The Bechdel test, the author's student Marley explained, is named for the US graphic novelist and cartoonist Alison Bechdel. To pass the test, a work of fiction must contain at least one scene in which two or more women (preferably named characters) discuss something other than a male. Students who read from the canon of works regularly encounter…

Teachers certainly appreciate the importance of an inviting classroom environment. The money spent on posters, the greeting at the classroom door, and the time invested in learning students' names all help to create a sense of community, and students who feel they belong are more likely to do their best work. No teacher would deliberately exclude…

The question of how "teachers and students [can] connect their learning to the broader society" drives Jeraldine R. Kraver's search for ways to use critical pedagogy in secondary school and university classrooms. Focusing on the topic of gender equity, she shows how teachers can use literature to create critical classrooms. In addition, she offers…

Describes how the author uses a poem by Marge Piercy called "Barbie Doll" to help students discover for themselves the implicit power of gender. Describes how students (1) examine the poem's language and have lively and insightful discussions as they find meanings for themselves; and (2) extend and elaborate on these meanings as they…

Describes how to incorporate literature by women from many parts of the globe into the English curriculum. (MM)

Urges high school English departments to integrate literature by and about women into the English curriculum. Describes several activities that bring this literature into the classroom, and provides a list of available materials to balance the curriculum. (MM)

Describes an approach that pairs every male-authored novel, play, short story, or poem taught in the English curriculum with one written by a woman. Illustrates this approach in a course pairing Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Provides an annotated list of works that examine the subject of gender issues in schools. (MM)

Focuses on the changing relationships between males and females in the National Council of Teachers of English from its inception to the present. Discusses changing relationships between the sexes in English departments, including graduate students and faculty. Describes differing approaches to the job of teaching, and recommends in general giving…

Discusses why a women's literature course is necessary to combat the web of gender bias woven throughout literature, schools, and society. Describes the creation and proposal of a curriculum for such a class at the high school level. Notes objections from male teachers and outlines responses. Describes how the course was proposed to, and turned…

Describes an approach to incorporate feminist inquiry into the American literature course. Asserts that this approach creates a learning situation responsive to the needs and interests of all students. (MM)

Examines gender issues in the English classroom. Notes that by thoughtfully orchestrating classroom activities, English teachers can bolster female students' self-confidence, helping them to construct and convey their own interpretations of texts, characters, and situations. (MM)

Describes how a high school English teacher uses the metaphor of "lenses" to help her students learn to see through the eyes of another and come to understand their experiences. Discusses how this fosters students' awareness of gender as a lens to view the world; reduces their resistance to acknowledging other viewpoints; and encourages awareness…

Looks at the discussion of a small group of girls (ordinarily reticent or diffident in class) in a senior English class as they interpreted the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Discusses the idea that thinking can develop through dialogic (collaborative) rather than dialectic (conflictive) transactions. Notes classroom…

Describes a high school mini-course called "Gender Bender" (a survey course of the contemporary literature on gender differences) that studied gender issues that were troubling high school students. Describes how the course discussed gender and schooling; gender roles in society; images in the media; dating, marriage, and divorce; and…

Patricia Zumhagen, a high school English teacher, highlights the gender inequalities present in older literature by attempting to develop a film update of Sherwood Anderson's story. The students have learned to see how stereotypes operated in literature and in their lives by various discussions and improvisations.