The author's career in professional education is intertwined with the history of language arts education in the United States and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The author joined NCTE in the 1960s, though she was already teaching for about 10 years with a well-developed constructivist perspective on teaching and learning.…

Criticizes the application in public schools of the new "cultural literacy," which is restrictive and can lead to intellectual stagnation. Suggests a wider, more active concept of cultural literacy, which involves building new knowledge, accommodating new perspectives, and reading beyond the narrow, traditionally defined notions of our…

English and writing teachers are often pressurized to return to the basics of grammar, despite the evidence that drilling grammar does not improve students' writing skills. A great disparity exists between public perception of effective education and the perception of professional educators, which is the main reason why parents and government…

Explores the origins and elements of popular culture--noting that English instruction and popular culture need not be mutually exclusive, and that selected materials from popular culture may serve goals of the English curriculum without compromising them. (NKA)