This post is by member Tara Star Johnson.聽
As editor of English Education, I have the responsibility and pleasure of guiding manuscripts from initial submission to publication, which typically takes a couple rounds of external review before the nit-picking process of perfecting pieces begins. Because perfection is ever elusive, I call 鈥済ood enough鈥� somewhere in the red zone of deadlines and push the fledgling pieces out of the editorial nest.聽 Fortunately, I am able to trust that the awesome, uber-competent production staff at 起点传媒will catch any errors we may have missed.
I get pretty attached to my babies (and their authors) during the process, and I become parent-proud of their culmination in print. The October 2017 issue is no exception. I co-wrote the with Indiana high school student Samarth Sheth after a chance encounter with his award-winning essay. Let me just say here that I hate writing, which makes me a bit of a masochist in choosing a profession that requires it. But there鈥檚 nothing quite like the satisfaction of completing something that鈥檚 good enough, and I think this piece is signature me in its integration of the personal and professional.
Then there is Andrew Rejan鈥檚 (pronounced, as he clarified upon my inquiry, 鈥淩e鈥攁s in 鈥榬e-imagine,鈥欌�擩an鈥攁s in 鈥楯anuary鈥欌��) 鈥�.鈥� Part of the pleasure of editing is learning something new, and this piece definitely scratched that itch for me. New Critical haters should read it; at the very least it will give them a better understanding of the intersecting histories of reader response and New Critical theories, if not challenge their assumptions about the perspectives鈥� polarity.
Next is Jessica Whitelaw鈥檚 鈥溾�� with new school a research participant鈥檚 play off the notion of 鈥渙ld school鈥� pedagogical practices. Aesthetes looking to support the incorporation of the arts in English classes as well as schools writ large will find fodder for their efforts in this piece.
Sometimes I can squeeze in a third conventional article without going over page limits for the volume:聽 enter Amanda Hayes鈥檚 鈥�.鈥� This essay elevates Appalachian literacy practices and鈥攎uch like Andrew鈥檚 piece鈥攗ncovers history that might be surprising to readers. I especially like how Amanda shares glimpses of her personal experiences that reveal her subject position without coming across as navel gazing.
Amber Moore鈥檚 Provocateur Piece, 鈥�,鈥� closes the issue. Readers familiar with my early-career work on sexual dynamics in the classroom might guess that I was excited to work with this piece. Even though Amber teaches in an implausible-for-most-US-schools setting that actually supports teaching sex ed within the context of English classes, I think readers will be intrigued by the possibilities and sympathetic to the challenges even if they鈥檙e limited in their ability to engage with them.
If you do have a chance to read any of the pieces, I would really appreciate some feedback鈥攁s would the authors, too, I鈥檓 sure. I would love to know if they generated any reflection or dialogue, or, by the same token, if I鈥檓 off the mark in thinking these are pieces readers will enjoy. Please leave a comment or email the editorial team at EngEd@ncte.org.
Tara Star Johnson, editor of English Education, 聽is an associate professor of English education at Purdue University.