Manuscripts and proposals for articles should be sent to Marjorie Feld, 100 Walnut Street, Watertown, MA 02472.  Books for review should be sent to Jeff Melnick and Rachel Rubin, 107 Reed Street, Cambridge, MA  02140.  All manuscripts should be accompanied by four additional copies and appropriate return postage, and should not exceed twelve typed, double-spaced pages.
 
 

Radical Teacher's Process for Considering Manuscripts:

When we get an unsolicited article, unless it is clearly outside our boundaries, the manuscript coordinator sends it to four readers from the editorial group.  The coordinator also evaluates the article.  So most manuscripts get five readings.

Usually a couple of the readers will be fairly expert in the subject of the article, and the others will be in different areas or from different levels of educational work.  The attempt is to critique articles both for sound and current knowledge and for general interest and readability.

When all the readings are in, the coordinator weighs the readers' opinions and makes a decision based on them.  That decision may be a plain "accept" or "reject."  Or it may be one of the three other possibilities.  (1)  We tell some authors that if they make specific revisions, we will accept the revised article.  (2)  With others, we encourage revision and give suggestions (often detailed) for making revisions.  We indicate that we hope to work with the author toward publication, but cannot guarantee it.  (3)  We tell other authors that we would be glad to read a drastic revision, or a different kind of article about the same subject. In every case except that of immediate acceptance or that of a totally unacceptable article, we try to give helpful criticism.  And, though we don't always manage it, we try to get the article and critique back to the author in two or three months.

When authors do submit revisions, the original readers may read the new version or we may bring in new readers from the editorial group.

Articles written for a "cluster" focused on a particular topic go directly to the "cluster" editors.  Generally these articles have been solicited in response to proposals from the authors whose proposals have been encouraged.  The "cluster" editors work with the authors toward publication.  Prospectuses for non-cluster articles get the same treatment as unsolicited manuscripts.

Teaching Notes

Is there a book, film, essay, poem, or story you've found particularly useful in the classroom and want to share with other Radical Teacher readers? We are especially interested in Teaching Notes on new materials not widely known, but we would also like to hear about newly rediscovered older works as well as new ways of teaching familiar ones.  Contributions should be no longer than one page (double spaced) and should include the following kinds of information:  school, course, kinds of students, how you taught the work, difficulties as well as triumphs.  Also, please supply the title, author, publisher, and current price (or comparable data for a film).  And if you can, include a copy of your Note on computer diskette, preferably in Windows or DOS format.  Send your Teaching Notes to Bob Rosen, Department of English, William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, Wayne, New Jersey 07470.

Elementary and Secondary School Teachers -- Write Articles, Please!

Radical Teacher encourages our readers to submit articles to the magazine.  We are especially interested in working with elementary and secondary school teachers, on all levels from preschool to high school.  Within the past few years the magazine has included an increasing number of articles by elementary and secondary school teachers, but the majority of articles are still written by and for "higher education" teachers.  It is obvious, but bears repeating, that radical education, or at least a radical critique or vision of education, must include the world of children, and their teachers.  Therefore we are committed to working with elementary and secondary school teachers, and giving voice to their concerns and knowledge through the magazine.  Descriptions of classroom life; the role of the teacher in the school and school system; curricular decisions, initiatives and choices; reactions to minimum competency, national reports on the status of teachers and teacher education, standardized testing, master teacher/merit pay are examples of topics we would very much welcome.