This article presents a case study class response to Mildred Taylor's now classic and widely read novel, "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry." Through data collected during one school year, the ways urban, adolescent students use their contemporary lenses to interpret the literary theme of "confronting, overcoming and challenging racism" are discussed.…

In this article, the author shares his view on the academic freedom debate. He applauds the conviction of Kermit Hall and David Horowitz that colleges and universities are places that must do everything they can to open students' and the public's minds to all sides of issues. He believes that discussions about academic freedom are essential to…

Comments on the six articles contained in the special issue of the American Psychologist (January 2007) devoted to leadership, written by W. Bennis (see record 2006-23492-002); S. J. Zaccaro (see record 2006-23492-003); V. H. Vroom and A. G. Yago (see record 2006-23492-004); B. J. Avolio (see record 2006-23492-005); R. J. Sternberg (see record…

In this article, the authors comment on two key issues that emanate from Anders Ericcson and his colleagues' manuscript: (1) the audiences that the authors address; and (2) the implications of their work for policy. The authors argue that in the imperfect world of limited resources, domain-specific abilities in combination with psychosocial…

We thank Debra J. Ackerman, Peggy L. Apple, W. Steven Barnett, and Stacie G. Goffin for their thoughtful commentaries on our article "Implementing New York's Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program: An Exploratory Study of Systemic Impacts" (this issue). Our response focuses on two main themes that emerged from the commentaries: (a) the…

According to an influential view, empathy has, and should have, a role in ethics, but it is by no means clear what is meant by "empathy", and why exactly it is supposed to be morally good. Recently, Peter Goldie has challenged that view. He shows how problematic empathy is, and argues that taking an external perspective is morally…

Picturebook readalouds have been promoted as a rich resource for strengthening literacy development in young children and discussions of picturebooks have become a common--if threatened--practice in the primary grades. One subset of the diverse body of children's literature teachers can draw from is picturebooks with sparse verbal text. Such…

There is something very democratic and creative about reader-response criticism. In a reader-response classroom, students progress from passive to active reading, from discovering a text to creating one. Also, students progress from passive to active reading, from discovering a text to creating one. However, a problem emerges when the spirit and…

This book is based on the belief that deep subject knowledge of language and literature provides a foundation for effective teaching and learning. It provides a guide to the range of genres and characteristic features of English language fiction written for children. It is designed to help readers to develop their understanding of literature…

This article is a reply to Gewirtz and Cribb's argument for ethical reflexivity, presented in a previous issue of this journal. These authors compared their views with mine, suggesting a way in which the differences between our positions could be overcome. I argue that, while there is certainly substantial agreement, there are also some…

This article describes how fifth-grade students created collaborative online learning communities while discussing and responding to literature on an asynchronous message board. At their own initiative, students constructed and posted various types of literature response prompts, which elicited rich responses from their peers. Types of identified…

In this article, the author challenges English teachers of literature to examine applications of reader response theory in teaching reading which posit that readers approach a text from two stances: "aesthetic" (emotional) or "efferent" (literal). The essay presents a case study of pre-service English teachers and adolescents'…

This article presents an annotated bibliography of research in the teaching of English. This annotated bibliography addresses the following topics: (1) discourse/cultural analysis; (2) literacy; (3) literary response/literature/narrative; (4) professional development/teacher education; (5) reading; (6) second language literacy; (7)…

Each year junior high students around the country read S. E. Hinton's 50-year-old tale, "The Outsiders," about life as an adolescent, and devour its universal message of acceptance and stereotype as told through the vision of a teenage author. "The Outsiders" is so effective as a young adult novel because students immediately see the connection S.…

The purpose of this study was to design a culturally relevant curriculum that could be used with English language learning, Mexican American, immigrant, fifth grade children and study the responses they might have to that curriculum. The research questions were: What are the issues in developing a culturally relevant curriculum for Mexican…