Language Arts, Vol. 82, No. 1, September 2004

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Literacy and Democracy

• Thoughts from the Editors

  Kathy G. Short, Jean Schroeder, Gloria Kauffman and Sandy Kaser

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Democracy in the Balance

  Carole Edelsky

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  Abstract: Discussions of democracy in education tend to focus, not surprisingly, on education. To right the balance a bit, this article focuses on democracy, specifically focusing on historical reactions to the concept, a description of two types of democracy as they appear in U.S. contexts, a brief discussion of the contradictions and tensions built into the very core of democracy, evidence for corruption of democracy, and connections between this discussion and the concerns of educators.

  Keywords: Elementary

• The Practice of Democracy and Dewey's Challenge

  Patrick Shannon

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  Abstract: The struggle over corporate hog farms in Pennsylvania offers three lessons for educators who worry about heavily-funded, scientifically authorized, and government sanctioned corporate insurgence into public schools: 1) the need to question science and the market as the determining factors in decisions about our lives; 2) the importance of investigating connections between science and the market which undermine the objective authority of either; and 3) the necessity for developing a deeper freedom than the ability to choose among the options that others present.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Using Picture Books to Teach for Democracy

  Steven Wolk

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• From Answers to Questions: A Beginning Teacher Learns to Teach for Social Justice

  James Damico and Ruthie L. Riddle

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  Abstract: A novice teacher educator and a novice teacher describe their evolving understandings of teaching children's literature with a social justice perspective. These understandings are based on an analysis of their curriculum planning and whole class literature discussions across two school years with third graders and fifth graders. The authors chart this evolution as moving from "answers to questions." They describe a shift from thinking about children's response to literature as seeking solutions to thinking about response as cultivating questions and inquiry topics.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Theory in Practice: The Legacy of Louise Rosenblatt

  Heidi Mills and Diane Stephens with Timothy O'Keefe and Julie Riley Waugh

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  Abstract: The authors reflect upon and celebrate the significant contributions Louise Rosenblatt has made to our vision of theoretically sound literacy instruction and democratic practices. They delineate the theoretical lineage of our field and the ways in which Rosenblatt's thinking has transformed teaching and research over the past 60 years. Finally, they feature vignettes from two elementary teachers whose practices stand firmly on the shoulders of this giant in our field.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Making Politics Primary: Exploring Critical Curriculum with Young Children

  Terry J. Burns

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  Abstract: Using a framework grounded in critical theory, the author describes how her first-grade students developed their literacy abilities while talking and writing about the 2000 presidential election. She discusses the children’s ways of participating in the voting process, including expanding their awareness of candidates, the candidates’ views, and the election processes and expanding their connections with election processes. The author describes how her students’ participation in the presidential election connected with learning and decision-making experiences about issues of social justice and approaches for taking action.

  Keywords: Elementary

• SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: Democracy and Schooling

  Jesse H. Goodman

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• READING CORNER FOR EDUCATORS: Literacy Education for Democracy in Trying Times

  Zhihui Fang, Danling Fu, Linda Leonard Lamme, Suzanne Coatoam, and Samantha Bowers Welte

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  Keywords: Elementary

• READING CORNER FOR CHILDREN: Democracy as Using Your Voice

  Lester L. Laminack and Barbara H. Bell

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• PROFILE: Alma Flor Ada and the Quest for Change

  Anthony L. Manna, Janet Hill, and Kathy Kellogg

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

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