Reports what various educators believe classics are and what their place should be in the English curriculum. (JL)

In providing a rationale for the use of "Grendel" in high school English classes, this paper presents explanatory material demonstrating its appropriateness, beginning with a discussion of "Grendel" as part of a course in major or contemporary works of literature. The second section of the paper illustrates the use of the novel…

Examines the study of literature in Canadian schools. Focuses on how teachers engage students in literature and how teachers themselves respond to literature. (RL)

A study investigated the contention that secondary school literature programs have offered, and continue to offer, what could be construed as a literary canon, a relatively small body of literary texts to which a majority of students have been and are continuing to be exposed. Several surveys of the literary works teachers assign, dating back to…

The 16 articles in this journal issue deal with women's studies within the English curriculum. Topics discussed in the articles include (1) the feminist challenge to the male-centered curriculum in higher education; (2) the women's movement and women's studies; (3) connotations of the word "girl"; (4) women in English education; (5) the new…

The research orientations and perspectives of people participating in the international dialogue about the redefinition of English language studies have been varied. Two broad and overlapping areas are distinctive to English studies: the exploration of human values and experience through the study of literature and the media, and the development…

Typically, students justify their pursuit of a college education as being necessary for a well-paying job, rather than as a tool for themselves as individuals. Often college curricula are responsible for turning students away from knowledge for its own sake. But should an education be merely useful? The description of the Alphas in Aldous Huxley's…

Discusses structuralism and liberal humanism and states that both are based upon moral and metaphysical positions. (DF)

Discusses the tendencies of writers of adolescent literature to seek out the violent and even the sadistic and to present it to less able adolescent readers. Suggests that not having students read may be preferable to having them read adolescent literature with objectionable subject matter that they may misinterpret. (RL)

A teacher's search for a coherent explanation for the resistance of students to high school literature programs, vitally important since student attitudes influence learning, resulted in a discovery of both external and internal causal factors. Externally, an increasing emphasis on competency testing hinders the fostering of lifelong literacy.…

Proposes a shift in the focus of literary studies to emphasize practical criticism and critical reading of literature within the context of social values. (RL)

Reviews important works concerning the teaching of literature and writing in order to provide insights to serve as catalysts for reconsidering current literature and writing curricula. (JL)

Offers advice on what to teach and how to organize a college course on children's literature so that future teachers have insights into choosing and using children's literature. (RL)

Differentiates modernism and postmodernism to show that despite the differences in form in twentieth century American literature--differences that high school students must be made aware of--there are patterns in the American experience that are of recurrent, urgent, and ultimate concern for the American artist. (Author/RL)

An historical examination of literature teaching between the years 1897 and 1940 reveals four interest group positions that played a part in the development of literature teaching as it is known today: humanists, social efficiency educators, developmentalists, and social meliorists. During the early 1900s, those operating from an essentially…