In this essay I pose questions to literacy teacher educators and classroom teachers to inspire them to review their epistemological beliefs about teaching, learning, and knowledge. I also provide some history of transdisciplinarity, and introduce readers to "Miss Smith", a composite of five middle school teachers who hold a transdisciplinary…

For five years I have supervised a summer literacy camp that connects graduate education majors with students from diverse ethnicities. Each summer I noted I inadequately challenged the education majors to extend their knowledge, examine their attitudes, and expand their abilities to offer culturally responsive literacy instruction to students in…

In more than 30 years of university teaching; hundreds of elementary, middle, and high school visits; and numerous personal interactions with community young people, the author has repeatedly noticed that few students read newspapers or news magazines. In short, most students seem ignorant of and uncaring about current affairs. This is an alarming…

Precision in language usage can be thought of as an ego boosting activity, a snobbish pastime, an arrogant trait; or it can be interpreted as an attempt to aid audiences in understanding exact meaning, an effort to reduce ambiguity, and/or as a positive role model for others in one's language community. This essay argues that the latter set of…

Students at all educational levels are daily bombarded by others' attempts to influence them. Influence in the political, religious, social, educational, and advertising arenas pervade people's lives. It is vital to everyone to be aware of influence attempts; to be able to assess whether or not such attempts are useful, friendly, urgent, and in…

When a considerable amount of reading is done in different courses by high school students, this presents a problem for struggling readers. Reading is a favorite way of learning for students possessing verbal intelligence, (See Gardner, 1993), but a goodly number of high school students do not possess this as an important intelligence. Thus, the…

Everything a persons needs to know in life is learned in Kindergarten is a popular adage among teachers. In this article, the author relates how everything she needed to know about teaching she learned from her own children. She relates that from the moment of their birth, she had determined that her four children would learn to read before they…

Considers that because literature can exert such a powerful hold on the imagination, certain works can be used to invite students to become more literate and to encourage students to take responsibility for their ongoing personal development. Notes that reading and other ways of learning are shown in fictional works of Louis L'Amour to be a rich…

Examines how advances in technology allow teachers to reconsider how students should and could be taught to become literate citizens. Believes that Language Arts educators play an important role in educating students in today's literacies. Addresses telecollaborative projects, interpersonal exchange, information collection and analysis, problem…

Presents a description of a 15-day European tour accompanied by a diverse group of colleagues and led by a geography professor with expertise in the culture, language, and sites of Germany, as well as its surrounding areas. Shares the author's thoughts and experiences regarding learning abroad. (SC)

Examines current adolescent fiction of award-winning and widely read authors according to religious themes concerning Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Native American religions, African spirit religions, and the occult, supernatural, and New Age. Finds that the portrayal of religions and its adherents is very mixed, depending upon the religion.…

Discusses briefly the process of comprehension. Argues that graphic organizers can be used as a practical tool while using basal readers, tapping into prior knowledge, cultivating active participation, and fostering an understanding of conceptual relationships, thus leading to a facilitation of comprehension. (SR)

Notes that communication between teachers and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students need serious consideration especially in recognizing potential sources of miscommunication and misinterpretation. Considers sources of miscommunication within verbal and nonverbal communication. Discusses each element and offers examples in CLD…