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)

Describes an approach to teaching William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" utilizing a dramatic sequence of events and focusing on grudges and hatred. Outlines eight steps to be undertaken in presenting this dramatic work. Ends with workshop participant comments, all favorable. (HB)

Discusses the educational philosophy and practical pedagogy of Dorothy Heathcote. Emphasizes the contribution that Heathcote's method of instruction using drama makes to the testing of assumptions in students. Investigates assumptions of both teachers and students in a typical drama lesson. (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)

Asserts that the notion of national literature is no longer tenable. Suggests teaching both undergraduates and graduate students the history of the English discipline so that they may understand what determined its present configurations. Suggests introducing students to a variety of theories, methods, and controversies of the field. (PRA)

Provides an account of how one English teacher fosters awareness of the metaphorical nature of language and the sensory experience of poetry. Shows how the poem "Mnemonic" by Li-Young Lee can be used to instruct students concerning how poetry speaks to the memories of the reader. (HB)

Describes how one English teacher developed a replacement for the traditional literature exam: student exhibitions. Defines these exhibitions as student presentations over course material in which expertise and close reading are demonstrated. Advocates allowing students the opportunity to teach class materials. (HB)

Considers the current debates regarding the teaching of reading. Outlines the general failure to understand the nature of literacy, the complexity of educational issues, and the lack of public language for discussing such issues. Provides an accessible explanation of current reading methods for parents. (HB)

Provides an account of how one poet would like to have her poems taught in the English classroom. (HB)

Provides an account of the importance of story poems in the English classroom. Describes how one teacher wove the teaching of poems, stories, and writing into a single coherent unit of study. Argues that bringing these diverse materials together is a useful method of literary study. (HB)

Argues that a curriculum of peace must include ways to define human problems. Describes how the author taught a literature course called "The Healing Word: Literature About Coping with Death and Illness" that used literary selections and a film series to examine physical healing, mental healing, and healing from grief. (SR)

Examines the relationship between past ways of understanding what it has meant to teach and learn in English classrooms and the present movement toward change. Argues that the central purpose of working in relation to the past is to guard against participating in a 'presentism' that denies the past. (NH)

"English--a portrait of current practice" is one in a series of portraits by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), depicting current practice in key aspects of the Scottish curriculum. The portrait series is a recent initiative by HMIE, flowing from the "Improving Scottish Education" report. It is intended to promote…