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Talking about Teaching English language arts teachers talk to each other whenever they can-at conferences, on LISTSERVS, in professional journals, and during breaks between classes. Yet there never seems to be enough time for a conversation just when you need it-late at night, for example, when you're planning how to teach a new novel or wondering how to write a letter of recommendation for a student. Jim Burke has done something about that. Well-known as the moderator of CATENet, a LISTSERV with 2000 subscribers, Burke teaches in San Francisco. He recently received the 1999 National NCTE SLATE Intellectual Freedom Award for his work with the LISTSERV. Not least of all, he has written a book that will have everyone talking.
In a departure from the usual format in this column, we asked a veteran teacher and his student teacher to talk about The English Teacher's Companion and share their conversation with us. We wondered if their perspectives would differ on the book, depending on their teaching experience, and found the results very interesting. Jon Larson, who currently teaches at Longmont High School in Colorado, has taught for twenty-five years and is active in the state NCTE affiliate. Jamie Hayes Neufeld is a graduate student at Colorado State University who student taught with Jon for a semester.
The English Teacher's Companion: A Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession.
Jim Burke. (Foreword by Fran Claggett.) Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heinemann, 1999. 354 pp. $24 paperback. ISBN 0-86709-475-3.
Jim Burke, author of The English Teacher's Companion, invites the reader into a conversation about the profession of teaching English. Similarly, we invite you into our conversation about this book.
Joe: Dog-eared is not the condition of many of my books because I treat them like found treasures. However, sometimes a book gets so much use, so much rereading, so much sharing and referencing that trying to preserve its pristine newness is impossible. Such is Jim Burke's book, and this one has justifiably earned its dog-earedness. The title best describes for me my initial feeling for the book-it's a companion. Even though I've taught for twenty-five years, I find that the book is a virtual encyclopedia of information. The subtitle is A Guide to Classroom, Curriculum, and the Profession,...