ERIC ED434340: Trends and Issues in Postsecondary English Studies. Trends and Issues in English Language Arts, 1999.

268 Pages·1999·2.8 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 434 340
CS 216 893
TITLE
Trends and Issues in Postsecondary English Studies. Trends
and Issues in English Language Arts, 1999.
INSTITUTION
National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL.
ISBN-0-8141-5504-9
ISBN
PUB DATE
1999-00-00
NOTE
267p.; For 1998's Trends and Issues, see ED 416 489.
AVAILABLE FROM
National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon
Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: [phone] (Toll Free).
PUB TYPE
Collected Works - General (020)
EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS
Diversity (Faculty); Diversity (Student); *English
Curriculum; *English Instruction; *Ethics; Higher Education;
*Service Learning; Social Change; *Writing Instruction
IDENTIFIERS
African Americans; *Educational Issues; Historical
Background
ABSTRACT
This publication contains journal essays and book chapters
from publications of the National Council of Teachers of English. The
publication's first section, "Diverse Students, Diverse Teachers," contains
the following articles:
"Dispositions toward Language: Teacher Constructs
(1)
of Knowledge and the Ann Arbor Black English Case" (Arnetha Ball and Ted
"Safe Houses in the Contact Zone: Coping Strategies of
Lardner);
(2)
African-American Students in the Academy" (A. Suresh Canagarajah);
"A
(3)
Good Gang: Thinking Small with Preservice Teachers in a Chicago Barrio° (Todd
"On (Almost) Passing" (Brenda Jo Brueggemann). Articles
DeStigter); and (4)
in the second section, "Ethics in Teaching, Research, and Publishing," are:
"Ethical Issues Raised by Students' Personal Writing" (Dan Morgan);
(5)
(6)
"Simple Gifts: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Person-Based Composition
Research" (Paul V. Anderson);
"The Ethics of Teaching Literature" (Wayne
(7)
C. Booth); and (8)
"Going Public" (Peter Mortensen). Articles in the third
section, "Service Learning and Social Change," are:
"Service Learning and
(9)
English Studies: Rethinking 'Public' Service" (Aaron Schutz and Anne Ruggles
(10) "Service Learning and First-Year Composition" (Brock Haussamen);
Gere);
(11) "The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change" (Ellen Cushman); and (12)
"'A Real Vexation': Student Writing in Mount Holyoke's Culture of Service,
1837-1865" (JoAnn Campbell).
(NKA)
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IN POSTSECONDARY ENGLISH STUDIES
TRENDS AND ISSUES
IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
1999 EDITION
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH
1111 W KENYON ROAD, URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801-1096
3
Staff Editor: Kurt Austin
Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design; Carlton Bruett
Cover Design: Carlton Bruett
NCTE Stock Number: 55049-3050
©1999 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to
provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the
content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity
accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by
the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at
large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is
clearly specified.
TRENDS
AND ISSUES IN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Keeping track of the myriad issues in education
can be a daunting task for
those educators already stretched to get thirty hours into
a twenty-four hour
day. In an effort to inform and support English educators, the National
Council of Teachers of English annually offers this volume featuring
current
trends and issues deemed vital to the professional conversation by
our
membership at large. Whether specialists
or generalists, teachers know that
no single "trend" or "issue" could touch the interest and concerns of all
members of NCTE; with these booksone for each section of the Council:
Elementary, Secondary, Collegewe aim to chronicle developments
in the
teaching and learning of English language arts.
The wealth of NCTE publications from which
to draw the materials for
Trends and Issues proves a double-edged sword. Publishing thirteen journals
(bimonthly and quarterly) and twenty to twenty-five books annually provides
ample content, yet what to include and what not? Of
course, timeliness and
pertinence to the issues of the day help shape the book, and,
more
important, we aim to meet our primary goal: Is this valuable to
our
members? This edition of Trends and Issues,
we believe, offers readers a seat
at the table, a chance to join the discussion. At the college level the trends
and issues cited for this year
are "Diverse Students, Diverse Teachers,"
"Ethics in Teaching, Research, and Publishing," and "Service
Learning and
Social Change." At the K-12 levels members cited "Multimedia in the
Classroom," "Second Language Learners," and "How Politics Have Shaped
Our Thinking and Our Classrooms" as those topics of current relevance
to
them as English language arts professionals.
We hope that you'll find this collection a valuable
resource to be returned
to often, one that facilitates professional development and reminds
us that
we all have a stake in the language arts profession.
NCTE invites you to send us those trends and issues in the English
language arts that you feel
are the most relevant to your teaching. Send your
comments to our Web site at www.ncte.org (click on "Trends and Issues")
or
e-mail directly to John Kelley at [email protected].
Faith Schullstrom
Executive Director
iii
CONTENTS
I. DIVERSE STUDENTS, DIVERSE TEACHERS
1. Dispositions toward Language: Teacher Constructs of Knowledge
and the Ann Arbor Black English Case
3
Arnetha Ball and Ted Lardner
2. Safe Houses in the Contact Zone: Coping Strategies
of African-American Students in the Academy
23
A. Suresh Canagarajah
3. A Good Gang: Thinking Small with Preservice Teachers
in a Chicago Barrio
50
Todd DeStigter
4. On (Almost) Passing
75
Brenda Jo Brueggemann
II. ETHICS IN TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND PUBLISHING
5. Ethical Issues Raised by Students' Personal Writing
93
Dan Morgan
6. Simple Gifts: Ethical Issues in the Conduct of Person-Based
Composition Research
102
Paul V. Anderson
7. The Ethics of Teaching Literature
132
Wayne C. Booth
8. Going Public
149
Peter Mortensen
6
vi
III. SERVICE LEARNING AND SOCIAL CHANGE
9. Service Learning and English Studies: Rethinking "Public" Service
179
Aaron Schutz and Anne Ruggles Gere
10. Service Learning and First-Year Composition
202
Brock Haussamen
11. The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change
211
Ellen Cushman
12. "A Real Vexation": Student Writing in Mount Holyoke's
Culture of Service, 1837-1865
234
Jo Ann Campbell
7
I DIVERSE STUDENTS,
DIVERSE TEACHERS
Diversity has become a central theme in English Studies. Teachers and
scholars alike have asked, "How do we teach a culturally, ethnically, and
linguistically diverse student body? How do we represent and honor
diversity in the curriculum and the classroom? How do we create and
support a more diverse faculty in colleges and universities?" These questions
are taken up in the essays in this section. In an article which won the 1998
Richard Braddock award, Arnetha Ball and Ted Lardner trace the
implications of the 1975 "Ann Arbor Black English Case" in light of current
debates about Ebonics. Ball and Lardner explore not only the legal
ramifications of this case for educators, but also its pedagogical implications.
They argue that the "Ann Arbor case suggests that the key to effective uses of
language diversity in the classroom relates fundamentally to teachers'
dispositions toward literacythat is, depends upon teachers' affective stance
toward themselves, their work environment, and especially their culturally
diverse students." Ball and Lardner urge educators to pay closer attention to
"teacher efficacy"teachers' disposition, attitude, and expectations of
students' knowledge and performance.
Building on the notion of "teacher constructs of knowledge,"
A. Suresh Canagarajah discusses "coping strategies of African American
students." He illustrates how students from marginalized groups, in this case
African American students, create "safe houses" in the academic
environmentcultural or social places where they can safely use their home
language and critique academic culture. Canagarajah provides examples
from the classroom and from an electronic discussion, suggesting that "safe
houses" are not only an important aspects of students' adjustment to a new
environment, but can also serve as a pedagogical tool, illustrating such
concepts as "cultures and counter-cultures" and the use of different
rhetorical strategies.
In "A Good Gang: Thinking Small with Preservice Teachers in a
Chicago Barrio," Todd DeStigter takes us into the heart of a Latino Youth
Alternative High School in Chicago. He introduces us to the students who
have enrolled in this small alternative school, pursuing what is often their last
1
2
chance to complete a high school diploma. DeStigter introduces
us to the
teachers who work one-on-one with many of these students and details the
benefits of including small school environments in teacher-training
programs. Such environments bring teachers and students into close
proximity, connect "caring and democracy," and challenge new teachers to
see themselves as lifelong learners (although they can have, at times,
unsettling effectsas in the case of the student who rejects the teacher by
saying "I don't like white people; white people distract me"). In DeStigter's
words, "for preservice teachers to participate in the relationships made
possible by small schools and to understand negotiating these relationships
as part of their never-ending process of 'becoming' as teachers is an essential
part of any broader effort of school 'reform' worthy of the name."
Diversity plays a key role not only in the student body, but also
among faculty members. In "On (Almost) Passing" we are introduced to a
hearing-impaired professor who travels between the worlds of Deaf culture
and Hearing culture. In a very personal and lively essay, Brenda
Brueggemann narrates her experience as a "hard-of-hearing" student and
teacher who only recently has decided to "come out" as a deaf
person
(having passed quite successfully in the hearing world for most of her life).
She describes the research she conducted for her dissertation at Gallaudet
Universitythe world's only liberal arts university for deaf and hard-of-
hearing studentsand her personal journey (and conflicts) that
accompanied the research process and the "coming out" process, including
her changing relations with students, colleagues, her husband and children.
1
Dispositions toward Language:
Teacher Constructs of Knowledge and
the Ann Arbor Black English Case
Arnetha Ball and Ted Lardner
So here's our hypothesis: what students learn about writing depends
. ..
more than anything else on the context in which they write.
And
if the linguists are right that the social context is the driving force
behind literacy acquisition, then the social context of your English/
language-arts classroom is the most powerful and important variable
you can experiment with. More important than what textbook or
speller or dictionary to use; more important than what kinds of
assignments to give; more important than how to set up cumulative
writing folders; more important than the criteria by which
you assign
kids to peer response groups; more important than "teaching Graves"
versus teaching Calkins or Hillocks. More important than anything.
Steven Zemelman and Harvey Daniels (50-51)
Because composition has been organized as a field in terms of the
classroom, the production, transmission, and assimilation of teacher
knowledge continues to be a significant theoretical and practical
concern.
As John Schilb has recently pointed out, though many writing instructors
attempt to separate pedagogy from theory, the "field identifies itself with
pedagogy" (Between 30). In developing its discussion of pedagogical theory
(as distinct from rhetorical theory), scholarship in composition studies has
Reprinted from College Composition and Communication, December 1997.
10