Wait—before you clutch your annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, let me explain.
I’m not burned out. I’m not bitter. I still believe in the power of story and the necessity of critical thinking. I still light up when a student finally cracks open a book they claimed to hate—or when their writing hits that sweet spot of clarity and voice.
But after years in the ELA classroom, I’ve come to a difficult but exciting realization:
English class, as we’ve traditionally framed it, is too narrow for the kind of reading and writing students actually need.
📚 Reading and Writing Don’t Belong in a Silo
We live in a world where language is everywhere—slippery, powerful, and inextricably connected to every subject. So why do we keep reading and writing corralled into “English class,” dissecting fictional texts and over-analyzing symbolism as if that alone builds literacy?
I’ve seen what happens when we teach reading as a skill for English class, not a survival skill for life. Students learn to perform for the rubric, but they can’t analyze an online article, evaluate a news source, write a professional email, or synthesize a science lab report and a documentary.
They can cite Shakespeare but not explain a rental lease.
They can write about Gatsby’s green light but not their own goals.
That’s why I don’t want to teach just English anymore.
I want to teach literacy for living.
🔄 The Case for Cross-Curricular Literacy
When students read a primary source in history, interpret data in science, or write a business proposal in economics, that’s literacy too.
But we don’t treat it that way. We treat it like “extra”—as if only the English teacher holds the keys to reading and writing.
Imagine instead:
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Students writing persuasive speeches based on environmental research in biology.
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Reading historical documents with a critical eye—and comparing them to today's media narratives.
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Writing lab reports that actually communicate, not just follow a template.
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Exploring literature alongside the cultural and historical forces that shaped it.
When we embed ELA skills into real-world contexts, we stop teaching reading and writing as isolated school tasks—and start preparing students to think, communicate, and act with clarity and purpose.
🔥 I'm Not Quitting Literacy—I'm Doubling Down
So no, I’m not quitting. I’m evolving.
I want to co-teach with the history teacher.
I want to embed writing into math and science.
I want students to stop asking, “When will I use this?”—because they already are.
I want to teach ELA everywhere, because language lives in everything.
If you’re an ELA teacher like me, you might be feeling this tension too—the pull toward relevance, the craving for connection. It’s okay to admit it.
It’s okay to want more for your students than another five-paragraph essay.
Let’s stop defending the boundaries of “English class” and start designing experiences where literacy is a tool—not just a test.
Because maybe the best way to teach English...
is to stop teaching just English.
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