This article reports on the challenges teachers face when working with juveniles who are incarcerated. For example, they must devise an English curriculum that can help students develop reading and writing skills while also becoming literate about the prison industrial complex and the ways that it governs their lives. Teachers struggle to find…

Deborah Appleman's recent research has focused on teaching college-level language and literature courses for incarcerated men. In this article, she discusses using creative writing as a way to unlock creative potential, to foster students' love of language, and to offer a powerful outlet for self-expression in a class she teaches with…

This article recounts significant moments from online interviews these authors conducted with Young Adult (YA) authors concerning the teachers who left a lasting impression on them and assisted them in finding their voice and unique writing abilities. S. E. Hinton, Walter Dean Myers, Erin Gruwell, Chris Crutcher, and other popular YA authors…

Locker rooms, hallways, and other school locales not populated by teachers are often places where bullies emerge, places where the pecking order is established by targeting any difference or idiosyncrasy. Given that bullying happens mostly in the presence of other youth and often stops when objections are raised, there is growing evidence that…

According to a 2009 AP-MTV survey of 1,247 people ages 14-24, 50% of those surveyed have experienced cyberbullying (Gatti 1). Victims were twice as likely to need help from a mental health professional and were three times more likely to drop out of school than those surveyed who did not report being cyberbullied (5). Given this alarming social…

The mythology of the "norm" has direct repercussions for schools, and its ideological reinforcement is the primary cause of bullying today. Though it is difficult to pinpoint an origin for "the norm," the medical model and its systemic structural power is one powerful institution that perpetuates this mythology. The medical model has a biological…

In this article, the author reflects on on his role in preparing English teachers. Leading into his twelfth year concerned with the art and science of teaching English, he wondered what exactly he could say or do to help them stick their toes in some uncertain waters. What could he say of an educational context bent on holding people--different by…

In this article, the author proposes Green English be thought of as a nondisciplinary approach located in the edge between disciplines, one that offers teachers and students opportunities for personal, social, political, and conceptual learning. For, just as diversity increases survival in nature, getting students to "read, interpret, and…

If members of the Two-Year College English Association (TYCA) had not set a place for the author at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) table, she may not have participated on the national level to improve the teaching and learning of writing. Like others in TYCA, the author had taken a circuitous route to the two-year college,…

Communicating effectively is a skill that must be taught and practiced--and the act of listening is a large part of this skill. According to the "International Journal of Listening," listening skills are imperative to reading comprehension and are valuable enough for "38 out of the 51 government entities to include listening skills as part of…

Embracing the dynamic nature of English language can help students learn more about all forms of English. To fully engage students, teachers should not adhere to an anachronistic and static view of English. Instead, they must acknowledge, accept, and even use different language forms within the classroom to make that classroom dynamic, inclusive,…

About 10 years ago, Robert J. Connors's article "The Erasure of the Sentence" questioned the disappearance of writing style and examined the validity of some of the reasons given for its disappearance. Since that 2000 article, the study of style has undergone a kind of renaissance, with numerous books and articles on its uses in composition theory…

This article provides readers with five lessons the author has learned over the years as a mentor teacher to several preservice teachers: (1) Build confidence; (2) Be patient, flexible, and honest; (3) Listen and learn; (4) Be ready for extra work; and (5) Embrace the experience. Included in her reflective thoughts are comments from two of her…

In society, expertise bestows directive power--the authority to tell others what to do and how to do it, or simply to do it for them. In a school system that still operates on an authoritarian model, the author's expertise as a writer and teacher gives her directive prerogative when responding to student writing. Traditionally, teachers have used…

Motivation has long been viewed as a key element of learning. A study of over 300 high school juniors and seniors demonstrated that motivation was at least as predictive of achievement in a subject as was intelligence. Among younger students, motivation is a linchpin to learning, even at a time developmentally when overall motivation for…