California English Journal

With a firm commitment to equity, CATE (California Association of Teachers of English), a non-profit organization and NCTE affiliate, amplifies voices of literacy teachers across the state, promoting communication, collaboration, and ongoing professional learning; and advocates for educational justice and agency for all California students. 

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California English Journal — February 2025

Theme: Challenged and Challenging Texts and Teaching

Artist of this issue: SUSAN OSBORN

California English February 2025: The quarterly journal of the California Association of Teachers of English. Challenged and Challenging Texts and Teaching. Volume 30, No. 3.

Contents

JIM BURKE
THE CHALLENGE OF TEACHING CHALLENGING TEXTS IN CHALLENGING TIMES

CARRIE SANTO-THOMAS
THE ATLANTIC DID ME DIRTY

TREVOR JACKSON
ETHICS AND THE CHARGE OF INFORMATION LITERACY

SUSAN OSBORN
THE ARTIST OF THIS ISSUE

CATHERINE SEPIAN
THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCOMMODATING THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF STUDENTS

STACY HAYNES-MOORE
CHALLENGED AND CHALLENGING TEXTS AND TEACHING

JAMES T. CROSS
ANTICIPATING THE GATSBY CENTENARY

MARY BETH BARBER
WE’VE GOT DRAMA FROM THE CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY’S COMPASS

ELISA FRIAS
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE TECH BROS BEHIND THE CURTAIN

STEPH JACKSON
OLD SCHOOL TEXTS, NEW SCHOOL THINKING

JENNIFER SPITERI
BREAKING BARD

KATIE McNAMARA
TAKING BACK THE WHOLE NOVEL

KATHLEEN CARONE
MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF EXPANDING READERS’ THINKING

MARY BETH BARBER
THE CALIFORNIA YOUNG READER MEDAL TURNS 50

CATE CONFERENCE 2025

Features and Columns

President’s Perspective

Editor’s Column

Call for Manuscripts

Read the issue (PDF download)

Call for Manuscripts

Next Issue: May 2025
Theme: SOCIAL CONTEXT: CONTEMPORARY CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM

Engaging students in their own learning has ever been a challenge. Could incorporating pop culture and social media into the curriculum help to make content more relevant? How have you employed contemporary themes to demonstrate the evergreen nature of classic texts? What place do multimedia sources have in your syllabus? How do you teach a close, rhetorical reading of such texts?

Due Date: April 1, 2025

Call for Manuscripts

Upcoming Issue: September 2025
Theme: THE NATURAL WORLD IN PERIL

Drought, flooding, wildfires, and rising temperatures are triggering students’ anxieties about climate change. How can we help students to learn more about how the natural world is being impacted and to take action in pursuit of alternatives? What books, articles, or poems have you found to inspire young readers? What writing tasks or media projects have you employed to empower this generation?

Due Date: August 1, 2025