Watson, Ken

views updated

Watson, Ken


PERSONAL:

Male.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Australia. Office—Australian Association for the Teaching of English, P.O. Box 3203, Norwood, South Australia 5067, Australia.

CAREER:

Previously taught at Cambridge University, University of British Columbia, New York University, Michigan State University, and Macquarie University; University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, from senior lecturer in education to professor emeritus.

WRITINGS:


Reading and Teaching the Novel, edited by Phyllis Kittson, English Teacher's Association (Ashfield, Australia), 1969.

(With others) Explore and Express, Book 1, Macmillan (Melbourne, Australia), 1972.

(With others) Explore and Express, Book 2, Macmillan (Melbourne, Australia), 1972.

(Editor, with Arthur Ashworth) Towards a New English: A Handbook for Teachers of Secondary School English in the 1970s, Reed Education (Sydney, Australia), 1972.

(With Roy Victor Martin) Kenroy High School: A Simulation Designed for Use in Teacher Education Programmes Concerned with the Preparation of Secondary School Teachers, Development Books (Pennant Hills, Australia), 1972.

(Editor) New Directions, English Teachers' Association of New South Wales (Ashfield, Australia), 1972.

(With others) Explore and Express, Book 3, Macmillan (Melbourne, Australia), 1973.

(With others) Explore and Express, Book 4, Macmillan (Melbourne, Australia), 1974.

(Editor, with Ray King) Parental Involvement in Australian Schools: A Follow-Up Study, Hills Education Study Group (Sydney, Australia), 1976.

(With Frances Christie) Language and the Mass Media, Reed (Terrey Hills, Australia), 1976.

(Editor, with Stephanie Eagles) Around the Globe, Macmillan (South Melbourne, Australia), 1977.

(With R.D. Eagleson) English in Secondary Schools: Today and Tomorrow, English Teachers' Association of New South Wales (Ashfield, Australia), 1977.

(Editor) Aspects of Children's Literature, English Teachers' Association of New South Wales (Ashfield, Australia), 1978.

(Compiler, with Stephanie Eagles) The Climb and the Dream, Macmillan (South Melbourne, Australia), 1978.

(With Douglas Barnes and Jack Thompson) Language in the Classroom, Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (Mount Gravatt, Australia), 1978.

(Editor, with others) Reading Is Response: Suggestions for Teaching Novels, Short Stories, and Biography in Upper Primary and Secondary Schools, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1980.

(Editor, with Len Cairns) Six Interesting Schools, World Education Fellowship (Sydney, Australia), 1980.

Reading Is Response: First Supplement, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1981.

English Teaching in Perspective, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1981.

(Editor) Pamphletpoems, St. Clair Press (Epping, Australia), 1982.

(Editor, with Vilma Bell) Language and Language Learning, Years 7-10: Some Questions and Answers, New South Wales Department of Education (Sydney, Australia), 1982.

(Editor, with Wayne Sawyer) English Teaching from A to Z, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1983.

(Editor, with Wayne Sawyer) Find That Poem!, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1984.

(Editor, with Paul Richardson) Postcards from Planet Earth: An Anthology of International Poetry, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Australia), 1990.

(With Brenda Pinder) A Workshop Approach to "Hamlet": Photocopiable Recourses, St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1990.

(With Wendy Michaels) The Dogs of War: A Workshop Approach to "Julius Caesar," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1991.

(With Gordon Shrubb) Star-Cross'd Lovers: A Workshop Approach to "Romeo and Juliet," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1991.

(With Stuart Wilson) The Green-Ey'd Monster: A Workshop Approach to "Othello," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1991.

(With Gordon Shrubb) The Food of Love: A Workshop Approach to "Twelfth Night," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1991.

(With Wendy Michaels) Gaze on Cleopatra: A Workshop Approach to "Antony and Cleopatra," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1992.

Such a Mad Marriage: A Workshop Approach to "The Taming of the Shrew," St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1993.

(Editor, with John Stephens) From Picture Books to Literary Theory, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1994.

(With Wendy Michaels and Jesse Hise) Shakespeare: A Teacher's Handbook, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1994.

(With others) English Teaching in Perspective in the Context of the 1990s, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1994.

(With others) Looking at Our Language: Language Investigations for Middle and Upper Secondary Classes, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1995.

(Editor, with others) Jigsaw: Poetry for Years 9, 10, 11, 12, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1995.

(Editor, with others) Word & Image: Using Picture Books in Years 6 to 10, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1997.

(With Catherine Radcliffe and David Nicholson) Bitter Bread: A Workshop Approach to "Richard II" and "The Winter's Tale," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1997.

(With others) Does Class Size Matter?, Australian Education Network (Rozelle, Australia), 1997.

(Editor, with Wayne Sawyer and Eva Gold) Reviewing English, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 1998.

(With Dennis Robinson) Love's Keen Arrows: A Workshop Approach to "As You Like It," St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1998.

(Editor) At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners: A Multicultural Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 1999.

(Curator, with Hetti Perkins) Warlugulong, Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), 1999.

(Editor) Film in English, St. Clair Press (Sydney, Australia), 2000.

My Best Poetry Unit: And Other Ideas for Teaching Poetry, St. Clair Press (Rozelle, Australia), 2001.

(Author of catalog essays, with others) Binocular: Looking Closely at Country, Ivan Doughtery Gallery (Paddington, Australia), 2004.

(Editor) Shakespeare's Tragedies, Phoenix Education (Albert Park, Australia), 2004.

(Editor) Shakespeare's Comedies, Phoenix Education (Albert Park, Australia), 2004.

(Editor) Introducing Shakespeare, Phoenix Education (Albert Park, Australia), 2004.

(Editor, with Peter Jones) Shakespeare's Histories: A Workshop Approach to "Richard II," "Henry IV Part 1," "Henry V," "Richard III," Phoenix Education (Melbourne, Australia), 2005.

(Editor, with Millard Dunn) A Workshop Approach to Shakespeare's Sonnets: "This Powerful Rhyme," Phoenix Education (Melbourne, Australia), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ken Watson was formerly a senior lecturer in education at the University of Sydney, and has also taught at the universities of Cambridge, Michigan State, New York, and British Columbia. He is an expert on the works of William Shakespeare and how to teach them to high school students. His years as a professor of English and education provided him with a useful background that he referenced in editing the "St. Clair Shakespeare Workshop Series," a series of books on how to workshop some of Shakespeare's most famous plays. His workshops also assist secondary school teachers in learning how to communicate the intent behind Shakespeare's words to students who are apprehensive about the antiquated dialect used by the Bard. In an interview for the Indiana University Southeast Web site, Watson remarked: "So many high school and junior high students become very nervous and often feel intimidated when they are faced with reading the works of Shakespeare;h3 . The key is to find some way to help them get over their anxiety, and take ownership of the text." In addition, Watson is the author of numerous books on teaching and education, including Reading and Teaching the Novel, My Best Poetry Unit: And Other Ideas for Teaching Poetry, and English Teaching in Perspective.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:


ONLINE


Indiana University Southeast Web site, http://www.ius. edu/ (October 11, 2006), "IUS Hosts Shakespeare Workshops."

Phoenix Publishing Company Web site, http://www. phoenixeduc.com/ (October 11, 2006), brief biography of Ken Watson.