The U.S. firms and nonprofit organizations that have been tapped to remake the schools in postwar Iraq are beginning to navigate a labyrinth of logistical and cultural challenges. Includes "Help for Iraqi Schools."
As the conflict moves into postwar duty in Iraqi cities, the military is aiming to bolster its ranks in the years ahead with the help of a federal provision giving recruiters more power to make their pitch directly to high school students.
As American forces were taking control of Baghdad last week, officials in the United States began putting into place the building blocks of a new campaign: restructuring the Iraqi school system. Includes "Scholars Cite Lessons From Postwar Japan, Germany."
When Michigan 7th grader Joseph Bacall switches on the TV and sees American bombs pounding targets in Baghdad, he sees not some distant geopolitical passion play about liberation or invasion. He sees the city his father once lived in.
The study of U.S. conflicts throughout history weighs heavily on the school curriculum, and with good reason, educators argue. But providing the kinds of perspective and analysis that give students an in-depth understanding of those historic events is difficult, given the time and curricular constraints. Also: "Iraqi Pupils in U.S. Deal With Mixed Reactions, Emotions."
In a double- edged development that evokes mixed feelings among educators, the snazzy technologies that many U.S. classrooms now boast are allowing students unprecedented access to the face of war.
Under clear Kentucky skies last week, the Christian County Middle School band struck up a patriotic tune. Students in red, white and blue, holding American flags, lined the edges of the school's circular driveway. They looked on, applauding, as about 150 students from military families passed before them in a parade that ran the length of the drive.
The pervasive and sometimes graphic images of war consuming the airwaves are posing great challenges for preschool and elementary teachers trying to allay young childrens' fears. Includes "Online Resources." Also ...
The U.S.-led war against Iraq has brought a world of pressing issues—from safety concerns to teacher evacuations—to administrators of American and international schools in the Middle East.
As the United States launched military action against Iraq last week, many teachers were struggling to balance classroom discussions of the war, district policies on the treatment of controversial issues, and their own personal views.
A majority of American high school seniors surveyed in the days leading up to the start of the war in Iraq expressed support for such U.S. action, according to a poll released last week.
David J. Hoff & Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, March 26, 2003
Once President Bush issued his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein early last week to leave Iraq or face a U.S.-led military invasion, school administrators here at home prepared for the worst—all while trying to have school days like any others.
Whether he knows it or not, whenever Tom Ridge announces a national code- orange "high" alert for possible terrorist attacks, he is determining whether thousands of schoolchildren are permitted by their administrators to take field trips.
Mary Ann Zehr, March 26, 2003
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