Introduction

Our vision about learning is the castle in the sky. English/Language Arts, speaking, listening, reading, and writing, form the foundation for those castles.....the foundation for all learning.

Language is the most powerful, most readily available tool we have for representing the world to ourselves and ourselves to the world. Language is not only a means of communication, it is a personal instrument of thought, a defining feature of culture, and an unmistakable mark of personal identity. The very health of our democratic society depends on how well people communicate with one another.

With the modern explosion of communication media, effective communication skills become increasingly more critical. Futurist and researcher, John Naisbett says it best, noting, "The big story of the 1990's will not be high tech, but a renaissance in the arts, in literature, and in spirituality. Science and technology don't tell us what it means to be human. The arts and literature and religion do that."

Sharing and communicating about our human experiences is a special province of the English/Language Arts.

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Adapted From:

• Maine Common Core of Learning, Maine Department of Education, 1990.
• Naisbett, John and Patricia Aburdene, Megatrends 2000, New York, 1990.
• State of Maine Learning Results, Maine Department of Education, 1996.
• Standards for the English Language Arts, International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English, 1996.