Suggests that one of the biggest flaws with current teacher education programs is that the prospective teachers do not interact with the students in the role of instructor until their last semester. Argues that preservice teachers need to be equipped with the proper tools--realistic assignments, opportunities for student/teacher interaction,…

Argues that, when instructors consider only the socially constructed in their classrooms, the intricacies of individuals are lost. Points out that, when teachers think students are completing assignments, the students are actually completing their own understanding of the assignment. Suggests that instructors explain repeatedly what they expect of…

Argues that a teacher wins or loses his or her students during the first few days of the year. Shows how an English teacher wins her students over by allowing them to ask questions about her, which she answers by pointing to a graffiti wall created by her previous year's students. (TB)

Describes a teacher's relationship with a 15-year-old student whose father's mental illness and abusive manner led the student to try to commit suicide. Raises questions about what a teacher can do for such a student and suggests that reading can be one way that teachers and students can be led to talk about sensitive topics. (TB)