The most important factor in the teaching of English is the establishment of a philosophy which serves as a guide for determining course content. At the two-year college level, there is a need to develop English programs and courses which are essential not only to the students but also to the business community in which a majority of the…

This guide for pre-registration in English classes in 1974-75 outlines the steps for selecting courses from both the required and elective offerings and describes each of the elective subjects. Some of the elective courses available from the total list of 36 include "Writer's Workshop,""Reading Improvement,""Newspaper Production,""Literature of…

J.E.B. Stuart High School moved into the minicourse elective program five years ago from an anthology-survey oriented English curriculum. The students are grouped into two levels, one offering minicourses for eleventh and twelfth graders and the other offering minicourses for ninth and tenth grade students, with some courses open to all of the…

Points out weaknesses in research studies purporting to show that there is no transfer value to the teaching of grammar; presents 21 pointers to aid in establishing a good grammar program. (DD)

Former editors of English Journal review the issues published in the last four decades under their respective editorships, noting trends and developments that may hold promise or provide warnings for the coming decade. (JG)

Suggests three levels of reading. The first is exemplified by E. D. Hirsch's prescriptive "cultural literacy." The second is interpretive, typified by the "strong reader." The third is critical and is best suited to dealing with the complexities of poetry. (ARH)

English studies, especially at the graduate level, have depended on coverage of an agreed-upon group of literary works, but new scholarly approaches have led some scholars to change that group, calling into question some basic tenets of graduate education in English and suggesting a need for new directions. (MSE)

Relates the evaluation of a secondary school writing program that concentrated on three areas: (1) the level of group participation and group feeling generated in the classroom, (2) the level of security felt by students and teacher within the process approach, and (3) the linking of the students' reading and writing. (HOD)

Describes a system for arranging assignments in a composition course that aims to prepare students for academic writing, by focusing entirely on exposition and its conceptual demands. (HTH)

Identifies and discusses nine "pressures" that have influenced curriculum development in Australia: universal expertise, inertia, Australian rules, "Golden Past," unpreparedness, wishful thinking, inexperience, nondisposable resources, and public expectations. (HOD)

Offers six recommendations in response to a proposal to eliminate literature from the English program in Australia in favor of functional English skills. (HOD)

Considered the desirability of a course in sex education in the public school curriculum. (Author/RK)

Cautions against rapid curricular reform that overturns the value of the Anglo-American literary and cultural heritage in English curriculums. (RB)

A reexamination of the English curriculum utilizing current research into the reading interests and habits of children and adults. (MB)

Speech delivered at the Annual Meeting, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), November 28, 1969, in Washington, D.C. (DS)