSHA, South Africa — Seniors here at Kwamfundo high school sang freedom songs and protested outside the staff room last year because their accounting teacher chronically failed to show up for class. With looming national examinations that would determine whether they were bound for a university or joblessness, they demanded a replacement.

Here in the Western Cape, only 2 out of 1,000 sixth graders in predominantly black schools passed a mathematics test at grade level in 2005, compared with almost 2 out of 3 children in schools once reserved for whites that are now integrated, but generally in more affluent neighborhoods.

Meeting with several writing teams for social studies in all grade levels, the board asked for several revisions in the first drafts laying out the new standards for history, government and other social studies courses in Texas schools.

Meeting with several writing teams for social studies in all grade levels, the board asked for several revisions in the first drafts laying out the new standards for history, government and other social studies courses in Texas schools.

Meeting with several writing teams for social studies in all grade levels, the board asked for several revisions in the first drafts laying out the new standards for history, government and other social studies courses in Texas schools.

Re-thinking the Rankings

B-CC had been ranked as the nation’s 64th best high school on the 2008 Newsweek list, but it was missing from U.S. News’ top 100. One parent e-mailed: “Should I be worried?”

In the 2009 Newsweek rankings, released in June, four county schools (Richard Montgomery, B-CC, Thomas S. Wootton and Winston Churchill) were ranked among the nation’s top 100, with two others (Walt Whitman and Walter Johnson) narrowly missing

So why teach? It sounds exhausting, stressful, and almost impossible to do well! In fact, we teach because the rewards are outstanding. When your students tell you at the end of the year that they can’t believe how much they’ve learned…that is a reward. When former students, now in college, return to your classroom to get a hug, to thank you for what you did to help them believe in themselves, and to tell your present students what it was like in “their day”…that is your reward. I just received a letter from the parent of a former student who is now in graduate school. She wrote that she saw a quote and thought of me. It said, “You make a child feel good about himself and that’s a motivation to excel.” That is a reward. So, in answer to our questions of the 60’s, as teachers, we did change the world. We changed it when we taught children to believe in themselves and to share that knowledge. We changed it by teaching our youngest students to listen, to share, and to respect their classmates and themselves. We changed it by giving our students the tools and skills they needed to change their world. We made this a better world -- one child at a time.

We studied the older texts that were passed down orally, but we are also writing new literature to reflect the current situation for Berbers in Morocco. It's really ground-breaking."

Although Berbers were Morocco's first inhabitants and account for some 60% of Morocco's population, they faced widespread discrimination and it is only now that the language is required to be taught in public school.

Their academic qualifications may not help them much on the jobs market, but the availability of a further degree in a subject that was once virtually outlawed in their North African country underscores Berber success in gaining official acceptance of the language.

about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates

The report puts the collective cost to the nation over the working life of each high school dropout at $292,000.

Again, the statistics were worse for young African-American dropouts, whose unemployment rate last year was 69 percent, compared with 54 percent for whites and 47 percent for Hispanics