Discusses the problem of criticizing students' interpretations of poetry. Argues that faulty interpretations should only be ignored for artistic reasons, but should be called mistakes for factual and experiential reasons. (MM)

Shows how the reader-response approach can provide interesting and meaningful ways of teaching literature in a second language. Illustrates its use in teaching a short story in an English reading class for engineering students in Malaysia. (SR)

Discusses a small group of picture books that display two of Quentin Blake's great strengths: (1) the inventiveness of his concept and design; and (2) the representation of his own view that a children's book can be a place where adults and children meet on equal footing. (NH)

Ruminates on and analyzes the author's experiences in teaching the first course in women's literature and feminist criticism at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Asserts that the course brought to consciousness the author's femininity, feminism, and a new understanding of feminist criticism. (MM)

Argues that students and teachers of literature should begin the study of literary texts with the emotional immediacies and humanistic sympathies that the texts evoke, rather than with an examination of literary critical theories. (MM)

In a composition classroom with a multicultural emphasis, reader response techniques can give students the chance to consider their own positions in the dominant culture, to confront racist attitudes within themselves, and to try to empathize with minority views. These techniques lead to a more student-centered classroom where students not only…

Telling stories from secondary and college English classrooms, this book explores the new possibilities for teaching and learning generated by bringing together reader-response and cultural-studies approaches. The book connects William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other canonical figures to multicultural writers, popular culture,…

This paper, two of four on literature and the young child, focuses on two ways the simple act of a parent reading to a child during the early years helps the child grow into a successful reader. The two ways are: reading to the young child helps him or her build a rich vocabulary which in turn will help strengthen his or her memory skills; and…

Recounts a veteran instructor's experiences with teaching new subjects, American literature and poetry writing, after many years away from graduate school. Muses about the reality of teaching undergraduates. Considers teaching as a rhetorical act and finds that learning is more likely to occur when teachers approach teaching as a rhetorical act…

Literatures created by American Indians illustrate the positive potential that expanding the literary canon has for helping to achieve a more democratic classroom. Expanding the idea of what constitutes a text worthy of study enhances students' degree of involvement in and sense of connection to curriculum content and helps them become better…

Describes the widening gulf between high school and college practices of teaching literature, with high school students trained in reader response entering college courses based on analysis (traditional or nontraditional) of texts and requiring skills they do not possess. (SR)

The majority of current college freshmen see no place in their lives for reading as an opportunity for intellectual or emotional enjoyment. They read only the most utilitarian texts--appliance instructions or road signs, for example. A teacher cannot "make" students read anything, but he or she can help them find ways to like reading;…