The daily demands of teaching leave little time for English teachers to contemplate the history of the profession. However, as they celebrate the centennial anniversaries of both the founding of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in 1911 and the first publication of "English Journal" in 1912, they are presented with a prime opportunity to reflect on their pedagogical heritage. Leaders of NCTE are increasingly exploring the histories of teaching writing and reading to understand the precedents of literacy instruction. The author believes that a critical examination of the past allows teachers to identify the roots of current trends in how they teach English today and affects how they might envision English teaching in the future. Interestingly, debates in the pages of "English Journal" in 1912 have many similarities to the debates they continue to have in "English Journal" a century later. The author's intention in the historical, archival research she presents in this article is to narrate a story about the history of English that honors and celebrates the field's early discussions about pedagogy and reflective praxis. The author discusses the implications of themes taken up in "English Journal"'s first three issues--the science of teaching writing, cultural versus practical training, and student-valued pedagogies--for contemporary English teachers.