Acts 2 & 3 Today in my overheated classrooma fight broke outbetween two girls.We were reading Romeo & Juliet—the balcony scene,which doesn’t actually take placeon a balcony: if you’re just reading the play, not watching it, the only stage direction given is Romeo sees lightcoming from an upper windowand, moments later, Juliet appears at the window.But then again … Continue reading Two Poems by Patrick Hueller
Teaching in the Age of AI by Jon Fila
First, some context: I’ve been an English teacher for over two decades. For about ten years, I’ve taught English online in an asynchronous setting. I’ve only taught in a traditional setting for one semester in my career and quickly gravitated towards student populations who struggle. I find myself always seeking out whatever challenging area in … Continue reading Teaching in the Age of AI by Jon Fila
Sitting in Community: A Circle of Secondary ELA Teachers by Alison Criss and Abigail Rombalski
Thank you to the attending circle for sitting in community with us last spring. Thanks to MCTE for the welcome and thanks to Burke and Lee for the invitation to write. Special gratitude to Ricardo Levins Morales https://www.rlmartstudio.com/ for how your movement ideas and art hold us up and push us together in thoughtful ways. … Continue reading Sitting in Community: A Circle of Secondary ELA Teachers by Alison Criss and Abigail Rombalski
Shared Context, Divergent Approaches: Examining Two Minnesota Teachers’ Beliefs and Instructional Decisions in Teaching Middle School ELA by Anna McNulty Taylor
As any English Language Arts (ELA) teacher could tell you, teaching our subject is challenging. ELA teachers are called on to equip their students with the diverse literacy skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world. For ELA teachers this often means weaving together the teaching of literature, non-fiction reading, poetry, plays, memoirs, diverse … Continue reading Shared Context, Divergent Approaches: Examining Two Minnesota Teachers’ Beliefs and Instructional Decisions in Teaching Middle School ELA by Anna McNulty Taylor
Surveying the Landscape: Minnesota’s English Language Arts Teachers’ Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom by Danielle Kubasko Sullivan and Lisa L. Ortmann
In the fall of 2023, when the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English (MCTE) board met to set priorities for the upcoming academic year, Pen America had released a report, Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students’ First Amendment Rights, which detailed its first comprehensive count of banned books. … Continue reading Surveying the Landscape: Minnesota’s English Language Arts Teachers’ Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom by Danielle Kubasko Sullivan and Lisa L. Ortmann
“It Meant the World to Me!” PSTs Find Inspiration Through MCTE Annual Conference by Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez
Introduction “What would you all think about attending the Minnesota Council’s conference with me in May?” “What does that mean?” “What are we doing?” “Can you tell us more about it?” “How would that work?” “Yeah, can you tell us more about it?” “Of course!” And so, during our Methods of Teaching Reading course one … Continue reading “It Meant the World to Me!” PSTs Find Inspiration Through MCTE Annual Conference by Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez
Empowering Voices: Effective Literacy Strategies for Black Boys in K-12 by Keenan Jones
In May of 2005, I set out on a mission to present at the MCTE Conference Duluth, Minnesota, in hopes of providing educators with strategies to empower young Black boys. As a 15 year educator, I have witnessed too many young, intelligent minds fall victim to illiteracy. Alfred Tatum, a leading scholar in Black male … Continue reading Empowering Voices: Effective Literacy Strategies for Black Boys in K-12 by Keenan Jones
Building A Reading Culture: A Labor of Love and a Shared Passion for All Things Literacy by Katie Laugen and Kelsey Didrikson
Last spring, we presented Building a Reading Culture at the MCTE annual conference because we wanted to share our passion for fostering a love of reading with our students and because we felt like we had a few tips, tricks, and ideas that might come in handy for other teachers. However, we learned just as … Continue reading Building A Reading Culture: A Labor of Love and a Shared Passion for All Things Literacy by Katie Laugen and Kelsey Didrikson
NW Elysium by John Leppik (Introduced by Kathryn Van Wert)
The final assignment for my upper-division modern British literature course (taught at the University of Minnesota Duluth in Fall 2023) was to ask a question about a text from our syllabus and answer it in a format and medium of the student’s choosing. Beginning with Zadie Smith’s 2012 novel NW, John Leppik asked the question: … Continue reading NW Elysium by John Leppik (Introduced by Kathryn Van Wert)
A Short Introduction to Climate Literacy by Marek Oziewicz and Emma Ambrosi (Introduced by Emma Ambrosi)
A Short Introduction to Climate Literacy is an informational zine produced by the Center for Climate Literacy at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, with text by Dr. Marek Oziewicz and illustrations by Emma Ambrosi. The initial idea for this zine was to provide a brief and accessible way for the general public to learn … Continue reading A Short Introduction to Climate Literacy by Marek Oziewicz and Emma Ambrosi (Introduced by Emma Ambrosi)
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