Many of our children are exposed to practical, everyday issues that would have seemed foreign to us as a society twenty years ago: sexual harassment (regardless of gender), cyberbullying, virtual violence, and stalking by Internet predators. Widespread censorship for middle school students is counterproductive to thinking in such an open and…

Colleges and universities need English education professors who know what it is to teach five classes a day, accommodate IEPs, and still take on extracurricular activities. They need English education professors who not only present at NCTE Annual Conventions, but who also want to be in schools talking to teachers on a regular basis. They need…

This article presents the story and reflection of Jennifer Ritter who shares two critical elements in the process of induction into the world of teaching English. She reminds teachers that the matching of student teacher and cooperating teacher is seldom the result of the extended scrutiny of the attributes of the prospective teacher and the…

Revisits a concept put forth in this same column a year ago, namely, that middle school teachers are different from other level teachers in five significant ways. Argues that now is the time for vertical collaboration; that is, collaboration among teachers at different levels of education. (TB)

The author reflects on how she will apply to her own middle-school classroom what she has learned from her many years of work with the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA). Looks specifically at five important cross-cutting findings from CELA. (SR)

Presents an award-winning short story about a middle school student's wistful reflections on his civics teacher and the other students in his class, many of whom were pregnant, poor, or disadvantaged in some way. (TB)

Lists eight reasons why teachers gain from having students keep daily, in-class journals. (RL)

Describes a classroom incident that underlines the need for levity and posits inviting involvement in poetry. Suggests collections of poems that will engage the junior high or middle school student. (JK)

Urges the establishment of a commission to study the nation's middle schools and recommend a sound English curriculum. (DD)

Describes Patti Cleary, an eighth-grade teacher, and her students. Discusses their perceptions of young adult literature and the reading workshop. Lists and describes new young adult titles that may appeal to fans of romances, S. E. Hinton, short books, and sports novels. (TB)

Offers observations and comments on what makes a good mentor at the middle school level from several experienced and novice English language arts teachers. (SR)

Reflects on the uniqueness of junior high/middle (JH/MS) school students, including their romantic rituals and fashion conformity, and offers these characteristics as reasons both for and against teaching JH/MS. (SRT)

Contrasts two teachers' attitudes toward students and their teaching profession. Notes that those who like their jobs are probably far more effective than those who do not like their jobs. (JT)

Presents a letter offering help for an overwhelmed first-year middle school teacher hating teaching. Offers a response from her former college professor commiserating with her, advocating survival as a perfectly good goal, offering four suggestions, and remembering his own desire to quit early in his teaching career. Includes the beginning…

Asks what, why, and how English educators should test students in middle, junior, and senior high schools. Argues that they must consider the consequences of their testing choices. Argues that the ethical answer is to always teach the child. (SR)