Reviewed by Della Warren

A Timeless Textbook:

The Teaching of High School English

The Teaching of High School English, written by J. N. Hook, is a wonderful textbook for students preparing to teach high school English.  Although written in 1965, Hook’s textbook has fifteen chapters filled with practical applications that can be used in today’s classrooms.   The specific suggestions and tested classroom procedures, Hook presents in The Teaching of High School English are drawn from his many years of teaching high school and college, as well as the teaching experience of others.  Hook was also the Executive Secretary for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) for seven years.

J. N. Hook begins Chapter One with the many tasks before teachers of high school English.  In 1958, the NCTE, as well as other educators and educational associations, held a series of conferences to address the basic issues and the aims facing teachers.  Their major concerns were:  What is English and what really belongs in an English program.   Things like etiquette and moral values, once responsibilities of the home and church, now became the responsibility of teachers.  Whatever the community wanted, the school administrators would insist that somehow the English teachers make it a part of their program.

Hook ends each chapter with “The Idea Box.”  The purpose of the idea box is 1) to suggest teaching devices of proved worth; 2) to mention other aids or materials or sources of materials; and 3) to list articles and books that provide additional information.  The idea boxes include resources, mainly from English Journals, that stress theory.  Hook’s chapters, however, are based on practical applications.

In Chapter 2, Hook talks about the history of teaching secondary English in America .  One interesting fact he tells is how academies in the mid-nineteenth century shifted from shaping their curriculums in accordance with what colleges demanded for entrance, to “practical” schools that were created for students who did not expect to go to college.  Many people felt that these schools should be state-supported, and by “1896-97 there were 5,109 public high schools in the United States, in addition to more than 2,000 private high schools” (30).

Another interesting fact in Chapter 2 is the history of the NCTE.  In 1911, a group of English teachers got together for a meeting in Chicago to discuss changes in college entrance requirements.  Eventually, they formed a national organization called the National Council of Teachers of English.  In 1912, the first English journal was sponsored by the NCTE.  Because of the number of high school graduates coming out of the public schools, colleges had to adopt more rigorous screening policies.  College professors of English complained about the quality of incoming students, so English teachers had to be retrained.  In 1961, the NCTE developed a list academic competences an English teacher must possess to perform expertly in his discipline.

In Chapter 3, Hook focuses on the basic planning of units.  The term unit refers to “an organized study, lasting from one week to eight weeks and centered upon a given theme, to which everything in the unit is somehow related” (68).  He explains the characteristics of unit plans and how teachers should handle them.  One thing he suggests is that teachers should give considerable thought to evaluation before entering the classroom.  An important question a teacher must ask themselves, “How will he be able to determine whether his classes are making satisfactory progress?” (73).  Hook lists two pages full of unit topics appropriate for Seventh through the Twelfth grades.

In Chapter 4, Hook discusses basic principles of reading in regular English classes, special classes, and reading outside the classroom.  Hook says that “reading is not pronouncing words, but thinking about meaning, emotion, and purpose, relating them to what one already knows” (84).  According to Hook, there are five principals for motivating better reading:

1. Each student should understand what reading can do for him.
2. Each student should know how well he reads.
3. Each student should know that his reading can be improved.
4. Each student should be kept aware of his progress.
5. Reading materials should be appropriate.

There are specific strategies and examples of questions to ask when thinking and talking about what was read.  For instance, when reading Hawthorne ’s, The Minister’s Black Veil, the question for students to ponder is “How would you react if your minister or one of your teachers started wearing a black mask to church or school?” (97).  Hook’s guide for reading is for students to read, read, and read some more.

In Chapters 5, 6, and 7, Hook goes into great detail about why we teach what we teach and the genres of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry.  In Chapter 5, he pays imaginary visits into a few classrooms.  A look into these classrooms reveals, according to Hook, something good and something bad about each teacher.  In other words, their teaching lacks balance.  This chapter may be useful to beginning teachers, as Hook tells what he feels is good and bad about each teaching style.  In Chapter 6, Hook gives three reasons for reading literature, pleasure, information and cultural heritage.  He says, “good fiction finds insights into human nature.” He discusses several analytical styles teachers use to get at the truth in fiction, drama, and poetry.

In Chapter 8, Hook says, “composing is thinking.”  This chapter is full of valuable information for teachers to promote the cognitive growth of their students.  He says the common thread of education is “the development of the ability to think” (226).  Helping students put ideas together is the main contribution English teachers can make.  Asking frequent questions involving reflective thought is one way teachers can get students to think.  For example, “Why is because better than and in this sentence?” (228).  Hook also discusses what a subject is and provides suggestions of suitable topics for student writing in each grade level and how paragraphs are constructed.

In Chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12 Hook focuses on the role of grammar in the classroom. The traditional grammar is classifying words as parts of speech and determining whether syntactical structure is right or wrong.  Hook believes that grammar is important, but says there should not be too much of it.  In Language Exploration & Awareness, Andrews says that traditional grammar has been, “ineffective in improving students’ writing or speaking competence.”  He gives explicit examples to help teachers assess what kind of grammar should be addressed in the classroom.   He goes into great detail about the principles of grammar teaching styles.  His fifth principle says, “Teach as much as possible about sentence structure by encouraging thought, rather than by the study of anybody’s rules” (279).  He covers all the punctuation marks in detail.  The most important thing about punctuation is that it helps the reader understand a writers’ meaning.    

In Chapter 12, Hook talks about words.  He says, “A word is nothing in itself.  The word’s power of suggesting is everything” (369).  Even with its shortcomings, Hook says television, through courtroom drama shows, can teach words like Plaintiff, defendant, and habeas corpus. 

One of the most profound quotes in this chapter was said by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in the case of Towney v. Eisner.  He said, “A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanging; it is the skin of a living thought, and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used” (379).  The idea box following this chapter is extremely helpful.  One idea is to get the students to use exact words so their meaning is clear.

Idea:  Say to someone in the class, “Your name is Wilbur, isn’t it?”  “No, it’s Ralph.”  Turn to the class.  “Is it right for me to call Ralph Wilbur?” Then it isn’t right to call a ________ a ______.

In Chapter 13 and 14, Hook discusses techniques on how students can improve their listening skills and improving students’ speech.  Listening requires conscious effort.  For the student, it adds information, increases interest, and improves discrimination ad critical thinking.  With regard to improving students’ speech, Hook says that teachers must be reasonably competent speakers.  From a telephone conversation to an interview with a prospective employer, Hook provides teaching techniques that will help the students become better speakers in each of these situations.

The last and final chapter, Chapter 15, talks about the teacher who grows. Teachers are human beings.  They have weaknesses and strengths and needs like all human beings.  Their teaching can become dull and boring, like walking on a treadmill.  It is the challenge of each teacher to stay alive and to keep their students alive through classroom activities that are creative and engaging.  Hook gives good advice for beginning teachers.  For example, never be a student’s pal, work closely with other teachers in the school, and find out about channels ofcommunication.   Another thing Hook suggests is that beginning teachers should not try and reform others before he has proven himself.

I enjoyed reviewing all fifteen chapters of The Teaching of High School English.  Although written in 1965, before computers were a household name, The Teaching of High School English is still relevant today.  Hook gives plenty of suggestions for effective teaching.  He gives examples of numerous lesson plans. From his years of teaching and work with the NCTE He also gives a host of resources beginning teachers can consult.  Hook writes, “The lively, exciting classroom is the one where something new is always being tried – new books, other new materials, new procedures” (455). The Teaching of High School English is timeless.

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