Presents a transcript of an interview with successful young adult author Jerry Spinelli. Describes the techniques and writing strategies used by Spinelli. Discusses ways of generating stories, and the author's concept of his audience. (HB)

Considers Mark Twain's novel "Huckleberry Finn" as an object of literary instruction, especially its racist overtones. Argues that Twain's depiction of the runaway slave Jim is positive. Shows how Twain's novel might be used from a multiethnic approach. (HB)

Discusses strategies for integrating the teaching of language with academic subject matter to help English-as-a-Second-Language students. Advocates the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) as a successful method that can be applied to either specialist ESL or mainstream classes. (HB)

Recounts the experiences of one middle-aged community college English teacher who decided to go after a terminal degree. Considers the pros and cons of returning to graduate school for the doctorate degree. Describes how teacher training for graduate students might be improved. (HB)

Discusses the concepts of "American" and "unAmerican" in terms of national literature of the United States. Provides a critique of the way the literary canon of America is constructed and taught. Describes as treasonous and "unAmerican" much writing by women, as exemplified by the works of literary regionalists in the…

Describes the results of a survey of over 350 educators regarding their tracking and grouping practices. Finds that most teachers do not have a systematic approach to grouping practices except for a pragmatic, functional approach. (HB)

Describes how one English teacher discovered the complex differences in nonverbal communications among her students. Argues that a proper understanding of such cultural differences can enhance teacher/student relationships and classroom harmony. (HB)

Focuses on how various literacy narratives portray passages between language worlds. Considers how such passages are relevant to a writing pedagogy. Stresses the relationship between such literacy passages is useful in basic writing contexts. Analyzes two essays written by one student who portrays such a literacy passage. (HB)

Describes how the English department at Western Washington University set out to revise the English curriculum as a participant in the MLA-FIPSE English Programs Curriculum Review Project. Shows how the faculty redesigned the curriculum, and asks tough questions concerning the best way to undertake such changes. (HB)

Discusses three fundamental questions that figure prominently in any attempt to imagine the future of English departments: What is an English department? What is the goal of an English department? and What is to be done? (HB)

Describes a program to train English teachers to prepare for Great Britain's National Curriculum. (PRA)

Suggests that elements of feeling which made Wordsworth's writing superior are absent from Britain's proposed National Curriculum for English. Argues that the ingredients of Wordsworth's major experiences are similar to the ways in which children grow best in conventional academic ways. Concludes that well-facilitated but unguided discovery is the…

Asks how religious faith and spirituality function in the creative lives of people as makers and searchers. Describes a week-long summer workshop called "Women's Space: Exploring Our Creative and Spiritual Selves." Considers the historical achievements of women as writers and thinkers, and the recent recovery of such work. (HB)

Details a program designed to use an awareness of cultural reader response to stimulate multicultural understanding among middle-school students. Provides strategies for reading multiethnic literature with students from varied backgrounds. (HB)

Describes the activities in a high school English class aimed at instructing students concerning the concept of "historical fiction." Outlines class activities in which students are asked to write fictional narratives based on the history of their local high school. (HB)