Students, teachers, administrators, community members, and policymakers are collectively responsible for ensuring that the literacy learning required to earn a living and lead a well-rounded life is available to all. To meet that responsibility, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) urges legislators to practice civil discourse by…

In this update the National Governors Association presents the testimony of Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr., as submitted to the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee. Ritter speaks about the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a joint project by the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to…

Rexford Brown, Thomas D. Horn, James Sledd, and Rudolph C. Troike discuss the most significant language arts developments of the 1970s, their hopes for the 1980s, and references of value to elementary language arts teachers. (DD)

Alvina Treut Burrows, Kellogg W. Hunt, Richard Lloyd-Jones, and Charles Read comment on significant developments in writing during the 1970s, hopes for the 1980s, and important references dealing with teaching children to write. (DD)

Jeanne S. Chall, Roger Farr, John C. Manning, Robert B. Ruddell, Russell G. Stauffer, Dorothy S. Strickland, and Richard L. Venezky comment on significant developments in reading during the 1970s, hopes for the 1980s, and important references dealing with teaching children to read. (DD)

Discusses how language arts educators can promote enduring change, including the need for continuous cooperation, collaboration, and reflection; the active involvement of all the stakeholders during every stage of nurturing visions; and how to support this complex growth process with flexibility and with an enduring commitment. (SR)

Discusses the need for fundamental restructuring of language arts instruction. Discusses the benefits of the whole-language approach and the current problems with testing, use of instructional time, and the lack of teacher support. (PRA)

Rip Van Winkle would not recognize Corsicana (Texas) High School since its curriculum coordinator began implementing learning styles techniques in various pilot programs. Lecturing to rows of bored students has been replaced by students' active involvement in group activities, listening centers, and tactile/kinesthetic exercises on the floor or at…

This book presents a new vision of curriculum--one that invites students to read with important social ideas in mind and write with the purpose of making the world a better place. Developed over years of classroom experience with diverse children, the book will help more experienced teachers take the next step in their professional growth, while…

Discusses ways in which technology in the classroom is bound to affect both what and how language arts is taught, as well as the very culture of schooling. Places technological innovations within a historical context and provides a hopeful picture for the future. (RS)

Stories have always been the means of making a message, of exploring the relationship between past and present, and of giving significance to events. A noted native artist and writer described the "talking stick" of his tribe as a talisman which gives the person who possesses it the right to speak and hold the attention of the tribe. A…

This digest considers approaches to langugae arts teaching that are based on mythic or archetypal ways of experiencing and knowing. The Digest argues that such approaches address students' inner lives more directly than do the usual instructional methods such as whole language or student-centered instruction, and thus can help to promote…

Reflecting the author's thoughts on trends in the teaching of language arts during the 1970s, 12 articles and talks in this collection deal with the following topics: (1) behavioral objectives; (2) the student-centered language curriculum; (3) teaching literacy; yoga for public school teachers; (5) instructional television for language learning;…

Presents an interview with Charlotte Huck. Includes such topics as what motivated her to set about helping to create the field of children's literature; her views on children's books and some of her favorites; and how her love of children's literature compelled her to become an author of children's books. (SR)

Denies that the paradigm shift in composition pedagogy (process/product), apparent in the rhetoric of many journals, has become a widespread pedagogical reality. Gives first-hand accounts of teaching methods in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States showing that pedagogy continues to be product-oriented. (SR)