Contends that the assessment of student literary skills attained in high school English classes must move beyond objective, factual tests. Provides a hierarchy of skills achievable by secondary students in the study of literature. (HB)

Describes how teachers might invite their students to become more creative and riskier in their own poetry by examining cartoons in Gary Larsen's series, "The Far Side." Claims that the finished products were often authentic and daring. Includes eight examples of students' poems. (HB)

Gives an overview of how curriculum design might best be undertaken. Provides unconventional suggestions for developing curriculum. (HB)

Gives suggestions for fostering critical thinking skills among English students. Summarizes the views and theories of several educators, all of whom participated in a critical thinking conference in Boston in the summer of 1994. (HB)

Discusses 10 reasons to end the senior year of high school with Bernard Malamud's novel "The Natural." (RS)

Advocates inclusion of Marianne Wiggins' novel "John Dollar" in high school reading lists and literature classes. Notes that the novel is an allegory rich in poetic suggestion, metaphorical language, and symbolic meaning. (RS)

Describes how high school English teachers can make Shakespeare's plays come alive by relating the plots to things with which the students are familiar. Shows how teachers can encourage a dialogue with students to get to the heart of the plays. (PRA)

Describes the controversy sparked by Pat Conroy's novel "The Prince of Tides" when it was included in a reading list for an advanced-placement eleventh grade English class. Discusses Conroy's approach to writing and his experience as an unconventional teacher. (PRA)

Offers ideas and activities of teachers who have successfully used computers with high school English students. Shows that (1) extensive equipment is not always required; (2) computers can be used by all students; (3) computers can help show the best sides of students; (4) computers can give access to the world; and (5) there is life beyond word…

Discusses and tries to define the basic differences between high school and college-level writing. Examines key assumptions of the Summer Writing Program at Carleton College along with the criteria used for determining whether students should receive writing course credit. Reveals contradictions in stated criteria and praxis. (HB)

Offers a 20-item list (put together by high school students) of features characteristic of Whitman's poems. Uses the list of features to write original poetry. Offers additional writing ideas for use with Walt Whitman's poetry. (MG)

Describes how the study of literature might be employed in the moral education of students regarding values. Shows how literature teachers might construct a syllabus and teach a course with moral objectives in mind. Outlines a model of human moral growth based on Lawrence Kohlberg's model. (HB)

Rethinks the definitions by which English studies are framed, particularly reading instruction. Critiques securely embedded approaches focused on comprehension exercises and simple testing. Argues instead for a more social value for reading. (HB)

Presents an interview with Pamela Childers, a high school English teacher for 30 years who is critically aware of the computer's possibilities and limits within the language-arts curriculum. Explores many of the tensions surrounding the computer's place in secondary English classes. (SR)

Argues that lists of great books ought to reflect both the comic and tragic sides. Discusses problems of censorship and of translation when presenting comic works to classrooms full of teenagers. Describes how the author approaches the teaching of Aristophanes'"Lysistrata," offering students a bowdlerized text and inviting them to improve it. (SR)