For almost thirty years, Alleen Pace Nilsen, in collaboration with an illustrious cast of scholars, including Kenneth Donelson, James Blasingame Jr., and Don Nilsen, have authored the yearly Honor List for prize-winning YA books. Their contributions have helped thousands of teachers and librarians select appropriate quality literature for their…

When it comes to morality in young adult (YA) literature, one often hears from parents, educators, or members of community groups who are challenging a book's moral content, yet there is not an opportunity to hear from the authors themselves. Educators see the value of YA literature in the classroom as a medium for not only academic growth but for…

Pressure for students to produce writing perfection in the classroom often eclipses the emphasis placed on the need for students to practice writing. Occasions for students to choose, challenge, and reflect--to actually risk risking--are too often absent from conversations among students and teachers in countless English classrooms. Tom Romano…

English teachers continually seek ways to offer students quality texts to support the development of individual voices within the context of a dynamic, democratic culture. This article discusses how blog use, promoting choices, and presenting students with literature that changed a nation show them how to find their voices in a democratic…

English in schools is a productive curriculum space for young people to learn about sexuality, to develop a sense of their identity as sexual beings, and to understand the importance of equality and social justice. Drawing on John Dixon's theory of "personal growth," the author (a British educator) explains how teachers' attitudes about learning…

Change is hard. Teachers and students live with this reality everyday. Even harder than change is transformation, the kind of change that alters who a person is forever. Yet transformation is exactly what happens in the presence of powerful teaching and learning, especially in English classrooms where everyone uses language to negotiate new…

Discusses John Dixon's book, "Growth through English." Notes that it was an elegant summary of the ideas generated through the Anglo-American Conference at Dartmouth College in 1966. Considers what would still sound fresh and invigorating nearly 35 years later and what would sound quaint and dated. (SG)

Compares the imagery of two poems that deal with the price exacted by athletic success: John Updike's "Ex-Basketball Player" and A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young." (RBW)

University educator P. L. Thomas recalls the significant figures in his professional life and, drawing from their example, exhorts us to "command the daily events of our own careers." He outlines specific actions that he believes English language arts teachers must take.

Discusses the activities and accomplishments of a high school English teacher during a year's sabbatical leave. (RBW)

Offers an approach to teaching the essence of John Knowles'"A Separate Peace" by juxtaposing the novel's events and statements with quotations from the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. (RL)

Describes and analyzes an elective course which enables students to relate the viewpoints presented in literature to their own personal philosophies. (DD)

Teachers improve their presentation of materials and interactions with students when they are able to learn from their mistakes and misconceptions. While there are days that require "an act of survival," as the author writes, helping adolescents reach the maturity of adulthood keeps her from being "just a teacher." In this article, the author…