Provides an account of how one English teacher fosters awareness of the metaphorical nature of language and the sensory experience of poetry. Shows how the poem "Bullfrogs" was used to instruct students concerning point of view and the various perspectives from which a story can be seen. (HB)

Gives two anecdotes by practicing teachers of their experiences with basic writers. Provides thick descriptions of two different basic writing students' attempts to write stories. Gives insight into the writing processes of basic writers. (HB)

Surveys a number of standards and assessment projects currently underway at the national level. Places these projects in historical context. Describes and distinguishes the particular foci and methods of each of the projects. (HB)

Discusses one teacher's approach to "advanced" English instruction. Reflects on such topics as the undigested transmission of the canon and the problems of the "common sense" style of teaching. Includes comments by two students who participated in the course being described. (HB)

Relates the author's experiences as a teacher with a high school student, a soft-spoken Japanese young woman, who taught the author and her fellow high school students much about understanding, forgiveness, and peace. (SR)

Shares the author's frustrations and some of the complexities involved with constructing a critical literacy curriculum. Explores what might have happened if she had taken up the issues that mattered in her students' lives as text to form the basis for a critical literacy curriculum. (SC)

Edith Graybill, English instructor at the Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, Michigan, speaks about her school's English language arts curriculum, the influence of the school on the role of English language arts, the theories of teaching and learning used at the Academy, and other related topics. She believes that most of the students appreciate…

This paper deals with a peer supervision program developed by the members of the English department of Brattleboro Union High School (Vermont) which has resulted in a sense of collegiality, shared purpose, and a renewed feeling of professionalism among the teachers. The paper describes the ways in which these teachers developed a program to…

A sampling of the literature on reading objectives shows a weak sense of direction beyond elementary school. After assessing the problem, the Bureau of Language Arts of the Chicago Board of Education selected inference as the focus of high school reading. To develop a taxonomy of inferences, the Chicago committee began inductively, by writing or…

Outlines reasons for having programs for the gifted. Describes the gifted instructional program at the author's high school. (JT)

Describes a program that uses independent study in English to engage gifted high school students. The program requires students to leave school to research a topic of choice, present the acquired knowledge, and determine their own grades. The students pursue their projects with the help of mentors. (CR)

Shows some of the conditions under which South African educators work and similarities to the conditions in the United States. Cites some features of English education under apartheid and then explains how progressive teachers are using those features for their own ends. (MG)

In an applied communication course in a Boise (Idaho) high school, at-risk students participate in exchanges with a senior citizens' center, learn about work force readiness, and work with developmentally disabled children. (SK)

Describes the reasons that companies frequently misspell words that are part of product names. Provides many examples of such misspellings, along with an analysis of why the words were misspelled. (HB)

Argues that media literacy should become a part of the elementary school curriculum, and provides ways of integrating media studies into the elementary curriculum. Provides a critical framework through which teachers might carry out such an integration, and illustrates the model with the actual success of a particular pilot program. (HB)