On a February morning, Ms. Nelson (all names pseudonyms) was preparing her eleventh-grade class for a new unit with the goal of crafting arguments about the people and issues present in the classic novel "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. As, teacher educators Eileen Shanahan and Min-Young Kim were observing in the classroom, it was…

Movies are a part of social discourse, and they may show "life the way people would like to make it." As educators look at society's changing views of knowledge, learning, teaching, and success, they can engage in that discourse and consider ways it does--or does not--reflect and affect pedagogies and daily lives. As Hollywood directs society's…

Evaluates the importance of liberal arts and the mystique of education in everyday life by using personal anecdotes as illustrations. (EL)

Describes Albert Camus's writings regarding semantic abuses in public rhetoric. (DD)

Many well-known adolescent novels perpetuate the dangerous stereotype that killing--and especially killing what one loves--is manly. (JH)

Shows how "The A-Team" is a purveyor of myth through its re-working of hero and plot motifs and its reaffirming of a positive American self-concept. (EL)

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)

Some of the most popular teenage novels perpetuate the sexual double stanard. (JH)

Suggestions for controls and restraints that need to be taught along with the three R's if education is to be meaningful for today's youth. (RB)

Argues that a brief and superficial study of literature more readily reinforces prejudices and fosters myths than it provides new vision"; a paper presented at annual convention of National Council of Teachers of English (60th, Atlanta, November 28, 1970). (Author/Editor)

Discusses the value of contemporary literature and of teaching it, and notes related censorship issues. Describes how the work of contemporary authors Michael Dorris and Tim O'Brien teaches students about values, helping them reflect upon ancient questions regarding truth and reality. (SR)