FND 511: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION
PERSONAL AND CONTEXTUAL PERSPECTIVES

National-Louis University

Chicago, Mondays, 5:30 - 8:20 pm

Spring 2009

The current version of this syllabus can always be found here:
http://craigcunningham.com/nlu/fnd511spr09/index.htm

Skip down to schedule

List of class members' blogs

Instructor

Craig A. Cunningham, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
craig.cunningham@nl.edu
http://craigcunningham.com
cell: 773-505-1133
Office hours: Monday before class ( by appointment)

Class Members' Blogs

Craig A. Cunningham	http://technopaideia.blogspot.com
Beth	http://perspectivesonedu.blogspot.com
M*****	http://inspirationineducation.blogspot.com
Karen	http://karenmlong123.blogspot.com
Kristina	http://mamaearth-thewall.blogspot.com
Kathleen	http://kvaulman.blogspot.com
Laura	http://lauraseducationland.blogspot.com
B****	http://technologyinthefieldofeducation.blogspot.com
Elizabeth	http://greeneissues.blogspot.com
E****	http://readersareleaders1.blogspot.com
Barbara	http://barbmarsh1.blogspot.com

 

Catalog Description

Students will examine current social, cultural, political, and economic factors that affect U.S. education and schooling. These factors will be examined in relation to students’ personal, professional and social identities, beliefs, and experiences. The intent is to understand the socio-political, historical, philosophical and cultural contexts of their practice and their abilities and responsibilities that help shape those contexts. Through discussion and reflection on the moral and ethical responsibilities of educators, students will construct and implement a plan of action that reflects a commitment to democratic schools and social justice. This course requires a minimum of 15 hours of field-based activities. This course is for students in M.Ed. programs. 3 semester hours

Specifically:

• Students will demonstrate their analytical and critical understanding of multiple perspectives, including their own
• Working in groups, students will conduct research or investigate an educational issue of choice and present and facilitate a debate on its social and cultural implications
• Working individually, students will plan a project that reflects their commitment to democratic schools and social justice.

Course Goals and Expected Outcomes

1. To situate specific educational issues within current personal, social, political, and economic contexts.

2. To analyze and critique contemporary issues from an historical, philosophical, and interpersonal perspective.

3. To be reflexive on their personal and professional experiences within the above mentioned contexts.

4. To realize the educator’s role as a social actor and the possibilities for social and political action within local, national, and global contexts.

5. To plan a course of action that addresses a policy or problem identified by the student.

Major Topics

Students develop lines of inquiry that explore issues as they relate to personal, local, national, and global contexts and the interconnectedness between and among relevant situations. This “ecological” approach assumes three nested contexts (see below). The first level, in the center, reflects the student: for example, the student’s identity, life history, personal philosophy. The second level reflects local contexts: for example, the school, teachers, community, parents, school board, administration. Taken together, these levels represent the micro system within which the student works. The third level reflects the global context: for example, political, ethical, sociological, philosophical, historical, and economic. This level represents the macro system within which the student works. This course emphasizes that students can influence and alter factors within and between contexts to create positive changes in keeping with themes of democratic schooling and social justice. Students will develop different topics for research, depending on their personally stated problems and/or issues.

The following are possible lines of inquiry:

Purposes of Schooling in a Democratic Society

• Merit and equality
• Moral and ethical dimensions of schooling
• Issues of public and private domains

Politics of Reform and Change

• Government policies
• Social change agency
• Technology
• Structuring of schooling

Immigration and Cultural Diversity

• Race and ethnicity
• Gender
• Social class
• Language
• Law, policy, and schooling
• Civil rights
• Special education
• Religion

Market Ideology and Education

• Privatization and school choice
• Capitalism and society
• Globalization

Perspectives on Ability and Disability

• Constructions of disability
• School structure in relation to disability
• Intelligence debate
• Disability and other challenges

Fieldwork Requirement

2 + 1 Format - Rationale: (Bold print denotes phrases taken from the Conceptual Framework of the National College of Education/National-Louis University.)

National-Louis University is committed to educating teachers who have a broad liberal education that will enable them to construct their own knowledge as well as to integrate theory and practice.

The field project required in this course provides students with the opportunity to integrate knowledge gained through readings, class discussions, and field experiences.

In addition, the field project provides students with opportunities to engage in inquiry, demonstrate their abilities as practitioners/ scholars, understand the contextual nature of learning, as well as assess, reflect on, and critique their own knowledge, practice, school and society.

These projects are intended to enhance students’ potential to collaborate with students, colleagues, administrators, parents, policy makers and the community at large.

Instructors will encourage all students to conceptualize and conduct a field-based project that is consistent with the goals and expectations of this course and their own programs. The projects will enable students to synthesize and integrate what they are learning in class with particular questions and/or situations experienced in schools and/or communities, perhaps in relation to a required practicum. Findings of the field experience will be presented to the class. Students are expected to allocate at least 15 hours to the field project.

Topics could include but are not limited to:

• Read relevant research and participate in an educational forum, at a school board meeting, and/or present an opinion piece to a decision-making committee or a media outfit for general distribution.
• Study an educational “think tank,” and/or lobby groups, spend time learning about these centers of inquiry, the position papers the members develop, and study the ways in which these position papers influence the curriculum.
• Study organizations for teachers, such as the NEA or the AFT. Attend a meeting of the local or State affiliates, describe in writing and orally what you learned and the way(s) that organization influences or does not influence the curriculum you teach.
• Examine the history of the role of women in education and current programs that have been developed to advance their status, such as Title IX. Visit a high school and interview the director of athletic programs and physical education teachers. Observe an after school sports program.
• Investigate the history of a chosen school/district; explore aspects of school policy, including inclusion, bilingual education, tracking, technology, etc. Select an area for further study, such as school policies regarding gifted students, or a particular area in the curriculum, such as science education, and examine how policies and/or particular subject areas in the curriculum have changed in the last 20 years.

Academic Honesty

With respect to the academic honesty of students, it is expected that all material submitted as part of any class exercise, in or out of class, is the actual work of the student whose name appears on the material or is properly documented otherwise. The concept of academic honesty includes plagiarism as well as receiving and/or giving improper assistance and other forms of cheating on coursework. Students found to have engaged in academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action and may be dismissed from the University.

Faculty has the right to analyze and evaluate students’ course work. Students may be asked to submit their papers electronically to a third party plagiarism detection service. Students who are asked to submit their papers and refuse must provide proof for every cited work comprising the cover page and first cited page for each source listed in the bibliography. When evidence of academic dishonesty is discovered, an established procedure of resolution will be activated to bring the matter to closure.

See Policy on Academic Honesty in the University Catalog and Student Guidebook (http://www.nl.edu/StudentServices/studentaffairs/StudentHandbook/). For resources on how to cite properly and avoid plagiarism, go to NLU’s Center for Academic Development (http://www.nl.edu/centers/cad/) and the NLU Library (http://www.nl.edu/library/).

Course Requirements

• Readings and class participation. 20% of grade.
  You will come to class prepared, and will participate in all discussions. If you miss a class, you will email the instructor both PRIOR to the class letting him know you will not be in class and AFTER the class to find out what you missed.
  
  
• Blog entries. 15% of grade.
  You will make 10 blog entries on issues related to education, culture, sociology, politics, and social justice. Each blog entry will be at least 300 words and will include at least two links to outside materials (other web sites), a summary of the issue, and your OWN opinion about some aspect of the issue (with evidence). At least two of these entries must directly address the debate topics that you are NOT participating in during class. At least one of these entries must discussion your own experiences as a K-12 student. When you have posted your topic, send the URL and topic to all members of the class using the portal (http://my.nl.edu).
  
  
• Blog commentary. 5% of grade.
  You will make two comments each week (beginning with the week that ends April 20) on the blog entries of other students. These comments must show that you read the entries, and must add in a substantive way to the discussion of the issue.
  
  
• Debate preparation and participation. 10% of grade.
  You will be responsible for thoroughly investigating one issue related to the class, recommending at least one reading about the issue (and either sending the URL to the class using http://my.nl.edu or bringing in 10 copies of the reading one week ahead of time) and will participate in a debate on that issue, either taking one side ("for" or "against") or serving as the arbiter (to be determined at random). In each debate, the "for" side will have 10 minutes to present the arguments in favor of a motion related to social justice, then the "against" side will have 10 minutes to present the arguments against the motion, then the "for" side will have 5 minutes for rebuttal, and the "against" side will have 5 minutes for rebuttal. Then the arbiter will have 10 minutes to review the arguments presented and present his/her own opinion on the issue. Then the arbiter will moderate a 15-20 minute class discussion on the issue.
  
  
• Issue paper. 20% of grade.
  You will submit a 6-8 page paper discussing the issue that you debated. The paper must be written in appropirate academic style, have at least six sources (including at least three journal articles with full citations), and include your own opinion on the issue, with reasons and justification. (This should be YOUR opinon, rather than the one you played in the debate.)
  
  
• Fieldwork project. 20% of grade.
  By April 27, you will submit a one-page project proposal, discussing what you plan to do, how it connects to the topics of this course, and what you hope to learn. By June 8, submit a 2-3 page report on your fieldwork project, including a description of the project, your goals, what you did, and what you learned. Include a reflection on what you might do differently if you were to do this again.
  
  
• Fieldwork presentation. 10% of grade.
  Present your fieldwork project to the class in a 10-15 minute presentation. You must include visual aids.

  Note: all written work must be submitted to the instructor by email. No paper will be accepted.

Tentative Schedule

April 6. Introduction to the class.

Issues, reasons, justification, criteria, democracy, and social justice.

April 13. No Class (Instructor at conference). First blog entry due. Send the URL (web address) of your blog to all of the members of the class using the portal (http://my.nl.edu).

Reading: Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success, http://epicpolicy.org/publication/poverty-and-potential.

No class.

April 20. Second blog entry due. Two blog comments on first entries due.

Readings: The Democratic Conception in Education, http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/Publications/Projects/digitexts/dewey/d_e/chapter07.html;
Quick Tips for Winning Debates, http://eagle.northwestu.edu/academic/artsci/faculty/ggillespie/quick_tips_for_debating.htm

What is democracy? Are U.S. schools democratic?

What makes a good debate?

April 27. Third blog entry due. Two blog comments on second entries due. Debate 1 readings due by start of class. Fieldwork proposal due by start of class.

Reading: Theories of Morals, http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/Publications/Projects/digitexts/dewey/d_e/chapter26.html.

What is morality?

What is the role of public schools in developing morality?

May 4. Debate 1. Fourth blog entry due. Two blog comments on third entries due. Debate 2 readings due by start of class.

Readings (given by those preparing for Debate 1): http://www.earncentral.org/documents/2008EducationReport9-17-08FINAL.pdf

 http://www.aplusillinois.org/toolbox/faqs.asp#4

http://www.iasb.com/pdf/understandingsf.pdf

Debate 1.

May 11. Debate 2. Fifth blog entry due. Two blog comments on fourth entries due. Debate 3 readings due by start of class.

Readings (given by those preparing for Debate 2):

http://www.prel.org/products/Products/Accountability.htm

Link to Reading 2

Debate 2.

May 18. Debate 3. Sixth blog entry due. Two blog comments on fifth entries due.

Readings (given by those preparing for Debate 2)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicago-schools-year-roundapr27,0,126890.story

Link to Reading 2

Link to Reading 3

Reading 4: go to EBSChost and click on the full text. Then type in What is at Stake with High Stake Testing in the search box. The article is by Gregory J. Marchant.

Debate 3.

May 25. No Class (Memorial Day). Seventh blog entry due. Two blog comments on sixth entries due.

No class.

June 1. Eighth blog entry due. Two blog comments on seventh entries due. Issue papers due.

Reading: Public Schools: Make Them Private, http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-023.html

June 8. Ninth blog entry due. Two blog comments on eighth entries due. Fieldwork reports due. Fieldwork presentations (part 1).

June 15. Tenth blog entry due. Two blog comments on ninth entries due. Fieldwork presentations (part 2).

 

 

Resources

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American Association of University Women. (1998). Separated by sex: A critical look at single-sex education for girls. Washington, DC: Author.

Appiah, K. A., & Gutmann, A. (1996). Color conscious: The political morality of race. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Apple, M. (1996). Cultural politics & education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Apple, M. (1999). Power, meaning, and identity: Essays in critical educational studies. New York: Peter Lang.

Apple, M. W., & Beane, J. A. (1995). Democratic schools. Alexandria, VA: Association

Apple, M. W. (1986). Teachers and texts: A political economy of class & gender relations in education. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Astuto, T. A. Clark, D. L. Read, A. McGree, K., & deKoven P. F. L. (1994) Roots of reform: Challenging the assumptions that control change in education. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Educational Foundation.

Ayers, W., Hunt, J. A., & Quinn, T. (1998). Teaching for social justice. New York: Teachers College Press.

Ayers, W. C., & Miller, J. L. (Eds.). (1997). A light in dark times: Maxine Green and the unfinished conversation. New York: Teachers College Press.

Bank, B. J., & Hall, P. M. (1997). Gender, equity, and schooling: Society and practice. New York: Garland.

Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (1995). Handbook of research on multicultural education. New York: Macmillan.

Barber, B. R. (1992). An aristocracy of everyone: The politics of education and the future of America. New York: Ballantine Books.

Beatty, B. (1995). Preschool education in America: The culture of young children from the Colonial era to the present. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Bennett, C. I. (1995). Multicultural education: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Berliner, D.C., & Biddle, B. J. (1995). The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on public schools.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Biklen, S. K. (1995). School work: Gender and the cultural construction of teaching. New York: Teachers College Press. Athenaeum.

Borman, K.M.; Swami, P., & Wagstaff, L.P. (Eds.). (1991). Contemporary issues in U.S. education. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Borman, K. M., & Greenman, N.P. (Eds.). (1994). Changing American education: Recapturing the past or inventing the future? Albany, NY: SUNY.

Bracey, G. W. (1996). International comparisons and the condition of American education. Educational Researcher, 25, 5-11.

Chicago school reform: Democratic localism as a lever for Change. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Christian-Smith, L.K., & Kellor, K.S. (1999). Everyday knowledge and uncommon truths: Women of the academy. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Cozic, C. P. (Ed.). (1992). Education in America: Opposing views. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

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Diaz, C. (Ed.). (1992) . Multicultural education for the 21st century. NEA School Restructuring Series. Donato, R. (1997). The other struggle for equal schools: Mexican Americans during the Civil Rights era. Buffalo: State University of New York Press.

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Fullan, M. G. (1993). Change forces. New York: Falmer Press.

Fullan, M. G. (1999) Change forces: The sequel. New York: Falmer Press.

Garcia, M. (1989). Mexican Americans: Leadership, ideology and identity. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Gelberg, D. (1997). The “business” of reforming American schools. New York: State University of New York State.

Giroux, H. (1992). Educational leadership and the crisis of democratic government. Educational Researcher, 21, 4-11.

Giroux, H. A. (1992). Border crossings: Cultural workers and the politics of education. New York: Routledge.

Gitter, E. (2001). The imprisoned guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Brideman: The original deaf-blind child. New York: Faron, Strous & Giroux.

Goodlad, J. I. (1997). In praise of education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Goodlad, J. I., & McMannon (Eds.). (1997). The public purpose of education and Schooling. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass.

Graff, H. J. (1995). Conflicting paths: Growing up in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Green, M. (1995). Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gutek, G. L. (1992). American education in a global society. New York: Longman.

Gutmann, A. (1987). Democratic Education. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers, changing times: Teacher’s work and culture in the postmodern age. New York: Teachers College Press.

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (1998). What’s worth fighting for out there? New York: Teachers College Press.

Hess, G. A. Jr. (1995). Restructuring urban schools: A Chicago perspective. New York: Teachers College Press.

Hess, F. M. (1999). Spinning wheels: The politics of urban school reform. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

House, E. R. (1998). Schools for sale: Why free market policies won’t improve America’s schools and what will. New York: Teachers College Press.

Jencks, C. (1992) Rethinking social policy: Race, poverty, and the underclass. New York: Harper Collins.

Johnson, J. A., Dupuis, V. L., Musial, D., Hall, G. E., & Gollnick, D. M. (2002).

Joseph, P., & Burnaford, G. E. (Eds.). (2001). Images of schoolteachers in America. (2nd ed.). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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Karp, S., Lowe, R., Miner, B., & Peterson, B. (1997). Funding for justice: Money, equity, and the future of public education. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.

Katz, M. S., Noddings, N., & Strike, K. A. (1999). Justice and caring: The search for common ground in education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kincheloe, J. L., & Steinberg, S. R. (Eds.). (1995). Thirteen questions: Reframing education’s conversation (2nd ed.). New York: Peter Lang.

Kogan, B. S. (Ed.). Common school, uncommon futures: Working Consensus for school renewal. (1997). New York: Teachers College Press.

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Kotlowitz, A. (1991) There are no children here. NY: Anchor/Doubleday.

Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in America’s schools. New York: Crown.

Kozol, J. (1995). Amazing grace. New York: Crown.

Kozol, J. (2000). Ordinary resurrections: Children in the years of hope. New York: Crown.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dream keepers: Successful teachers of African-American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Leistyna, P., Woodrum, A., & Sherblom, S. A. (Eds.). (1996). Breaking free: The transformative power of critical pedagogy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review.

Levine, D., Lowe, R., Peterson, B., & Tenorio R. (1995). Rethinking schools: An agenda for change. New York: The New Press.

Lipman, P. (1998). Race, class, and power in school restructuring. New York: SUNY.

Lowe, R., & Miner B.(Eds.). (1996). Selling out our schools: Vouchers, markets, and the future of public education. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.

McLaren, P. (1994). Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education. New York: Longman.

McNeil, L. (2000). Contradictions of school reform: Educational costs of standardized testing. New York: Routledge.

Males, M. A. (1996). The scapegoat generation: America’s war on adolescents. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press.

McLaren, P. (2003). Life in schools : An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Meier, D. (1995). The power of their ideas: Lessons for America from a small school in Harlem. Boston: Beacon Press.

Moffett, J. (1994). The universal schoolhouse: Spiritual awakening through education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Nelson, J.L., Palonsky, S. B. & Carlson, K. (2000). Critical issues in education: Dialogues and dialectics (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Noll, J. W. (1997). Taking Sides: Clashing views on controversial educational issues (9th ed.). Guilford, CT: Dusking/McGraw-Hill.

Noonan, J. T., Jr. (1998). The luster of our country: The American experience of religious freedom.Berkeley: University of California Press.

Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality.New Haven: Yale University Press.

Oakes, J., & Lipton, M. (1990). Making the best of schools: A handbook for parents, teachers, and policymakers. New Haven: Yale University Press.

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Ogbu, J. (1994). Racial stratification and education in the United States: Why inequality persists. Teachers College Record, 95, 8-34.

Oppenheimer, T. (2003) flickering minds: The false promise of educational technology in the classroom and how to save learning. NY: Random House.

Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer. New York: Basic Books.

Paris, S. G., & Wellman, H. M. (1998). Global perspectives on education: Development, culture, and schooling. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Perry, T., & Fraser, J. W. (Eds.) (1993). Freedom’s plow: Teaching in the multicultural classroom. New York: Routledge.

Pignatelli, F., & Pflaum, S. W. (1993). Celebrating diverse voices: Progressive education and equity. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.

Popkewitz, T. S., & Fendler, L. (Eds.). (1999). Critical theories in education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Postman, N. (1996). The end of education: Redefining the value of school. New York: Vintage.

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Rose, M. (1995). Possible lives: The promise of public education in America.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Rothman, R. (1995). Measuring up: Standards, assessment, and school reform. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at fairness: How America’s schools cheat girls. New York: MacMillan.

Schlesinger, A. M. Jr. (1992). The disuniting of America: Reflections on a multicultural society.New York: W.W. Norton.

Schultz, K. (2003). Listening: A framework for teaching across differences. New York: Teachers College Press.

Schuman, D (2004). American schools, American teachers: Issues and perspectives Boston: Pearson Education.

Shapiro, J. (1994). No pity. New York: Times Books.

Sizer, T. R. (1996). Horace’s hope: What works for the American high school. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

Spring, J. (1997a). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality (2nd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Spring J. (1997b). Political agendas for education: From the Christian Coalition to the Green Party. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Spring, J. (1998). American education (8th ed.). Boston, MA: McGrow Hill.

Spring, J. (2001). Globalization and educational rights: An intercivilizational analysis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Spring, J. (2004a). American education (11th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Spring, J. (2004b).Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Spring, J. (2004c). The intersection of cultures: Multicultural education in the United States and the global economy (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Soto, L. D. (1997). Language, culture and power: Bilingual families and the struggle for quality education. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Torres, C. (1998). Democracy, education and multiculturalism: Dilemmas of citizenship in a global world. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Urban, W. J., Wagoner, Jr., & Jennings, L.(2004). American education: A history. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Watras, J. (2002). The foundations of educational curriculum and diversity: 1565 to the present. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Watras, J. (2004). Philosophic conflicts in American education, 1893-2000. Boston: Pearson Education.

Webb, L. D., Metha, A., & Jordan, K. F. (2003). Foundations of American education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

White, G. (2002). Campus inc.: Corporate power in the ivory tower. Oakland, CA: Prometheus Books.

Wink, J. (2000) Critical pedagogy: Notes from the real world. (2nd ed.). New York: Longman.

Videos

Center for Investigative Reporting & Telesis Production (1998) School colors. Insight Media.

Secrets of the SAT. WTTW 11. Frontline: PBS Video.

Merchants of Cool. WTTW 11. Frontline: PBS Video.

School Choice. (1998). Center for Investigative Reporting & Telesis Production.

School: The Story of American Public Education. PBS Video.

Simpson, D., & Bruckheimer, J. (Producers). (1995). Dangerous Minds. Hollywood Pictures.

Wiseman, F. (Director and Producer). (1994). High School II. Cambridge, MA: Zipporah Films.

Web Sites

http://www.speakTruthToPower.org About human rights defenders and projects “to change the world”

http://www.FreedomHouse.org A research center and clearinghouse for monitoring human freedom around the world

http://splcenter.org The Southern Poverty Law Center that publishes Teaching Tolerance and related educational materials

http://www.curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/sites1.html The Multicultural Pavilion provides list of Web sites divided into several subcategories including Multicultural Education, Social Action and Human Rights, Language, The Holocaust.

http://www.pbs.org. This site contains information about several programs, aired on public television, dealing with contemporary issues: “American Experience” and “Frontline” Topics include school vouchers, politics and economy, education, “No Child Left Behind,” and test scores.

http://www/pbs.org/campus/ Lists programs for use in high schools and higher education and contains an historical text archive that includes such documents as King’s, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”