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. 

Join CATE
Convention Information

California English Journal — November 2024

Theme: Rebuilding Reading and Writing Muscles

Artist of this issue: SAM RODRIGUEZ

California English • The quarterly journal of the California Association of Teachers of English. Rebuilding Reading and Writing Muscles. Vol. 30.2 • November 2024.

Contents

JACQUAY DURANT AND VANEE SMITH-MATSALIA
DON’T BE A HERO: DECONSTRUCTING THE SAVIOR COMPLEX THAT IS OVERWHELMING ENGLISH INSTRUCTION

NCTE
CALIFORNIA ENGLISH HONORED BY NCTE JOURNAL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD

LAURIE STOWELL
POEM: DAILY I FALL IN LOVE WITH TEACHERS

CARRIE WEINBERGER
TIME TO RECOVER THE CHARM OF POETRY

NCTE
NCTE ANNUAL CONVENTION

SAM RODRIGUEZ
A WORD WITH SAM RODRIGUEZ, THE ARTIST OF THIS ISSUE

RONALD KLEMP
ROUTINES FOR BUILDING READING AND WRITING STAMINA

JUDITH FREEMAN GAREY
USING THEATER AND DRAMA TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION

BERIT GORDON
HELPING NEW TEACHERS THRIVE AND STAY IN TEACHING

ELISA FRIAS
HUMANIZING THE TEACHER

CHRISTINA KENNY-KITCHIN
CULTIVATING TEACHER RETENTION THROUGH MENTOR PROGRAMS

NCTE
NCTE 2024 ELECTION RESULTS

ERWC
JOIN THE ERWC PILOT

R. JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ
EXCERPT: YOUTH SCRIBES: TEACHING A LOVE OF WRITING

CATE
CATE CONVENTION 2025

Features and Columns

President’s Perspective

Editor’s Column

Call for Manuscripts

Read the issue (PDF download)

Call for Manuscripts

Next Issue: February 2025
Theme: CHALLENGED AND CHALLENGING TEXTS AND TEACHING

English teachers are grappling with how to work with texts that are valuable for students’ growth as readers and thinkers but that can be troubling and difficult for them to navigate. One purpose of literature is to “trouble” conventional ideas and challenge readers to stretch. Reading lists, rather than expanding their range of authors and content, seem to be shrinking. How are you meeting this challenge? How is your curriculum evolving?

Due Date: January 10, 2025

Call for Manuscripts

Upcoming 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