It's Important To Lean English For Us Today

By Author: Chris Paul
Total Articles: 24
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When I taught high school, my colleagues in the English department and I would occasionally look with jealousy upon teachers of some other subjects who left school with nothing but a newspaper. We'd lumber out to the parking lot hefting a load of papers to add to the pile already at home, feeling a little guilty about not responding to them faster. I'd heard of a few schools in which the labor of responding to student papers was addressed temporarily with a lower teaching Tag Heuer Replica Watches load for English teachers, but for the most part, this apparent inequity was something we simply accepted as part of the deal.

When I started teaching college, I was surprised to learn that professors of different subjects are usually compensated at different rates. Sometimes the differences in salary can be dramatic. A friend who became assistant professor of business the same year I became assistant professor of English at the same university had a starting salary that was double mine.

Despite what you may have heard, I am not a saint. ...
... I'd be lying if I said I was never bothered by these inequities. But I came to terms with them years ago. You see, while some other teachers may have less work to do or might be paid more for the same amount of work, I have a great advantage over them. I get to teach English.

This issue of English Journal is dedicated to the fact that we are paid to teach the most enjoyable subject matter on the planet. We get to make a living from something that most of us would do on a volunteer basis, if we could afford to. That kind of job satisfaction is rare, and it's something to celebrate.

Everything ever written, spoken, thought, heard, argued, visualized, or communicated in any manner is fair game for English language arts classes. We can bring art, history, sociology, philosophy, science, math, cultural studies, politics, or myriad other fields into our classrooms in ways that are consistent with ELA goals and curricula. Sure, we may have to make arguments for particular literary works, or we may have to resist curricular emphases that are forced on us, or we may have to defend what topics we take up in classes, and of course we must select material that is appropriate for our students, but what is available to us is vast. Even the processes of arguing, resisting, defending, and selecting materials are ELA skills.

As we should, we negotiate our instructional objectives with our administrations, our students, their parents, government agencies, taxpayers, future employers, and more. But the available means for instruction are almost limitless. It's a luxury to have this kind of curricular freedom. There's a joy that comes Omega Replica from reveling in the capacity of English language arts, even if we choose not to take advantage of it as often as we might, or if we occasionally give in to those who seek to limit the boundaries of ELA for their own purposes. This issue reminds us to enjoy English, just for the fun of it!