This flagship monthly publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) is intermittently interesting, though its basic orientation is progressivist and constructivist. The May 2001 issue is better than most, particularly for those interested in teachers. In fact, the focus of the entire issue is "Who is teaching our children?" It includes 17 articles pertinent to that subject, some swell, some appalling-a typical ASCD mixed bag. They include an upsetting piece on out-of-field teaching by Richard Ingersoll, a rant about alternative certification by Barnett Barry of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and a swell piece on teacher attitudes by Public Agenda's Deborah Wadsworth. You'll also find several pages by Kathy Madigan (of the National Council on Teacher Quality) and yours truly on "removing the barriers for teacher candidates," which outlines the deregulatory strategy that we believe has greatest promise for improving teacher quality in the U.S. while also easing the quantity problem. You can find the whole table of contents on line at http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/0105/frame0105el.html, though to access many of the articles you will probably need to become an ASCD member. The ASCD can be found at 1703 N. Beauregard Street, Alexandria VA 22311, phoned at 703-58-9600, e-mailed at [email protected], or tracked through the website given above.
