English Journal 1912-2012

Question: What have we learned from 100 years of teaching English as reflected in the articles in English Journal?

Quote: “To look back to the early contributors to is, in many ways, to look into a mirror. Sometimes we like to think that our ideas are novel, that there is something inherently superior in this exact moment, but when we gaze back into the past, we are reminded that in our own voices linger echoes of those early NCTE teachers facing many of the same challenges we face today. Indeed, Shakespeare was right when he said, ‘what’s past is prologue.’ ” p. 65.

Comment: A generalization that is only half true. The topics of articles might be similar, but the ideas dealing with them are also different. And the perspective is different. Still, I have learned much from past ideas published in the English Journal and other publications. RayS.

Title: “ ‘What’s Past Is Prologue’: English Journal Roots of a Performance-Based Approach to Teaching Shakespeare.” J Haughey. English Journal (January 2012), 60-65.