         
|
PART 1 (15:00)
TEACHING
CHILDREN ABOUT SEX
PART 2
(35:00)
SCHOOL CHOICE: WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC KNOW?
recorded
12/07/99
| Part
1 |
| TEACHING
CHILDREN ABOUT SEX |
| When Robie
Harris asks young children what they want to know about sexuality,
she gets answers like, "What is sex, REALLY?" Children get a lot
of mixed and, often incorrect information about sex from TV, movies,
ads, and peers. They want and need someone to lay down the facts
for them. In her new book, It's
So Amazing:
A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, and Babies (Candlewick
Press, 1999), Robie Harris
answers many of the questions that are on young children's minds.On
this edition of The Merrow Report, John Merrow welcomes Robie
Harris to discuss when and how to teach children about sexuality.
How young is too young when it comes talking about where babies
really come from? |
| Part
2 |
| SCHOOL
CHOICE: WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC KNOW? |
|
Any
education expert or policy maker will tell you that school choice
is one of the most controversial issues in education today. But
while vouchers and charter schools are constantly in the news
and the debates over their merits and benefits rage in education
circles, the general public does not understand what they are.
A recent survey conducted by Public Agenda found that 63% of American
adults know little to nothing about vouchers, and even more (81%)
say the same about charter schools.
On
this edition of The Merrow Report, John Merrow welcomes Hank
Levin, Director of the National
Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, and Deborah
Wadsworth, Executive Director of Public
Agenda, to discuss both why the American public has largely
been left out of the school choice debate, and what needs to be
done about it.
ARTICLES
"Vouchers,
Charters A Mystery to Most," Mary Ann Zehr, Education Week,
11/24/99.
"Survey Finds Leaders Have Left Public Far
Behind in Voucher, Charter Debate," Public Agenda Press Release,
11/17/99.
"Choice
and Vouchers," Education Week issues page.
"Four Criteria for Evaluating Educational
Systems," from the National Center for the Study of Privatization
in Education."New
Challenges, A New Resolve: Moving American Education into the
21st Century," Sixth Annual State of American Education Address,
Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, Long Beach CA., 2/6/99.
WEB
SITE
People
for the American Way
FACTS
63% of American adults say they know nothing or at best very little
about vouchers, and even more (81%) say the same about charter
schools.
52% of adults say that in their area, private schools provide
a better education than public schools.
Only 11% of adults think vouchers are "a good idea that promises
to solve that nation's education problems."
40% of adults think that charter schools would be an overall success
in their area.
54% of parents would rather send their child to a good school
that is conveniently located than to a better school that is difficult
to get to. |
 |
|
