Presents the results of a national survey of materials and activities used by high school English teachers. (DD)

A high school teacher has used a novel by Stephen King as her end-of-the-year literature unit to teach her students. She suggests how this selection helps in achieving her goals to get students to practice reading and discussing literature and to apply these skills beyond the English classroom.

A schoolteacher recollects her second teaching job experience at a predominately African American high school. She learnt cultural differences in communication, social interaction, ways of responding, and linguistic style.

Discusses problems new teachers have with the teaching profession, including the low salaries, the adversary relationship between teachers and administrators, overly large classes, and too few instructional materials. (EL)

Considers reasons for the secondary English teacher to keep abreast of current literary theory and offers suggested readings. (CRH)

Eight former English teachers explain how their work and training as English teachers affect what they now do. (RL)

Relates the interactions between an English teacher and a "problem student," showing how each learned to bend toward the other. (RL)

Two high school teachers advocate teaching high school students to investigate and transform their worlds with the help of the American literature. "Behind the Veil: American Literature and Culture of the 1950s" and "The Visible and the Invisible: Literary and Cultural Representations of the Native American", are the two literature units used to…

Lists 25 things that teachers should consider when evaluating the linguistic components of the texts they select and use for English grammar and writing instruction. (RL)

Discusses the dilemmas faced by middle and high school teachers whose students are struggling to read, yet whose training does not prepare them to solve this problem. Describes the Reading Initiative, a program that will support teacher development through study groups to help teachers improve both the teaching and learning of reading through…

This article relates the experience of Mrs. Vernon, who teaches two sections of an English course at her high school, and has evaluated her high- and low-track students based on cultural and social groups. She uses these evaluations to shape her expectations for the students' academic performance, their future life goals, and her daily method of…

A considerable use of technology to supplement classroom instruction could improve student learning. A high school teacher reveals the ways in which the use of online discussions of literature assignments increases student participation by extending dialogue beyond the physical space and time of a single class.

Being a first-year teacher in New York City is not easy. The author received much of the same preparation and advice that he and his colleagues give their students. But even the best education courses and a positive student teaching experience do not seem to be enough to take the edge off of a year he remembers barely surviving. The author…

Examines the extended metaphor of "burnout" as it applies to the teaching profession. Examines three ancient Celtic invocations for the better tending of fires, which reveal ways that teachers can burn with enthusiasm without burning out from apathy. (RL)

Student teaching in New York City on September 11, 2001, forced the author to scrap her carefully planned lessons. Instead, she designed a unit to address the urgent needs of the ninth graders in her care. In this article, the author describes the poetry unit she designed to help students deal with the grieving process and allow them a way to talk…