English Language Arts

Julie Gorlewski is associate professor and chair of the Department of Learning and Instruction at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. A former English teacher and editor of English Journal, she has published nine books and numerous articles and book chapters.

‘Here for the first time is the perfect primer on teaching English language arts from the perspective of critical theory. Written in a highly accessible style, Professor Gorlewski’s English Language Arts: A Critical Introduction offers classroom teachers, teacher educators, and teacher candidates concise definitions, lively examples, and thorough explanations of key concepts relevant to the ELA classroom. Anyone studying or teaching literacy, English language arts, curriculum, or educational foundations, would certainly benefit from Gorlewski’s beautiful presentation of how we can understand the complicated conversation that unfolds in and shapes today’s ELA classrooms and the social forces affecting those classrooms.’—Peter Taubman is Professor of English Education in the Department of Secondary Education at Brooklyn College. He is the author of Teaching by Numbers: Deconstructing the Discourse of Standards and Accountability in Education, and Disavowed Knowledge: Psychoanalysis, Teaching and Education.‘Julie Gorlewski offers a smart and up-to-date overview of critical theoretical perspectives on the teaching of secondary English and on teaching in general. Provocative and yet practical, this well-researched work will promote inquiry among teachers and all those interested in improving American public education. The chapters are concentrated and direct, followed by useful extension questions for discussion, and the glossary is invaluable, making this book a primer with real benefits.’—Leila Christenbury is a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English and the author of Making the Journey, now in its fourth edition.‘It’s rare that one writes a book that can hold together both the depth and breadth of an entire field. English Language Arts: A Critical Introduction is such a book. It not only translates terms—the countless theories and studies that so constitute the field—it does so in a way that converses with practitioners the essential meanings of those terms as fundamental to the ever-changing landscapes of language and literacy education. Some books are written through the force of necessity. Others come to us out of the passions of love. This book binds both prospects behind covers of wisdom necessary for the sustenance and elevation of the teaching and learning of English.’ —David E. Kirkland, Associate Professor of English and Urban Education at New York University, and Executive Director of the NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools

• Introduction 1. What Does It Mean to Teach English Language Arts? 2. Who Are Learners and Teachers, Really? 3. Curriculum in English Classrooms: Who Should decide? 4. How Can We Teach Texts in Context? 5. Being and Becoming Writers: Who Can Be an Author? 6. The Politics of Teaching: Are Teachers Agents of the State or Agents of Change? Appendix A. Using the EXPAND Framework to Foster Critical Reflection Appendix B. Glossary of Key Terms Index