ABSTRACT
Many variables affect English language arts teaching. Teachers have special talents and limitations, and make choices, even within highly regimented systems. Principals, coaches, specialists, and other educators can make a difference as well through their ability to decide on teacher placements, professional development, and supervision. At a district level, there are school boards, superintendents, and curriculum directors who are responsible for many of the decisions that affect classroom life, and state bureaucrats and educational publishers have played a role too. Until recently, that was the universe of infl uence in a language arts classroom.
