The theme of this issue of the "Minnesota English Journal" is reading. The contents include "Preamblings," which discusses some of the current concerns in reading instruction; "The State of Minnesota's Right to Read Program," which looks at the Minnesota plan for building the reading program in conjunction with inservice education, and for…

The loss of richness and multiplicity of word meaning can result in a decline in the metaphoric activity of the mind. A technologically-oriented civilization pressures students to devalue word connotation in favor of denotative exactitude. To counteract this tendency, teachers should adopt for themselves and instill in their students a regard for…

To stimulate students to learn through creative participation and to make literature a live experience, an experimental film making project was conducted with freshmen at Bimidji State College during the 1969-70 term. The first step was to introduce film-making to the students. This was accomplished through viewing and analyzing brief…

The experimental program in remedial composition described in this interim report was designed on the assumption that students could best learn to write minimally acceptable compositions by imitating paragraph and essay models which have been divided into a series of incremental steps. The objectives of the program were to develop a heuristic…

Six articles on the problems in planning and executing a high school humanities program are collected here. Wallace Kennedy gives a partial listing of Minnesota teachers and schools that offer humanities in grades 11 and 12. Fred E. H. Schroeder takes up the problems of defining "humanities," selecting good teachers, preparing an interdisciplinary…

The narrator, or non-hero, in Ralph Ellison's novel, "Invisible Man," has no identify, does not know who he is, and, as he runs from one attempt at identity to another is repeatedly confronted with the nightmare inscription, "To Whom It May Concern, Keep This Nigger Boy Running." This philosophical-spiritual state of invisibility ultimately forces…

The hero of Allan Sillitoe's novel, "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner," differs in many ways from the typical modern existential hero. Unlike the anti-hero, Smith is not searching for values, for he understands what life is and accepts it. He follows a code of honesty and hates "phonies." He is aware of class distinctions and sees the…

The controversy of assigning a supposedly licentious book to students is a relentlessly repetitious one, which does, however, involve important assumptions. The discussion of these assumptions may allow the controversy to be continued with a degree of cogency usually lacking. Those who condemn such books feel that the image of the college will be…

The remedies frequently adopted to solve the problems of staffing and administering an effective freshman English program have not been considered feasible or in the student's best interest at Concordia College. Recognizing the need for small classes as well as the problems and expenses of increased enrollments, the solution attempted at Concordia…

Attempts to combine language and composition in the freshman English course at Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota) should interest all teachers of English. One project utilized a single key word for several assignments. Students were asked to (1) think through the meaning of the word for a week and write definitions and associations,…

Removing a disadvantaged student from his environment and giving him the advantages of a middle-class education may be a mixed blessing for him educationally. Yet many compensatory summer programs, including Project ABC (A Better Chance) at Carleton College (Minnesota), appear to have caused no deleterious effects. The summer programs are intended…