DOCUMENT RESUME ED 117 739 CS 202.4 1TrifOx onelson, TITLE Back-to-theBasics in English Teaching INsTITUTION Ativ5na-English Teachers Association, Tempe. PUB DATE Feb 76 NOTE 157p.; Occasional light print JOURNAL CIT Arizona English Bulletin; v18 n2 p1-152 February 1976 (Entire Issue) EDRS PRICE ME-$(1.83 HC-$8.69 Plus Postage DESCRIPTORS *Basic Skills; Composition (Literary); *English Instruction; Higher Education; Humanities; *Language Arts; Peading; Secondary*Education ABSTRACT In this issue, the writers focus on the "basics" in English teaching, some offering suggestions on ways of altering present conditions, some commenting generally (in assessments, defenses, or attacks) cn the basics, and some presenting specific discussions of basics in teaching the various language arts components. A few of the articales and authors are: "ISCISApl Spelled Backwards Is 'Basic'!" by Allan Dittmer, "The Emerging of New ',Basic Fundamentals' of English Media" by Nancy Cromer, "He. Who Can Does--He Who Cannot Tests" by Jo§eph Mersano, "Relevance Is Out, Classics Are "If" by Florence Miller, "The Indifferent Bell: A Short Diatribe Against Teaching the Basics" by G. Lynn Nelson, "Writing, Prisons, and the English Teacher" by Richard Koch, "The Little tar That Could"' ----, by Stephen Dunning, "Basic Backwardness" by Charles Wengartner, and 1 "Hudanities--Basic to Totals Education" by Martha P. Brincklow. (JM) ***** **************************************************************** 'Do uments acquired by EPIC include many informal unpublished *. * materials of available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items oe marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions EPIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Peproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** rye LreP.WruE AteCri, HEALTH E L_1,,4TION a. WELFARE t44..tiON4L at..P.TatojtrEaR ELILIC.riON . fr, eEEN E M1:04.0M11, M1,7 1 :M1. IT Itjtt, 1:4,11M1M1..1ti u.t tFtM1 ItM1,:tr tt It... M1:0 kM1 M1:IP II r411,:tr1, ap. ti HACK -O-THE-BAS)CSIN ENGLISH TEACHING Volume - Number 2 February 1976- ci( 0 qC E N G LI S H IIIA, n ARIZONA ENGLISH BULLETIN \ A Member of the NCTE Exchange Agreement The ARIZOAA ENGLISH BULLETIN is a publication of the Arizona Englisla...shers .rhea English. he ARIZONA ENGLISH BULLETIN exists to create effective statewide artic- ula-t-ion-af-Eng-li-sh-teaLhers at. all levets-to-increase-awarenebs of -new i programs, and movements in English, and to improve instruction at every level. The ARIZONA ENGLISH BULLETIN is published three years each year, in October, Feb- ruary, at!!! April. It is supported and subsidized by the Arizona English Teachers Association, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, and Arizona State University. Membership in the Arizona English Teachers Association (including subscription to the ARIZONA ENGLISH BULLETIN) is $5.50 the year (a three-year mem- bership is available for $15.00). Send application for membership to James Reith, AETA Treasurer Scottsdale Education Center 3811 N. 44th St. Phoenix, AZ 85018 Make checks payable to AETA, and include both school and home addresses (making clear to which address the BULLETIN is to be sent). Please include zip codes for both addresses. Subscriptions for the ARIZONA ENGLISH BULLETIN alone are $5;50 for the three issues within the state of Arizona. Subscriptions for addresses outside the state are $100 for the threejssues. Check for the prices of back issues with the editor since the costs vary considerably from issue to Lire. Many of our back issues are now availa- ble from NCTE. Check their yearly catalogue of resources for exact costs. A copy of NCTE's catalogue can be had by-writing NCTE, 1111 Kenyon Road, prbaw, Ill. 61801. For subscriptions for, the BULLETIN alone, please write Ken.Donelson, Editor, AEB English Department Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85281 Subjects_for the 19754976 issues: October (Non-Print Media and the English Class); February (The Back to 'the Basics issue); and April (Adolescent Literature Revisited). 4,4 ARIZONA ENGLISHBULLETIN FEBRUARY-I976 BACK-TO-THEBASIC'S-1NENOLISH-TEACHIN -001ZVEgTS SCISAB Spelled Backwards is BASICS: Allan Dittmer, University of Nebraska 1 1 Of Revelance (siC)-And'the Basics Bertrand Evans, Brookings, Oregon 9 The Indtfferent Bell: A Short Diatribe Against Teaching the Basics G. Lynn Nelson, Arizona State University 13 A-Forward Urging: Diagnosis and Prescription in Basic S14118 Classes Janet N. Freemke, Glendale Educational Management System 16 Getting Back to the Basics in Composition Milk J. D'AUgelo, Arizona State University 19 The Emerging of New "Basic Fundamentals" of English: Media Nancy Croiper, University of South Carolina 24 Forging Ahead to the Basics Joseph F. Brunner, Montclair State College, New Jersey 28 Back to What Base? Charles E. Davis, University of Arizona 32 Ronald Reagan9s Rigorous Drills and the Swinging '6Q's English Electives . Beverly Haley, Fort Morgan High School, Fort Morgan, Colorado 35 "Let's Reviewptir Deductions Rather Than Race to-Retreat and Erase All Choice" Bette Bacon, Westwood High School, Mesa 38 "The Basics" in English Grammar Ronald R. Butters, Duke University 42 Basics: A Re-definition Lee Odell, State University of New York at Buffalo 45 Humanities--Basic to Total Education Martha P. Brincklow, Dunedin High School, Dunedin, Florida 52 He Who Cain Does--He Who Cannot Tests Joseph Mersand, York College of City University of New York 56 Back to the Basics--Teacher Authority and Responsibility Leo Croteau, Sahuaro High School, Tucson 64 Relevance Is Out, Classics Are In Florence Miller 66 The New Natural Environment Jim L. Cromer, University of South Carolina 68 A Laboratory Approach to Teaching "The Basics'f in College Composition Courses Alma A. Ilacqua, LeMoyne College, Syracuse, New York 78 The Short, Unhappy. Life of Career Education Johu Simmons, Florida State University 82 Back to the Basics with Poetry Sallee Clements, Arizona State University 87 Yellowed Road Maps and Rearview Mirrors: A Means of Approaching the Basics R. Baird Shuman, Duke University 0 94 Monitoring Language Development: Evaluation and "le Basics" Bryant Fillion, OISE, Toronto, Ontario, Cana a 97 Writing, Prisons, and the English Teacher Richard Koch, University of Iowa 104 English Education: Forging a New Humanism George H. Henry, University of Delaware 112 4 1 The Little Car That Could Stephen Dunning, UniVersity of Michigan 123 Back to the Basics? Some Persistent Questions, Some OldAnswers 126 --The Back to the Basics Issue and Film Study , Pat-Stewart, Miami High School, Miami, Arizona. .. _132 erward-t-0-4-Balance in the BinTici Thomas R. Gib lin, University_ of ColoradoColorado_Springa,-- 135 Forward- to the Basics (And Away from Pseudobasics) Collett B. Dilworth, Fayetteville City Schools,North Carolina 137 Basic Backwardness Charles Weingartner, University of South Florida 139 Non-Verbal Communication Skills Survey/Analysis Carroll G. Anderson, Williams Air Force Base 145 Shoptalk 8, 15, 23, 27, 31, 34, 37, 55, 63, 65, 77,81, 93,96,103,111, 122, 125, 131, 134, 138, 144, 152 At Preface to the Issue BACK-TO-THE-BASICS IN ENGLISH TEACHING 4*/ Earlierissues of the BULLETIN have touchedon various "basics" in various areas of English teaching, but this issue is devotedto that much-praised, much-maligned, much-used, much-misused, much-misunderstoodterm, "basics." While English teachers may have grown tired of words like "relevance," "viable,""meaningful," "thrust," And other assorted linguistic garbage,no word has been used so widely it the last few years to describe the lamentable state of Americaneducation and English teachingas that word "basics," usually in clauseSlike"We need to return to the basics"or "The basics are essential- to any education worthythe name" or "Why aren't the schools teaching the basics?"Any English teacher who reads thenewspaper could find head- lines in papers as different, as ARIZONA REPUBtIC, PHOENIX.GAZETTE,,NY TIMES, LC6AN- GELES TIMES, CHICAGO TRIBUNE,or DENVER POST, headlines like "Student Writing is Sink- ing," "It's High Time to Hold SchoolsAccountable," "Schools Fail the Test," "School Reform," "Teacher Hails Return of Basics,""20 Per Cent in U.S. May Be Functionally Incompetent," "Call Back Teachers of Latin andGreek," "When Education Was Indeed Basic, It Turned Out Some Good Products," "HighSchool Teachers Up Against It After Students Miss Fundamentals," "Scottsdale School Official Proposes Returnto Basics," "Bad English Simply Fault of Ill-EquippedTeachers," "Shape Up, Teachers!" "Schpol Reform Has Priority," "Liberals DefendOpen Classes Against Back -to- the- Basics Forces," "Progressives Have Failed," and "CollegeEntrance Test Scores Drop Sharply," allln- tended to drive homeone simple (or simplistic) point--that schoolsare hot whit they used to be, that schools are failing where they once admirably succeeded. 'Thescream- ing NEWSWEEK article "Why Johnny Can' Write" (Dec. 18, 19t5,pp. 58-62, 65) makes some valid points, but it is not mucmore than an up-dating of the first article in the first issue-Of the first year o NGLISH JOURNAL.. Edwin M. Hopkinsanswers his own question-title, "Can GoodComposition Teaching Be Done UnderPresent