Editor's Note

Editor's Note, May 2005

Elizabeth Haller
PhD Student and Instructor, Kent State University
E-mail: editoraee@hotmail.com

Summer is quickly approaching, finally, and in keeping with what should be the relaxation of the season, we at AEE have decided to make the most of the summer slow down by combining the forthcoming June and July issues of AEE. The June/July issue will be jam-packed with new featured articles and original poetry. Please look for our merged issue the first week of June and come back to AEE in August for our first issue of the academic year.

With this issue, we are especially excited to bring you the first installment of our new monthly column, "The Tech Corner." In her introductory column, Dr. Susan Jones discusses the benefits of PDA's in the classroom. Take a look and let us know what you think of our latest addition.

As always, enjoy this issue's submissions and, as you do, consider offering us a piece of your work for publication. We invite your continued perusal and encourage you to submit articles, poetry, and fiction for consideration in future issues of AEE. Please review our Call for Papers on this site for more details on submission requirements. If you are unsure whether your contribution would be suitable under the terms of our Call for Papers, please send along an inquiry, and I will be happy to respond forthwith. As always, do not forget to check out Grist for the Mill for possible submission ideas.

Lynne Fukuda provides the final entry in her four part series titled "Curses, Nightmarchers, Wasps, and Archaeology: My Summer Adventures with the University of Hawaii Archaeological Fieldschool" for her monthly column, "The View From Here." If you haven't already done so, it is well worth your time to visit the last three issues for the first three installments of Fukuda's series. I think you will find them quite intriguing. This final installment is no exception. According to Fukuda:

This article is dedicated to my archaeology professors, especially to Dr. Graves, who made my summer possible. His belief that I could do a good job as a field assistant allowed me to go on to other field projects. Archaeology is backbreaking to many. It is true love that allows archaeologists to continue in the field, even into their advanced years, where work is strenuous and living conditions may be less than ideal.

This is also dedicated to numerous Pacific archaeologists who opened up the eyes of the world to the fascinating finds on islands where only piles of rocks existed. They recreated for us the highly organized civilizations that rivaled that of Europe and Egypt, creating images of thriving villages, religious complexes, agricultural productivity, and the high quality of life of the ancients.

Lastly, I would like to write a note of apology for the spirits and ghosts who still remain in the highly spiritual Halawa valley, which was ravaged by the construction of Freeway 3, cutting across complex sites of religious importance to the Hawaiians. In spite of the disturbance that twenty-first century humans impose upon the valley perhaps, some day, it will return to the gods. It is understanding and appreciation for all cultures that is much needed in our war-torn and unhappy world. Dreaming of the past, and the peoples who thrived in the past, can only give us hope that in spite of war and conflict, disease and destruction, we, too, like the survivors of the past, can go on.

Our first featured article is the third in a series written by Donovan Landers (see March and April 2005 issues). If you haven't already, take the time to look over his last two installments--it will be well worth it. Stay tuned to the next and future issues of AEE to see where Landers will take you. In this third installment, "Don and Geronimo take us into the secret parlor of a high school staff meeting of minds, where we witness drama of the learned and angry; Don meets with Jeffrey, the school board chair who laments the demise of the British Empire and its lack of cannons; and at his home, Don and his wife, Jacobina, learn from their 8-year-old daughter that girls have weenises."

Regina Buccola's insightful "And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors ..." is our second featured article of this issue. According to Buccola, "the proliferation of print, internet and broadcast media provides fertile ground for study in topic-driven composition courses. Using the media as both resource and topic can help students develop critical thinking skills that will prove valuable to them not only as students, but as citizens. Specific topics, such as political campaigns, are particularly suited to such an approach, as are particular kinds of group and individual assignments, discussed in outline in this essay."

Lynda L. Hinkle's thought-provoking "Dethroning Bullying: Why We Must Take Back Our Schools" wraps up this issue's featured articles. Hinkle notes that, "bullying is a pervasive problem in public schools with far-reaching effects on victim, bully, bystander, the school community and the larger community. There are a number of treatments that schools and teachers employ to reduce bullying, including the disciplinary, comprehensive, and curricular approaches. This article explores the issue of bullying, its impact, and its potential treatments."

S. Purcell Woodard's contribution to Poet's Corner titled "Me ÷ You Us" was "written for those times when (in the spirit of Walker's Jeff) one has/wants to scream, 'Let go of my toe!'" Woodard's poems have also appeared in the December 2004 and January 2005 issues of AEE. Look for a new contribution in the upcoming August 2005 issue.

Enjoy!

Academic Exchange Extra invites reader response to any writings in this issue--especially articles advancing the scholarly debate of issues raised.

Academic Exchange - EXTRA / Top

------------------------------ Page Citation Reference:
Haller, Elizabeth. (2005). AE-Extra. May. Available Online.
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Created: 27 April 2005. Updated: --. Accessed: ]