Book Description

This new edition of Teaching Secondary English is thoroughly revised, but its purpose has not changed. Like the popular first edition, it balances content knowledge with methodology, theory with practice, and problem-posing with suggested solutions. The tone and format are inviting, while addressing student-readers on a professional level. Rather than attempting to cover everything, the text provides a framework and materials for teaching a secondary English methods course, while allowing considerable choice for the instructor. The focus is on teaching literature, writing, and language--the basics of the profession. Attention is given to the issues that arise as one seeks to explore what it means to "teach English." The problems and tensions of becoming a teacher are discussed frankly, in a manner that helps students figure out their own attitudes and solutions. Features: * Focuses on a few central concepts in the teaching of secondary English * Provides an anthology of 22 readable and challenging essays on key topics--allowing students to hear a variety of voices and opinions * Includes an applications section for each reading that extends the discussion and asks students to explore problems and grapple with important issues related to the articles * Offers short writing assignments in questions that follow the readings and in brief writing tasks in the applications, and a longer writing assignment at the end of each chapter * Addresses student readers directly without talking down to them New in the Second Edition: * This edition is shorter, tighter, and easier to use. * The opening and concluding chapters more directly address the concerns of new teachers. * The anthology is substantially updated (of the 22 articles included, 14 are new to this edition). * Each essay is preceded by a brief introduction and followed by questions for further thought. * There are fewer applications, but these are more extensive and more fully integrated within the text. * A writing assignment is provided at the end of each chapter. * Interviews with college students--before and after student teaching--are included in Chapters 1 and 6. * The bibliographies at the end of each chapter are fully updated.