Presents an interview with Chris Crutcher, the 2000 recipient of the Margaret A. Early Award. Notes that he was given the award for his contributions to writing for teenagers. Talks about his life and origins as a writer, and his early influences as a writer in terms of style. Discusses the use of Crutcher's literature in the classroom. (SG)

Attempts to make sense of "English in the New Zealand Curriculum" and, in addition, to reflect on ways in which the document has forced teachers to make sense of or construct English. Describes flaws in the national English curriculum as represented in the document, and notes some positives. (SC)

Argues that Curriculum 2000 fails to address the complexity of modern life. Agues that there are substantial gaps in the curriculum which derive mainly from British government policy being premised on crude and obsolete notions of English identity. Notes that this severely constrains English educators' ability to construct a critical curriculum…

Paula Ressler, an English teacher, suggests unconventional ways to work with William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in the secondary school English curriculum to challenge normative sexual and gender identity beliefs. Reading queerly to explore non-normative sex and gender identities and reading for social justice have the potential to…

The majority of college English departments in America identify and categorize their writing courses by genre. Because of this, writing instruction as a field represents teaching interests and results in written products that are diverse enough to suggest that departments should hire writing specialists who have equally diverse credentials in the…

In forming a new curriculum for the English Department at Louisiana State University, the Literature Concentration Subcommittee faced a daunting array of competing demands. How can students gain a perspective on the terrain of literary studies, including canonical and non-canonical texts? How can they experience the rich diversity of the…

Teaching a world literature class at a public college presented an opportunity to test Allan Bloom's and E. D. Hirsch, Jr.'s charges that today's college students are not only ignorant of great literature, but also ill-equipped to seriously consider such works. Beginning with a class survey of reading tastes and experiences, it was discovered that…

An upper school English program has been experimenting with ways to reinforce its traditional literary curriculum with contemporary works. Three contemporary novels in particular (Naylor's "The Women of Brewster Place," Walker's "The Color Purple," and Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz") have been found to foster a sense of continuity with the…

Because of its exploration of human conflicts, its examination of the capability of society and the individual relationships within it, and its focus on universal moral issues, Sophocles'"Antigone" is a relevant addition to secondary school core curricula. "Antigone" is effective in responding to each of Philip Anderson's four…

The word "grammar" can be used in many ways: a general theory of language description; a theory for describing one language; a description of a particular language, either in the form of a book (an "English grammar") or the contents of that book; an ideal as opposed to actual description of a language; the properties and processes of a language…

Through a review of literature, this paper notes that journalism has been fulfilling several elements considered crucial in the language arts program for many years, more richly and more understandably for students than many traditional English composition courses and other writing classes. In view of this, and in light of the many educational…

There are four conditions essential to developing and maintaining sound English curricula in the secondary schools. The first condition is that society hold public school education in sufficient respect that education can attract teaching candidates who are emotionally mature and committed to high intellectual and technical standards. More than…

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…

Those who argue for the inclusion of literature in composition courses point out that English teachers must teach from their area of expertise and that the use of literature endorses creative and imaginative use of language, avoids what is merely utilitarian and boring, and promotes growth in thinking. Those who oppose the use of literature in…

Suggests that editing courses serve a campus-wide need for fostering better student-writers, and that editing skills provide non-English majors workaday and executive-level writing habits for jobs in commerce, industry, and the professions. Asserts that English departments should also develop internship programs for student editors. (MM)