TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE
from Wisconsin Public Radio
September 8, 1996 Programs
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1100 - 1159 Hour #1 Innovative Teaching
1200 - 1259 Hour #2 Water
1300 - 1359 Hour #3 Personal History of Mid-Century
PROGRAM RUNDOWN Hour 1:Innovative Teaching
SEGMENT 1:
Theodore Sizer is chairman of the Coalition of Essential
Schools and the author of "Horace's Hope: What Works for
the American High School." Drawing examples from a
typical American high school, Sizer tells Judith Strasser
that the American educational system demeans teachers and
is in need of comprehensive reform.
SEGMENT 2:
Civil Rights activist and teacher Bob Moses is back in
the classroom with "The Algebra Project." Moses tells
Steve Paulson that mathematical literacy is crucial to
young African Americans if they are to realize their
economic potential, and that math can and should be made
fun and relevant to the students' lives. Also, Jan Arnow
tells Steve Paulson about her work in schools teaching
tolerance and conflict resolution. Jan Arnow is the
author of "Teaching Peace: How to Raise Children to Live
in Harmony -- Without Fear, Without Prejudice, Without
Violence."
SEGMENT 3:
Jane Tompkins teaches English at Duke University. In
this conversation with Jim Fleming, she recalls her own
school days and how her experience led her to
revolutionize her classroom technique. Jane Tompkins'
book is called "A Life in School: What the Teacher
Learned."
For cassette copies of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
09-8-A.
PROGRAM RUNDOWN Hour 2:Water
SEGMENT 1:
Peter Berg explains to Judith Strasser why the watershed
is the logical way to define a region or a community.
Berg is director of the Planet Drum Foundation in San
Francisco. Also, legal scholar Charles Wilkinson tells
Steve Paulson that it was the massive damming and
diversion of water that created the American West as we
know it, and that it's time to reconsider the claims on
this precious natural resource. Wilkinson is a law
professor at the University of Colorado.
SEGMENT 2:
Novelist Ivan Doing talks about his latest - "Bucking the
Sun" - with Jim Fleming. The novel tells the story of
the construction during the Depression of Montana's Fort
Peck dam.
SEGMENT 3:
Environmental Engineer Alice Outwater tells Jim Fleming
that the real engineering geniuses of the natural world
are the beavers, prairie dogs and buffalo. Outwater is
the author of "Water: A Natural History." Also,
naturalist Jerry Dennis tells Steve Paulson that there's
still a lot humans don't know about water. Dennis is the
author of "The Bird in the Waterfall."
For cassette copies of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
9-8-B.
PROGRAM RUNDOWN: HOUR 3: Personal History of Mid-Century
SEGMENT 1
Journalist Nora Sayre grew up with the whole New Yorker
crowd - Edmund Wilson, James Thurber, E.B. White and
Dorothy Parker socializing in her parents' living room.
She tells Judith Strassser that they were not interested
in politics, but that she herself later witnessed the
terrible hardship created by the blacklists of the 1950s.
Sayre teaches writing at Columbia University and is the
author of "Previous Convictions: A Journey through the
1950s."
SEGMENT 2:
Gordon Lunen tells Jim Fleming how his anti-fascist
background led him to become involved with a group of
Canadian government scientists who passed information to
the Soviet Union. Lunen spent five years in prison and
takes full responsibility for his actions, but has no
regrets about opposing fascism or helping a country that
was, at the time, an important military ally. Lunen's
autobiography is called "The Making of a Spy: A Political
Odyssey." And, Stanley Kutler tells Steve Paulson about
the case of Beatrice Braude, (pronounced Brody) who was
never a spy but lost her government job and was lied to
about it for years by the U.S. Government. Kutler teaches
history at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and
tells Beatrice Braude's story in a book called "The
American Inquisition."
SEGMENT 3:
Artist Judy Chicago talks with Judith Strasser about
breaking into the art world in the 1960's; her
development as a female artist; and the prospects for
real critical and social acceptance of women's art and
imagery. Judy Chicago has published "Beyond the Flower:
The Autobiography of a Feminist Artist," and an
illustrated commemorative volume called "The Dinner
Party."
For cassette copies of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
9-8-C.
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Last modified: Friday September 6, 1996