Presents a letter offering help for an overwhelmed first-year middle school teacher hating teaching. Offers a response from her former college professor commiserating with her, advocating survival as a perfectly good goal, offering four suggestions, and remembering his own desire to quit early in his teaching career. Includes the beginning…

Presents brief accounts from four secondary English teachers describing short stories and short story units that they have successfully taught. (SR)

Presents a humorous speech given to high school English teachers on two serious subjects: externally imposed standards and standardized testing, and anti-intellectualism in the classroom and in the culture. Argues that English teachers themselves are responsible for some of the anti-intellectualism they encounter by teaching literature in an…

Presents the presidential address given at the 1998 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference. Looks at basic principles supported by NCTE historically. Notes the widespread belief that educational problems can be solved by mandating one particular solution, and asks what NCTE's role is in all of this. (SR)

Talks about how the author came to be a feminist and a writer. Discusses the domestic settings within which she grew up, her writing processes, how her interests and concerns influence her writing, why she chooses to give women priority in her writing world, and the importance of bearing witness to the world with one's own story. (SR)

Points out that bringing technology into the schools illuminates, and perhaps exacerbates, the advantage that students from wealthy families have over students from poorer families. Notes that advocates for technology often have an agenda that has nothing to do with students' learning. Discusses what educators can do in the face of all this. (SR)

Describes a team-taught unit of study for 7th and 8th graders that used children's and young adult literature to integrate language arts and social studies to teach students about the United States Civil War. Offers an overview of the unit, describes a typical class period, discusses the role of reflective journals, and offers student and teacher…

Argues that teaching fiction focusing on recent wars enables students to better understand the impact of war on history, foreign policy, and their own way of life. Offers synopses of three contemporary antiwar novels (Kurt Vonnegut's "Mother Night," Tim O'Brien's "Going after Cacciato," and Don Delillo's "End Zone"). Explores the various themes of…

Discusses writing assignments in response to literature that encourage adolescent female students to construct knowledge by allowing the self back into the process of knowing and in so doing to discover their own voices and a position of authority. Argues that through such authentic engagement with texts, young women can become more active,…

Describes the serious and pervasive problem of "doublespeak," in which language is used to deceive and manipulate in order to control behavior. Discusses why it is crucial for English teachers at every level to be reminded about doublespeak and to teach students about its perils. Describes ways English teachers can teach about and prepare students…

Describes a high school elective English course that matches books of American Literature, at least one classic and one contemporary, so that students can begin to see the patterns. Discusses some of these pairings, such as Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" with Toni Morrison's "Beloved" and B. Mukherjee's "The Holder of the World." (SR)

Describes a project in which students in a college survey class on young adult literature were paired with students in a high school English class in a "buddy journal" project. Shows examples of this writing and of the assignments which used Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences to offer students multiple paths for responding to…

Discusses issues related to young gay and lesbian students in high school English classes. Offers two examples of addressing gay issues in class, and discusses reading and writing around gay issues. Lists several strategies English teachers can use to reduce stereotyping and create an open environment for self-exploration and expression around…

Presents an essay written soon after the author's return to the United States after teaching at a University in China at the time of the Tiananmen Square tragedy. Explores issues of teaching overseas and the reality of Americans being caught in the midst of political turmoil. Remembers sacrifices made by Chinese students and teachers to test the…

Expresses a wish that more young adult novels would include strong fathers in their storylines, arguing that this might help boys be more thoughtful about their fathers and about the role and important attributes of fatherhood. Offers examples of such figures in several young adult books. Also offers brief descriptions of 11 new or overlooked…