"The teaching of English language arts has never been as complex, or as difficult, as it is today." (Jeff Park, p. 173 in this collection).

Park's sentiments reflect those of many of my graduate students, all of whom are practicing teachers. The complexity for them derives, in large part, from the rapid proliferation of technologies and their attendant literacies or discourses (Gee 2008). In their attempts to make sense of these changes, my students (and I suspect they aren't the only ones) often equate technological competence with literacy. As a consequence, rather than seeing digital technologies as part of new ways of knowing and doing, they tend to see the new technologies and the new literacies as additional instrumental skill sets to be cultivated, as more curricular 'stuff' to be added to their already burgeoning "to deliver" or "outcome" lists. The difficulty for them comes from what they see as an unwinnable battle for the attention (hearts and minds to follow) of their students. How to compete with Twitter, Facebook, World of Warcraft, Second Life, anime and so on? And their angst is exacerbated by the antediluvian pace of change in the cultural and institutional practices--curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and professional development--in public education systems including universities and teacher education programs.

Park's opening statement captures, in broad terms, the condition of contemporary adolescent English language arts education and frames the challenges to which the editors and authors of this collection have turned their attention and considerable experience as scholars and teachers.

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