Dear Todd,
I suppose HE staining has two facets:
1.	How the stain works
2.	What problems can automatic staining machines give.

How the stain works would probably be the largest component in 
learning about HE
How does Hx work, regressive or progressive, different ways in making 
it up.
Different blueing solutions - why use them
Eosin solutions - alcoholic/aqueous, other red dyes that can be used 
(phloxine, erythrosine, ponceau etc)
More importantly, how do you know when a HE is adequate for 
diagnosis, whether it be manual or automatic. What controls to use. 
What artifacts to look out for.

Manual staining allows the student to trial different techniques and 
get a feel for the stain. Maybe following such scientific direction, 
when they start work they may be able to scientifically control the 
HE in their labs. From my experience at looking at HE from other 
labs, some standardisation ( and ? improvement) would definitely not 
go astray.

One question arises. What control best suits the HE stain? I use skin 
(keratohyaline staining a good indicator for the Hx) coupled with 
tongue (muscle, collagen etc shows the rich red hues that the 
counterstain can give). Any discussion would be instructive.

Regards,  Tony

Tony Henwood
www2.one.net.au/~henwood