The beauty of American public education is that the potential of every individual is acknowledged with the clear expectation that each person should receive a high-quality, academically focused education. The challenge, then, is how to achieve that goal when students come with a variety of backgrounds, talents, interests, limitations, and…

When people dive into the varied texts of culture, print and non-print, and explore and critique them, they are doing much more than showing various persuasive appeals or advertising gimmicks to sway their audience; they are examining the purposes and values of capitalism, the economic system that produces a consumerocracy. People might even turn…

Discusses problems with teaching English and advocates teachng descriptive grammar and linguistics, teaching the best use of language available, emphasizing vocabulary instruction, and selecting excellent poetry to study. (EL)

Finds the film "Dead Poets Society" superficial, misleading, and seriously flawed. Examines seven pedagogical issues raised by the film, including (1) should a teacher who suspects that students are about to break school rules connive at their misconduct? and (2) are "sensitivity games" likely to have a lasting effect on…

Lists suggestions for new English teachers dealing with motivating students, managing time, balancing subjects, and growing professionally. (EL)

Describes the exuberance with which one teacher approached her first years in the profession. Claims that, after 14 years of teaching, she still has both the desire to open young minds to new ideas and a love of literature. Claims that many curricula today do not devote enough time to literature. (JD)

Reflects on personal existential familiarity and application of old ways of teaching to produce "nothing new" but rather something effective by letting students find their own lamps and their own solutions to writing problems. (JK)

Surveys the history of composition instruction in America and concludes that imitation exercises may still be valuable to modern students. (JL)

Various risks involved in teaching Standard English and the role that a dialect could play while teaching it more effectively are discussed. Some of the general principles and specific strategies are given for respecting the language of students' homes while helping them gain a mastery in Standard English and participate in the democratic…

Maintains that the unfettered process approach to writing instruction has been just as artificial as the traditional skill training approach and that students need structure, models to practice from, and improvement of mechanical skills, as well as time to think through their ideas, to revise them, and to write for real audiences. (EL)

Distinguishes English teaching as science from English teaching as art. Opts for teaching as art. (JL)

Details the ways that English teachers can promote empathy and overcome student division through literary study. Provides concrete ways of developing such empathic attitudes, and offers a 34-item annotated bibliography of related literary works. (HB)

Discusses a method developed by a teacher to help students improve their language proficiency while at the same time enhancing their understanding of the literature they read. Considers how to use learning modalities different from traditional reading and writing. (HB)

The title topic is discussed by noted educators Ann E. Berthoff, Donald M. Murray, Anne Ruggles Gere, and Dan Kirby. (CRH)

Describes the way one teacher utilizes a variety of activities by which the power of language is analyzed and fostered among students of English. Describes methods for making dictionaries, playing with words, and chanting poetry. (HB)