A Lighthouse for a New English Teacher Afloat:Review of The English Teacher’s Companion, Third Edition: A Complete Guide toClassroom, Curriculum, and the Profession Stephanie Dekermenjian, California State University, NorthridgeBurke, Jim. The English Teacher’s Companion, Third Edition: A Complete Guide toClassroom, Curriculum, and the ProfessionPortsmouth, NH: Heinemann (2007) $35.00 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-325-01139-4 / 0-325-01139-7As a credential student who has yet to teach a single lesson, I find myself overwhelmed atthe prospect of educating and managing a classroom. My professors are all gifted, thoughtful, well meaning, and sincere. They impart their piece of the puzzle and send me off to find the rest. The rest is a bewildering impending reality: how do I successfully serve and penetrate the needs of an actual student? Jim Burke’s treatise on the English classroom is a soothing balm to my anxiety. Jim Burke argues that teaching English in the twenty-first century requires an upgrade of tools and approaches. Today’s classroom is more ethnically diverse, challenging, and yes,ambitious, than any that have come before it. The academic gaps between races and economic classes are also greater. If an English teacher wants to succeed in that reality she must become a “practice and theory artist” (xx). She must pull from the popular culture stronghold that dominates the attention span to engage students in “higher-ordertalk and writing” while ensuring the “cohesiveness of curriculum and instruction” (xxii). This requires a teacher to become familiar with hip-hop vernacular or other buzz worthy subjects to attract the student’s interest, and then perform the artistic high wire act that bridges interest to learning. The English Teacher’s Companion is organized into four sections: “Foundations,” “New Directions in Teaching English: Implications,” “Issues in Teaching English – Inevitabilities,” and “From Becoming to Being an English Teacher”. The section on “Foundations” provides a thorough discussion of teaching English and all of its components. Burke discusses ways to think about teaching and learning. He summarizes relevant research as well as his own proven instructional strategies for reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. Most important of all, he highlights the real world literacy demands of an adult. He demonstrates the many ways in which adults need to communicate in order to be successful in the workplace, and how critical the English classroom is to acquiring those skills.“In New Directions in Teaching English: Implications,” Burke discusses technology and digital and media literacy in the English classroom. The urgent message is that not only must English teachers find ways to use digital tools for instruction, they must also teach their students how to interact with the Internet effectively and responsibly. He provides a number of activities and lessons that can help teachers and students build media and digital literacy. One example was “CyberGuide,” a project that provides students with a framework for research on the Web.A highlight of this section that was not tied to the main theme of the section was a discussion of service projects. English classrooms can spend a unit on creating somethinguseful for the community like a directory of local services and resources. The project can be structured to content standards to ensure that curriculum goals are met. Examples provided included the creation of a directory of free services in the community surrounding the English classroom, and a buddy program with a local elementary school to provide tutoring and mentoring services.“Issues in Teaching English – Inevitabilities,” explores the variety of student backgrounds, strengths and academic needs. Mr. Burke outlines strategies for handling students with special needs like English language learners, learning disabled, and gifted and talented students. He argues for an inclusive classroom that utilizes all resources available to serve the needs of these students. It’s encouraging to note that providing these resources isn’t only for the special needs student; many of the resources will benefitthe entire classroom.Also included in this section is a thoughtful discussion on gender, race, and cultural issues in the classroom. He makes a compelling argument for a renewed focus on boys; they are not as academically successful as their female counterparts. It’s important to keep text selections relevant to both genders and discussions and writing prompts focusedon individual experiences. He also argues for emphasizing similarities among different races and cultures while choosing multicultural texts.The final section, “From Becoming to Being an English Teacher” is by far the most useful for a credential student like me. It begins with an inspiring letter to new teachers that acknowledges their courage and celebrates the wonder and magnitude of the English subject and its importance. He writes, “The work is hard but good; the hours are long but rewarding; the students demanding yet wonderful; and the job exhausting but vital to our nation’s health and success” (448). He follows with concrete advice on finding a teachingposition and includes an excellent sample resume and cover letter easily adaptable by anyone. Creating effective work life balance and classroom organization strategies reduced my anxiety about entering the profession because they provided a vision for day-to-day classroom management. His discussion on the politics of education – dealing with parents, administration, and the media was a critical reminder that everything that is being done in the classroom has to be tied to an overall plan that can be clearly explained to anyone. And finally, Burke ends the section and the book with a call to engage in the professional conversation by joining NCTE and its regional partner, contributing to the online community, and participating in teacher study groups.Burke’s book will be incredibly useful in my first few years in the classroom. However, I would also use a more comprehensive discussion of teaching English such as Joseph and Lucy Milner’s Bridging English. There are many useful strategies in the English Teacher’s Companion but it lacks a comprehensive discussion of different instructional approaches and what research has determined is most effective. The book offers what hasproven