Recommends eight plays from the 1980s which will challenge the thinking of students with issues such as evolving independence of young people, growing up in the context of racism and discrimination, insights into the world of the deaf, and the suffering of humanity during the French Revolution. (MG)

Describes several projects designed to involve parents in their child's English education. (MM)

Describes how Athol Fugard's 1982 play "'Master Harold'...and the Boys" dramatizes the racial situation in South Africa by taking the concept of racism away from universal abstractions and making its causes and effects individual and concrete. Asserts that this play should be adopted in the high school curriculum. (MM)

Gives advice for the beginning teacher by narrating the experiences of one teacher's childhood and explaining how these experiences shaped the teacher's professional outlook. Concentrates on one of the teacher's memories of how reading Nancy Drew stories brought her back to her childhood. (HB)

Describes the techniques and strategies suggested by practicing poets for teaching poetry. Discusses specifically what teachers should not do when studying poetry with students. Advocates teaching contemporary American poets, and provides a list of some of the best. (HB)

Shows how one teacher incorporated poetry more broadly into the English curriculum. Gives 12 practical suggestions for getting students more involved in poetry. (HB)

Provides an account of how one teacher taught poetry by first focusing on what students knew about a poem and then moving to what they were surprised by and, thus, to what they did not know. Outlines how such a method was carried out in the classroom with Marge Piercy's poem, "Councils." (HB)

Describes the way one teacher connected young adult novels with poetry. Provides extensive suggestions for teachers interested in such connections. Includes a listing of possible titles to be connected. (HB)

Describes one teacher's theory of the use of argument in the English curriculum, particularly its importance in developing democratic classrooms. Defines the multiple functions of argument in society. Advocates developing argumentative skills among students, particularly in a wide variety of forms and discourses. (HB)

Argues for the use of film in the teaching of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" because the play was meant to be seen and heard and not just read. Outlines a method of teaching the play by which students select a scene and perform it. Gives an example of a successful student performance. (HB)

Argues for the consideration of food and gastronomy in the teaching of English in high schools. Provides methods of teaching writing in conjunction with student response to eating. (HB)

Presents methods and strategies for using gay literature in the English classroom, focusing on the experience of using Harvey Fierstein's play, "Torch Song Trilogy." Provides details about how the text was introduced and used in the classroom. (HB)

Describes the healthy discussions currently being undertaken concerning the teaching of grammar by English teachers. Argues for a variety of effective ways of teaching grammar. Gives attention to psycholinguistic models of grammar. (HB)

Presents eight responses from practicing teachers to the question, "What have you learned about record-keeping in the classroom that you would like to share with beginning teachers?" (HB)

Argues the artificial, propagandistic quality of demonizing the enemy, a technique used by both sides in the Persian Gulf War. Asserts that principled and effective foreign policymaking requires intelligence and moral courage, whereas demonizing the enemy requires only a phrase book and the will to injure. (PRA)