Argues that the English Only Movement is misguided. Points out advantages of bilingual education and literacy in their native languages for students who begin their schooling with little or no knowledge of English. (SKC)

Reveals the role of literacy in the household of an Amish family, emphasizing that reading and writing are valued for their ability to reinforce cultural ties and identification more than for their educational value. Indicates that all literacy instruction should aim to help students understand their role in their society. (SKC)

Examines two trends in research on literacy--formal and functional literacy--by analyzing some assumptions held by researchers representative of each. Indicates that formalists view literacy as mastery of linguistic and textual forms, while functionalists see it as the ability to use appropriate discourse forms to accomplish desired ends. (SKC)

Discusses the implications of the work of Paulo Freire for understanding cultural literacy. Points out that Freire differentiates between "kultur" (stable, immutable cultural institutions) and "culture" (something that is always becoming or being made), and that the difference has important implications for education. (SKC)

Investigates a news program aimed at children in Israel to determine its functions as a mass media form. Suggests that the content of the news items reflects a culturally derived view of childhood as a golden time of innocence, which conflicts with Israeli children's needs to confront "real world" issues in their politically tense society. (SKC)

Discusses the importance of dialogue in learning, notes that it is lacking in many educational situations, and recommends the use of written dialogue journals as a means of communication between teachers and individual students. Points out the advantages of dialogue journals for improving writing for different social purposes. (SKC)

Describes in storytelling fashion a teacher's reflections on herself, the teaching process, the children as learners and her relationship to them, the course of her reflections, and the growing pleasure she took in them. (SR)

Examines the discrepancies between what undergraduate language arts methods students think about writing and their actual responses to children's text. (SR)

Describes reflective writing (writing to make sense of what has been learned) as used in the author's fourth-grade classroom, providing samples and the author's reflections on them. States that students thus begin to internalize what they learn, to take action as learners, and to develop their ability to think. (SR)

Describes the author's reflections as she tutored three first-graders in writing, focusing on how she and one student both expanded beyond restricting ideas of what they were to do. (SR)

Relates the author's experiences with literacy in another medium during 18 months of concentrated music study. Describes how this experience produced insights about the student/teacher relationship, about learning, and about the writing process. (SR)

Relates what the author learned about learning through journal writing, namely: strategies to make order from confusion; ways to connect one's learning to the rest of one's life; ways to become aware not only of what we learn, but of how we learn, both alone and together. (SR)

Describes the mutual and interactive growth as reflective professionals of the two authors--one a teacher-researcher and the other a researcher and teacher of teachers. (SR)

Describes a public school-university collaboration in which graduate students in education work full-time in classrooms and are included in every facet of the school day, while veteran teachers play a major role in training these interns, and serve as supervisors and lecturers at twice-weekly college seminars. (SR)

Describes the use of think-aloud protocols to reflect writing processes and to examine the dynamics of group writing conferences in a writing group consisting of five undergraduate, preservice elementary teachers and their professor. (SR)