ABSTRACT
The question, ‘Why teach English’ elicited agreement from the respondents on two points: one was the ‘desire’ to instil in students a love of literature and language and the other was the satisfaction that came from ‘connecting’ with students, of developing that ‘special relationship’ that allowed students to grow and develop emotionally, culturally, socially and psychologically. In this chapter I attempt to trace some historical antecedents of these views and to link the ‘beliefs about English’ explored in previous chapters in the Australian section of the book with sets of practices (bureaucratic, architectural, administrative) designed for inculcating particular ways of conducting the self.
