Teaching British literature with a traditional curriculum does not offer students exposure to many females at all, either inside or outside of the text. There are female characters within many of the classic texts in the curriculum, but on further examination, we questioned the general picture of womanhood painted by them. So the authors showed…

Overall, the author wanted to teach using culturally responsive approaches. The ELA teacher can fuel social justice teaching. In this article, the author discusses how their personal biases affected their classroom instruction and how they shifted their educational philosophy to consider the needs and interests of their students. In US education,…

Texts that challenge the narrative status quo -- from introducing new ways of authoring to showcasing historically overlooked experiences - have garnered increasing notoriety, specifically through literary prizing. Altogether, these books not only diversified the form of the awards' histories but also the characters, content, and authors. As…

Interest in study skills, one of the older realms of educational research, is enjoying a resurgence. Several forces in the field have fueled renewed interest in how learners can best use academic, organizational, and time-management skills to master content. As teacher leaders at a high school, the authors remain in contact with many of their…

The authors' belief that using LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender)-themed literature in schools is possible and necessary, coupled with students' sense that either it cannot or is not being done, prompted them to write this article. While the authors are sympathetic with students' perspectives, and agree that examples are limited, such…

In this time of high-stakes tests and school accountability, English classrooms have been pushed to become increasingly serious places. Combining NCLB pressures with desires to use literature to do important cultural work--such as fighting ethnic, gender, and social-class discrimination--virtually bans humor from the classroom. This is unfortunate…

Kristin L. Main teaches the Ontario Literacy Course, an alternative course designed to support students who have failed the required standardized test for high school graduation. She sees the purpose of the class as giving students a chance to feel successful and helping them to see the practical value of purposeful communication and integrated…

Describes teaching a course, "Vietnam Literature," to high school seniors and reviews some books about the war, including Philip Caputo's "A Rumor of War," James Webb's "Fields of Fire," Tim O'Brien's "Going After Caciato," Michael Herr's "Dispatches," and Al Santoli's "Everything We…

Interviews with University of Washington students majoring in 24 areas revealed tremendous variety within and across disciplines in the amount of writing they were asked to do for their courses. (DD)

Thirty-nine short courses in English are described by their originators. (JH)

One of the most important educational objectives of high school is to teach critical-thinking skills, and no class does this better than strategic debate. Professor Mike Allen, lead author in a definitive study on debate and critical thinking, lauded debate's promotion of critical-thinking skills. Additionally, researcher Joe Bellon discusses the…

Describes the content of a nine-week course on comedy in literature. (RL)

Details the curricular reforms of the post-Sputnik era in American high schools, especially the national stampede to an elective curriculum in English instruction. Covers criticism of the movement and the profession's struggle to define English studies. Provides pros and cons of an elective curriculum. (HB)

Describes a course in which students read works by such philosophers as Plato, Descartes, and William James from a literary point of view. States that teachers should look beyond works considered literature to see if a work of philosophy, history, or political science might benefit students' intellectual and personal development. (EL)

Reports on the development and content of an English course that used death as a theme in literature. (RL)