The current version of the draft National Curriculum (1.0.1) remains a document which dis-integrates the subject through its three strands and fails to conceptualise a relationship between these strands. Drawing on curriculum history, I argue that this stands in strong contrast to a curriculum such as the 1971 NSW Syllabus for Years 7-10, which…

This paper presents a commentary on the Report of the Commission on English published in 1965, "Freedom and Discipline in English." In particular, inconsistencies between the Commission's Recommendation 13, calling for a clearly defined sequence of study from grade to grade, and other statements apparently contradicting this sequential structure…

A study of 178 secondary school teachers in the California was motivated by the passage of the Ryan Act of 1970, which eliminated the high school speech credential and subsumed it under the English umbrella. The result has been that the speech communication subject matter is expected to be integrated into the English courses in the state. The 1987…

The overall plea in maintaining communication English as a subject in New Zealand technical schools is for "communication" to be recognized as separate from "English." The emphasis, then, is on the use of language, not its analysis; and this shift seems to make the course more appealing than regular English study for vocational…

To be effective, elective English must be more than reading new literature and discarding the old. Instead, it should include reading the old and the new, and sharing these experiences through discussion and writing. It should also include looking and listening at films, tapes, and records to analyze what has been seen and heard. Before deciding…

Discusses English coalitions, "Some Plain Truths about Teaching English" (a statement drafted by the Coalition of English Associations), problems of the profession with communications, and ADE history. (EL)

Fear of poor teaching and low national test scores have spawned a back to basics movement and a shift from the use of tests as predictors and models to that of assessment and achievement. This movement may have positive impact on the teaching of English, which previously has not lent itself well to standardized testing. Although many English…

A committee of the National Council of Teachers of English collected data on the elementary composition teaching perspectives observed in literature between 1900 and 1950. The committee's report on two categories of their collected data--position statements and state-of-the art reviews--shows that English teachers have trended from emphasizing…

Instituting a technical writing course for the first time can be difficult. English department members are apt to approach the idea with reluctance and apprehension while those in other departments tend to think of it with idealized ignorance. A public relations effort is necessary; however, such an effort involves information, persuasion, and…

A curriculum development model advanced by Allan A. Glatthorn in "A Guide for Developing an English Curriculum for the Eighties" was field tested in a public high school setting. The model consists of five parts: staff development, curriculum mapping, development of a scope and sequence chart, evaluation and modification of the taught curriculum,…

In tracing the development of language curriculum in public schools, one discovers that prior to the twentieth century grammar was the center of linguistic attention. Around the beginning of the century, psychologists and others were doing research on the supposed efficacious results of such study and were finding that such supposed results were…

The most important factor in the teaching of English is the establishment of a philosophy which serves as a guide for determining course content. At the two-year college level, there is a need to develop English programs and courses which are essential not only to the students but also to the business community in which a majority of the…

J.E.B. Stuart High School moved into the minicourse elective program five years ago from an anthology-survey oriented English curriculum. The students are grouped into two levels, one offering minicourses for eleventh and twelfth graders and the other offering minicourses for ninth and tenth grade students, with some courses open to all of the…

Pressure exerted by parents, college instructors, and politically mandated accountability systems have forced English teachers to reevaluate the effectiveness of secondary school curriculums. The temptation to return to the rote-learning and grammar drills of the past, although accentuated by these demands, should not be yielded to. Real English…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status of literature in contemporary English K-12 curriculum in a national agenda that values skills, outcomes and benchmarking. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part argues that the role of literature in the primary classroom should not be underestimated, and that educators should…