The discussions of 30 participants in a seminar on the present (mid-1980s) state of research in the English language arts are included in this document. Topics of discussions were as follows: (1) interrelating the processes of reading and writing; (2) texts with different structures and different content: implications for teaching comprehension…

Four professionals in English instruction envision a future that contains a 10,000-student secondary school teaching only English language arts, a school where tutors help students learn independently; achieves balance between teaching and institutional ideals of curriculum for basal readers; addresses the writing movement, keyboard instruction,…

Black educators must act to counter the national trend toward eliminating Afro-American study programs and to preserve these programs as a permanent part of the English literature curriculum. Administrators in predominantly white institutions must be led to understand the importance of black literature to the American experience. To accomplish…

Teaching literature as a basis for teaching writing affords a paradigm for teaching structure and meaning. While a truly integrated English department would put equal emphasis upon composition, language, literature, and reading, two-year college curricula have emphasized composition and challenged literature's place. A reader-based model for…

Two papers explore feminist strategies for adapting traditional humanities and English courses to the needs of nontraditional and professional students. The first paper, "A Feminist Approach to Teaching Humanities to Non-Traditional Students" by Mary Mason, discusses a "public humanities" course, that is, a course for returning students who hope…

Descriptions of comprehensive writing programs at nine colleges and universities and an essay on the topic are presented. Comprehensive writing programs transcend a single department or discipline and are designed to enhance liberal learning. Such programs not only teach students to write in the appropriate modes of various disciplines, but also…

The author of the 1970 book of educational predictions "Deciding the Future" reexamines educators' expectations of the 1970s, comparing them with actual developments. He finds many prognostications fulfilled, and foresees continuing alterations in curriculum and policy that follow trends started in the l960s. (JG)

Summaries of trends and issues in the teaching of English that have been identified by four commissions of the National Council of Teachers of English are presented in this report. The first summary in the report, by P. Bryant of the Commission on Composition, stresses the need for prospective English teachers to be well-grounded in the techniques…

A 16-item self-report instrument (included in an appendix) was developed to determine the views held by students (N=1,004) concerning aspects of courses in 5 academic areas: English, foreign languages, mathematics, science, and social studies. Individual items reflected views concerning: understanding course requirments (2 items), teacher/student…

The need for better high school/college articulation is addressed in five papers. In "High School/College Partnerships That Work," Ernest L. Boyer describes the ongoing efforts to encourage high school/college collaboration and considers five principles necessary for establishing cooperative programs, including the need for educators at…

Defends the study of literature in the elementary and secondary grades for its ability to help students think both creatively and critically. Provides objectives for teaching literature such as development of perception, expression, cognitive style, aesthetic awareness, moral values, and writing ability. (SRT)

Considers literature as something different from the texts themselves (specifically, a way of reading that includes the writer, the text, and the reader) so that the purposes of teachers and readers may be considered, and a flexible approach to selection, organization, and pedagogy be permitted. (SRT)

Discusses the teachers' and the students' roles in the selection of literature to be taught, developing a selection policy, the place of the classics in literature curriculum, and the connection between literature and values education. (SRT)

The essays in this collection are designed to provide an overview of the most pressing issues and ideas with which English teachers contend today and will contend in the near future. The contributors, 22 English teachers and educators, have attempted to view change in a sufficiently broad perspective to enable them to make responsible predictions…

Statewide competency testing as a high school graduation requirement represents a threat to those who encourage broad notions of reading and writing, even when a number of testing innovations in reading and writing mean a step forward in education. In Alberta, Canada, the English exam comes in a non-academic and an academic version, and…