“We as individuals and as an organization are inventors of the future.” NCTE Past President Ernest Morrell spoke these words to affiliate leaders at the 2012 Affiliate Breakfast. He added:
“Affiliates can serve as the intellectual and ideological home for teachers who are trying to find their way in these conflicting times. Affiliates are physical and digital spaces for the playing with ideas, for asking big essential questions, and for being informed in our pursuit of learning, of doing what’s right, not just what is sanctioned.”
In the nearly 80 affiliates across North America you’ll find communities of educators whose devotion, inspiration, determination, and uniqueness come together to make a difference. Today, let’s look at A-C.
In Alberta, Canada, the Alberta English Language Arts Council’s mission is “connecting people to their natural love of stories and sharing that passion with others” while the Arizona English Teachers’ Association aptly names its newsletter Connections.
Travel to Arkansas where you can “network with Arkansas educators and join the collective voice of like-minded colleagues” through the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, an organization whose board members are working on “interacting and collaborating through the year to enhance our continuity, our service, and our leadership in the state and at regional levels.” Through their group on the Literacy and Learning Exchange.
In British Columbia Canada, the British Columbia Teachers of English Language Arts connects their (third annual) professional book club to their October conference while the California Association of Teachers of English promotes ”communication, collaboration, and educational knowledge among all responsible for teaching English and the language arts.” Check out their 2014 winning essay from their professional writing contest on “teachers paying it forward” by Principal Brandy Price. And, the Colorado Language Arts Society’s CLAS Talk virtual community forum is a place designed for “Keeping teachers a step ahead.”
Now that you know your ABCs, look for future posts featuring NCTE affiliates from the rest of the alphabet and how they’re connecting educators where they live.