Elise Earthman

Elise Earthman holds a nationwide reputation as expert in books for adolescents; it shows in her encyclopedic knowledge of authors, titles and themes. Required reading list is about 6 books targeted at teens, and students pick one of about 6 others as the subject of a group presentation. For the final project you must compile a list of 6 or so books within a category of your choice, and review them for the class, with your evaluation.

Many of the books are award-winners, others are the subject of parents' attempts to ban them from school libraries. She explains why, shows copies of hate mail from web sites, and provides printouts from scholarly and popular press articles discussing the books. This provides future teachers with ammunition, strategies and target practice for when they have to defend a book choice against parents afraid of Huck Finn or (gasp!) teens actually thinking about sex! (Example: In 2000, she described and provided a few pages from a huge website dedicated to eliminating Harry Potter because it's satanistic, anti-Christian, ritualistic, causes cult-like followings, etc. Is imagination to be stomped out? You decide.)

Sounds like a huge challenge, but admit it, the reading level is easy, the books usually short, and it's fun stuff as well as essential background for potential grade school or English teachers. It works out to about one quick read per week, which you could accomplish during lunch breaks.

Earthman mixes up the modes of her presentations and of your required participation so you get concrete experience in a huge variety of teaching methods.

She loves a good story -- addicted to "The Sopranos," frequent movie goer -- and sprinkles her lectures with comparisons between the book in question and other current books, films and TV shows.

She's extremely flexible, thoughtful, interesting and understanding. In lieu of tests she assigns in-class writing on the book of the moment. The final is the genre comparison mentioned above. Her grading is generous provided you actually do most of your reading. Few people dropped her class, and I'm surprised people don't wait in line to take it.

You should.