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
Mirage or Memory: How Writing Prompts May Generate False Memories by Daniel Ruefman
“Our Memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more often than is objectively justified to the compulsion to believe what it says.” — Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams Introduction In September 2023, I began a year-long research project intent on examining the impact that personal traumatic experiences (PTEs) have had on … Continue reading Mirage or Memory: How Writing Prompts May Generate False Memories by Daniel Ruefman
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
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)
Cross-Cultural Competence and Caring For: An Autoethnographic Study on Building Teacher-Student Relationships in an Urban High School by André Borka
Introduction At the end of the day on the last day of school, all the teachers line up outside of the exit doors and clap for students as they leave for summer break. It was my first “last day of school” as a teacher. As I stood, clapped, and cheered for the students, one of … Continue reading Cross-Cultural Competence and Caring For: An Autoethnographic Study on Building Teacher-Student Relationships in an Urban High School by André Borka
Reading Worlds and Words: Building and Sustaining Culturally Diverse Learners’ Vocabularies by Terrance Kwame-Ross
Introduction Helping culturally diverse learners become conscious of the power of building, constructing, and sustaining a personal storehouse of words and vocabularies is the end goal of vocabulary teaching and learning in language arts. When learners become comfortable and competent in recognizing and knowing when, where, why, and how words work and understand how to … Continue reading Reading Worlds and Words: Building and Sustaining Culturally Diverse Learners’ Vocabularies by Terrance Kwame-Ross
Help Minnesota Teachers Do Better: Fund Culturally Sensitive Training by Tanya J. Stafsholt Miller
A quote attributed to Maya Angelou reads, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better” (qtd. in Treuer). The Minnesota public education system has made significant strides toward improving the education of Native American students. At different intervals throughout history, attempts have been made to improve the … Continue reading Help Minnesota Teachers Do Better: Fund Culturally Sensitive Training by Tanya J. Stafsholt Miller
Hunger Would Be Creation: Leveraging Diverse Brains by Bryan Boyce
In 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a policy about when to execute people with intellectual disabilities that was crafted on an 80-year-old work of fiction. I’m an English teacher. Our class motto my last year teaching K-12 was “reading and writing are opportunities to decide how we live our lives.” It’s hard … Continue reading Hunger Would Be Creation: Leveraging Diverse Brains by Bryan Boyce
Meeting Students Where They Need: A First-Year Reflection by Kassandra Rood
Don’t finish the book if you hate it. Find something you like. Pencils are on my desk. If you’re tired, rest your eyes. Yes, you can eat food here. All phrases I never thought I would say in my classroom. This is an English class; of course they have to finish every book they start. … Continue reading Meeting Students Where They Need: A First-Year Reflection by Kassandra Rood
Teaching Animal Farm in Central America by Taylore Lenway
In high school, I decided that I wanted to be an English teacher, and I followed that goal to the University of Minnesota Duluth. I cannot speak highly enough of the preparation I received, through word and example, at UMD, and despite the many curveballs thrown by COVID-19, I completed a fairly normal student teaching … Continue reading Teaching Animal Farm in Central America by Taylore Lenway
MEJ 