Student motivation is difficult to measure, manage, initiate, and control. Teachers control many aspects of classroom environments, including student interaction and cooperation, by the rules and procedures they establish and maintain. But, there is often little classroom teachers can do to predict what will motivate students to move beyond the…

High school teacher Sheldon S. Kohn probes the conflicting dynamics that occur for educators who try to provide students with appropriate tools for thinking and living in a postmodernist, intellectual world, yet who must teach in antiquated school systems that support modernist philosophies and hierarchical practices. Kohn imagines students and…

This article focuses on writing instruction and seeks to: (1) define the expectations of first-year composition (FYC) programs; (2) consider the factors shaping high school writing instruction; and (3) explore the gap between the goals of each. The authors have interviewed secondary writing teachers and college first-year composition instructors…

Drawing on published scholarship and her own high school teaching, the author describes how works by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman can be used to integrate GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) issues into English classes. The author can't imagine a single high school that doesn't include Whitman and Dickinson at some point in its…

Implementing multimedia in the high school language arts curriculum has become necessary so that teachers may build connections between the background knowledge of students and the printed texts that are thrust upon them. This idea comes from an area of research in cognitive science known commonly as schema theory, which contends that every…

Teachers live to inspire and be inspired. Sadly, most high school teachers work alone in the confines of their teaching assignments and tight, chaotic schedules, while many college professors teach and conduct research within the confines of their institutions, seldom reaching out to fellow instructors at different institutions that serve…

A secondary English teacher in the Bronx, Marisa Harford describes several self-reflective activities she has designed to improve students' writing skills. Beginning a new school year with activities like Harford's can focus students' efforts all year. (Contains 1 figure.)

In this article, the author shares challenges of teaching writing in a virtual classroom. One of the challenges of online education--the often-asynchronous nature--also holds one of the strengths: the opportunity for a lesson to continue long after the classroom closes. The author's experiences online offer ways to rethink meanings of youth…

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…

Stovall makes an innovative deal with her students: Read 20 books this year and complete a creative project about each, and there won't be any other homework. Stovall describes her method, the projects, how it succeeded, and what the limitations were. (Contains 1 note.)

High school teacher C. Lynn Jacobs noted that the long-term English language learners in her class had improved in reading comprehension but still lacked writing skills. Inspired by a state humanities project, she worked with the students to publish a collection of stories and poems. Writing about their lives provided the motivation, and writing…

School administrators across the U.S. are asking literature teachers to become reading teachers, and not surprisingly, many secondary teachers are having difficulty with this transition. The author's transition to reading teacher was hurried by her dissatisfaction with lessons that featured question-answer discussions. Curious about how students…

Rethinking homework is a necessary step in improving teaching. Effective homework benefits students by taking into account their individual differences, while offering teachers greater control in their planning. In essence, rethinking homework takes teachers back to teaching, and to the question of what educators want students to come away from…

The author remembers a class when he asked his students to discuss in small groups how Edgar Allan Poe suggests a judgment of the main character in "The Cask of Amontillado". During their discussion it became clear to the author that the students couldn't come to consensus because they had no grasp of the narrator's explanations of his motivations…

Pamela K. Coke observes two high school English teachers who carry out practical assessments that supply them with an understanding of student achievement. The strategies used, such as Socratic seminar, book club meetings, and sticky notes, provide constructive information about what students are able to do and help identify ways such practices…