A persistent question throughout the years is to teach grammar or not to teach, along with how much to teach and when. Very few teachers exactly teach grammar and few students know what grammar is. The myth of English teacher as judge of grammatical correctness that forces two reactions, one cynical and other more predictable are discussed.

This paper examines the processes of creative writing, exploring in particular how intuition and analysis, unconscious and conscious, work together, and how the social and the personal are involved in these processes. The author discusses her experience of writing a sustained narrative poem with lyrical elements, and then as a teacher-educator…

High school students in the United States have been taking more challenging courses in recent years, but academic achievement has been stagnant. At the heart of the matter is the quality of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Some courses tend to be more challenging in name than in practice. High schools also have a history of autonomy that…

Teaching with technology is a complex issue, at best, bound by issues of access, funding, support and time for both students and teachers (Young & Bush, 2004). When English teachers effectively integrate technology into their classrooms, however, they have the opportunity to positively engage students in the learning process. Considering the…

Examines a variety of teaching implications in using existing corpora and explores the need to develop additional corpora databases. Discusses how teachers of language have turned to authentic texts to improve the communicative competence of their students and how computer corpora could provide additional sources of authentic texts. (SC)

Adult workplace intervention programs to improve physical activity through wearing personal pedometers and completing team orientated "virtual journeys" have been shown to be useful in enhancing activity levels (Mummery, Schofield, Hinchliffe, Joyner, & Brown, 2006). Similar approaches applied to the school setting have also been…

Online classes are a viable option in today's educational landscape, but are they right for your school and students? This article reviews the status of online education, 21st century skills, best practices in online education, and online classes as experienced by a middle school student and parent. (Contains 2 figures.)

This article examines the relevance of metaphor from a number of perspectives; its dominant part in everyday speech, its use as a teaching tool, and its role in education and training. Metaphor is seen as a vehicle for personal statement, a device for clarifying abstract concepts and for adding color to descriptions, and as a socio-cultural…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the domain specificity of multidimensional motivation and engagement (adaptive cognitions, adaptive behaviors, impeding/maladaptive cognitions, maladaptive behaviors) in mathematics, English and science high school subjects, with an additional focus on three key educational correlates (educational…

Amanda Haertling Thein, Richard Beach, and Daryl Parks explore the subtle yet powerful changes that transpire when white students encounter multicultural literature and experience tensions between their beliefs and those that appear in the texts. As students mediate the tensions, they become more critically aware of their beliefs and may be more…

Summarizes the National Council of Teachers of English Task Force assessment of four issues regarding teacher competency: (1) who defines competency; (2) the nature of teacher competency tests; (3) the impact of current tests on minority teachers; and (4) the quality and standards of the teaching profession. Includes a bibliography of materials…

Calls for increased awareness of the self-representation, gender, labor, and intellectual property issues that surround faculty members' homepages, arguing that faculty members construct identity online in context of the university as workplace. Examines the homepages of 18 faculty members within English programs. Draws on research from…

Outlines a practical alternative to E. D. Hirsch's challenge of teaching cultural knowledge. Asserts that a theory of cultural literacy based on contributing new knowledge is conceptually richer, less vague, and less authoritarian than Hirsch's theory based on "shared knowledge." (MM)

Describes and evaluates the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts--Preschool Version, a screening test which indicates school readiness and guides planning for language instruction. Concludes that the test can be useful in identifying children whose development of relational concepts may place them at risk for understanding teacher directions. (MM)

Describes the format and processes of the 1992 Conference on English Education Washington, DC. Focuses on the changes in the conference structure which resulted from long deliberations and planning. Evaluates the successes and failures of the objectives and results of the conference. (HB)