Containing 13 essays selected from teachers at many levels and from specialists in various branches of the English profession, this journal issue provides English teachers with the opportunity to answer the many charges currently being levelled at education. The opening article highlights the issues raised by the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. This is followed by two commentaries on excellence in education, its goals and obstacles. The next essay urges teachers to make the public aware of the importance of their task and the centrality of their role as humanitarians. An essay on basic education questions whether the three R's are sufficient for the survival and full-growth potential of individuals in today's society. Another article warns English teachers against spreading themselves too thin. One contributor suggests that the educational priorities of our nation must be reevaluated, and states that education should be a privilege earned through capability and a desire to excel. Overcoming roadblocks in the composition classroom is the topic of another article and the responses of some college freshmen to "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" are summarized by one educator. The remaining articles survey a variety of obstacles that stand in the way of English teachers' performance--from an unsupportive American public to unreasonable class sizes. (HTH)