English Journal - Volume 95, Issue 2, 2005

Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.

“Snapshots” offers insights about teaching and learning through teacher stories about a particular classroom event.

“Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

“Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

Leilani Barnett Kesner describes how she has made international travel a part of her continuing development as a teacher. By applying for funding and organizing group travel with students, she has made her lifelong dream an important influence in her classroom.

Leaving her classroom to become a district resource teacher allowed Donna W. Hanak to experience a professional learning community. Inspired by the experience and her research into the processes of teaching and learning, she returned to teaching, able to create “authentic learning relationships” with students.

Over the years, high school teacher Steven T. Bickmore has attended numerous seminars and institutes sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, focusing on such subjects as history, philosophy, comparative literature, and art. He explains their impact on lessons in his English classroom as well as their importance in helping to build community within the profession.

For Rebecca Bowers Sipe and Tracy Rosewarne, collaboration proved to be the key to effective professional development. Working together on evaluating the effectiveness of a writing workshop in the high school classroom helped them achieve insights about their beliefs and

By awakening her creative life, Melissa McClain was able to help students do the same. Based on the experience of bringing her singing and guitar playing into the classroom, she concludes that “the most effective form of professional development begins with the self.”

Relying on research and case studies focusing on the stated needs of new teachers, Thomas M. McCann and Larry R. Johannessen describe a variety of ways that experienced teachers can proactively help newcomers in their schools.

Using the metaphor of recycling along a continuum, teacher-researcher Cindy O’Donnell-Allen describes how teachers adapt the ideas of their colleagues with varying degrees of change based on their different contexts.

The authors have made digital portfolios and blogging the centerpieces of their teacher-research group as ways to share their research and get input from their peers. The group discusses the many benefits this collaborative project has offered their teaching.

Helen M. Duffy describes the High School Puente Project, an innovative program designed to assist traditionally underserved students. Building on community and the idea of familia, Puente features a strong component of professional development for teachers as well as structural changes in schools.

For Joseph M. Shosh and Charlotte Rappe Zales and their teacher inquiry support group, sharing their classroom experiences and discussing relevant research has led them all to take risks in their instruction, leading to meaningful and productive change in their classrooms.

By focusing on specific strategies that they could apply to different stages of the writing process, Deborah Dean helped students acquire control over their writing in varying contexts.

Reviving a concept from classical rhetoric, Kate Kessler shows how delivery is the key to authentic writing. Her students become engaged with the writing process, knowing their letters and proposals will be read by real audiences, and are further encouraged by seeing the positive results of their well-presented ideas.

“Research Matters” provides teachers with review and application of research that illuminates the daily concerns and activities of English language arts teachers and classrooms.

“New Voices” raises questions, offers insights, and provides a forum for novice teachers to engage in the professional conversation surrounding the teaching of English.

“Teaching English in the World” examines the teaching of English in a global context.

“English in the City” focuses on the particular challenges, choices, and celebrations relevant to teaching in an urban setting.

“Stepping into the Classroom” shares innovative lesson ideas grounded in current literature or action research.

“Personal Reading” contains reviews of fiction and nonfiction books, with a special interest in multicultural works.

“Bold Books for Teenagers” provides dynamic, informative viewpoints on important issues in publishing and teaching contemporary literature, especially literature for adolescents. Reviews of young adult literature also appear in this column.

“Poetry” features poems by teachers and professional poets.