English Journal, Vol. 89, No. 3, January 2000

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Our History, Ourselves

• English Education in the 1970s: An Editor’s Perspective

  Stephen Tchudi

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  Abstract: Offers the author's perspective on English education in the 1970s using articles published in "English Journal" while he was editor from 1973 to 1980.

  Keywords: Secondary, Professional Development

• Gender Benders: Men and Women Navigating the Freeway to Equity

  Alleen Pace Nilsen

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  Abstract: Focuses on the changing relationships between males and females in the National Council of Teachers of English from its inception to the present. Discusses changing relationships between the sexes in English departments, including graduate students and faculty. Describes differing approaches to the job of teaching, and recommends in general giving the matter some serious thought and discussion.

  Keywords: Secondary, Diversity, Professional Development

• Talk About Books

  John Manear, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Oh, Those Golden Teaching Days of Yore

  Ken Donelson

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  Abstract: Offers quotes from articles about English teaching in the United States published in professional journals from 1847 to 1955. Suggests there never was a "golden age" of English teaching. Shows discussion and controversy about teaching writing, about what literature should be allowed in the schools, whether teaching grammar is worthwhile, and whether the English curriculum was going to hell.

  Keywords: Secondary, Research, Professional Development

• Reconstructing English: From the 1890s to the 1990s and Beyond

  Ben F. Nelms

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  Abstract: Argues that an understanding of developments in the 1890s (when disparate strands were brought together as one discipline--English--along with a movement toward uniform standards) can inform responses to current movements and initiatives. Outlines 5 significant initiatives that came to the author's attention during his editorship of "English Journal" (1987-1994) that hold promise for the next century of English.

  Keywords: Secondary, Research, Professional Development

• Entering the Whirlwind: Editing English Journal, 1994-1998

  Leila Christenbury

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  Abstract: Describes the author's experiences as editor of "English Journal" from 1994 to 1998. Describes the controversy and institutional pressures from above that attended her editorship, because of her devotion to publishing articles propounding widely varying views on controversial topics of heated debate within the profession.

  Keywords: Secondary, Research, Professional Development

• “Glimpses of Lives Close to Mine”: English Teaching at a New Century

  Linda K. Shadiow

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  Abstract: Linda Shadiow’s article looks at a number of questions about teaching and how they were answered over the course of the 20th century.

  Keywords: Secondary, Pedagogy

• The Living Legacy of Donald Murray

  Tom Romano

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  Abstract: Describes a session at the Spring 1997 National Council of Teachers of English convention to honor Donald Murray's life and work. Summarizes several presentations, and offers excerpts from written testimonials capturing the essence of Murray's writing and teaching and explaining his irreplaceable personal and professional role.

  Keywords: Secondary, Professional Development

• Rewey Belle Inglis: Teacher, Writer, Observer

  Jeanne Marcum Gerlach

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  Abstract: Discusses the many contributions of Rewey Belle Inglis, a secondary English teacher, university English educator, and textbook publisher, as well as first woman president of the National Council of Teachers of English (1929). Discusses her professional credentials, her place in history, her writings (about teaching grammar and literature, teacher training, and professional development), and her research.

  Keywords: Secondary, Research, Professional Development

• Blueprints or Houses? Lou LaBrant and the Writing Debate

  P. L. Thomas

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  Abstract: Discusses the work and contributions of Lou LaBrant, who became president of the National Council of Teachers of English in 1954, and who was one of the foremost progressive practitioners of reading and writing instruction. Discusses her research, her teaching, her experience, and her lifelong insistence that the writing curriculum had to be open-ended and child-centered.

  Keywords: Secondary, Research, Writing, Professional Development

• Sylvia Ashton-Warner: Reclaiming Personal Meaning in Literacy Teaching

  Nancy Thompson

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  Abstract: Sylvia Ashton Warner's "organic teaching" methods are remembered in Thompson's article.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literacy, Pedagogy, Research

• Broad Shoulders and Big Issues: Council Leaders Tell Their Stories

  Julie M. Jensen

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  Abstract: Offers brief excerpts from oral history interviews with eight National Council of Teachers of English leaders on a variety of topics, including: formative years; becoming interested in teaching; experiences as a beginning teacher; teaching writing; being an African American teacher; literature and humanness.

  Keywords: Secondary, Professional Development

• A Glimpse Fro and To: NCTE Then and Now

  Nancy S. McHugh

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  Abstract: Suggests elements of the basic structure of the National Council of Teachers of English has remained the same for decades, while other elements have grown. Looks at positive growth in NCTE over the last two decades of the 20th century, noting research, women's issues, the standards wars, and affiliates as political bases. Describes two important initiatives for the future.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Teacher to Teacher

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  Abstract: Presents brief descriptions from 8 middle and high school teachers of various ways they have successfully incorporated history into the English curriculum, including using historical fiction; doing prior research; using interdisciplinary projects coordinated with the history teacher; a women's suffrage unit; linking world literature with classes in modern world history; using music to highlight history and literature; and more.

  Keywords: Secondary, Pedagogy

• International English

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  Abstract: Argues that literature from other countries, taught as multicultural literature, must be taught in the context of its own literary tradition in order to provide high-quality academic instruction. Offers an example with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One-Hundred Years of Solitude" to show how teaching multicultural literature can live up to its ambitious goal of illuminating different cultures.

  Keywords: Secondary, Diversity, Literature

• Young Adult Literature: Starting With Dora V.: A Genealogy of YA Literature Specialists

  Chris Crowe, editor

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  Abstract: Traces the genealogy of the people who established, refined, defended, and maintained the study of literature for adolescents, including the pioneering contributions of Dora V. Smith starting in the 1930s. Contains 10 references to articles that look back on YA literature and its pioneers; and annotations of 10 new or overlooked YA books worth reading.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Letters to EJ

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  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Editor

  Virginia R. Monseau

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  Keywords: Secondary

• EJ EXTRA: Tuning in to Channel One

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  Keywords: Secondary

• Speaking My Mind: What Will My Legacy Be?

  Sarah Lorenz

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  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Secondary Section: Connections

  Carolyn Ross

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  Keywords: Secondary

• Insights for Interns: The Unraveling of Myths

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  Keywords: Secondary

• FOR FUN: On the Same Page

  Stephen Sniderman

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  Keywords: Secondary

• English in the News

  Bobbi Ciriza Houtchens, Editor

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  Keywords: Secondary

• MIDDLE TALK

  Elizabeth Close and Kathy Ramsey, Co-editors

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  Keywords: Secondary

• POETRY

  William Greenway, Editor

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  Keywords: Secondary

• Professional Links: Seeing and Reseeing English Teaching

  Louann Reid, editor

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  Keywords: Secondary

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