Education

Author and Educator and activist Jonathan Kozol.

Professor and educator E.D. Hirsch, Jr. He's the author of the best selling book, "Cultural Literacy," (paperback published by Vintage Books) in which he argues that children in the United States lack "cultural literacy," or the basic grasp of background information that allows them to be literate and to function effectively in society. He has put his theories to work in an elementary school curriculum, The Core Knowledge Series.

Commentator, and teacher, Maureen Corrigan is gearing up for another semester. She talks about one of the ways she does that, by becoming a student again.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Book Wars" by James Atlas. It's the latest book in the growing debate over whether or not students should be required to read a set curriculum of "great books." Maureen says the more interesting thing about the book is that it's filled with ads for Federal Express.

Edward Fiske, the education correspondent for the New York Times. Fiske's new book is called "Smart Schools, Smart Kids: Why Do Some Schools Work?" In it, Fiske looks at the decline of the American school system, and he examines some of the grass-roots programs that are reversing that trend. (It's published by Simon and Schuster). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

J. P. Bianchi is a Social Studies supervisor for Community School District 8 in the Bronx. He stopped teaching in 1986, and is now responsible for the shape of the Social Studies curriculum for the entire district. A recent New York Board of Regents report examined the state of Social Studies, and Bianchi comments.

We discuss free speech on college campuses with ACLU counsel Ed Chen, Nat Hentoff, University of Wisconsin legal counsel Pat Hodulik, and Brown University President Vartan Gregorian.

Diane Ravitch has written many books about American education, and she teaches history at Columbia University. Her new book, "The American Reader," is an anthology of classic speeches, poems, and songs that she feels should be taught in the schools. Ravitich believes American history should be inclusive the many cultures in the Unite States, but opposes ethno-centric curricula.

Teacher Jessica Siegel and reporter Samuel Freedman. Freedman wrote an account of a year in Siegel's classroom.

Maureen Corrigan reviews "Among Schoolchildren," Tracy Kidder's year-long look at an inner city elementary school. Kidder's previous books include "House," and "The Soul of a New Machine," about the creation of the personal computer.