Why This Story Matters
August 18, 8 p.m. — 9 p.m. ET
Presenters: Amy Magnafichi Strong and Vikki Orepitan, with NCTE staff
As we enter another school year, intellectual freedom and anti-censorship is on a lot of educators’ minds. Many educators have been dealing with
challenges for years, some have more recently been affected, and others may anticipate challenges ahead of them. All of us can work together to share time, expertise, resources, and support.
Attendees of this event will:
- Learn more about using rationales and resources to prepare for or response to challenges.
- Discover how to get involved with writing or reviewing new rationales.
- Collaborate with peers to ask questions and provide support.
- Explore NCTE’s rationale database and This Story Matters, a campaign to change the conversation about what we read and why it’s important.
- Hear about upcoming opportunities for NCTE members and state affiliates in the coming months.
This is a free NCTE members-only event.
Please contact IntellectualFreedom@ncte.org with any questions.
Amy Magnafichi Strong has been an educator in many capacities throughout her career. For over 15 years, Amy taught English at the middle school, high school, and university levels. During her graduate studies, she taught in the English Education program at Illinois State University, preparing future secondary English teachers to teach composition. She has also held positions in both NCTE and IATE, serving as President of IATE and currently holding the position of Intellectual Freedom Chair. Although she is not currently teaching in the classroom, she still considers herself an educator by providing professional development and mentoring educators.
Vikki Orepitan is a Katy, Texas, native who lives and works in Houston, where she’s raising her son, Tobi. She believes that instruction should be culturally relevant and that an ability to read and think critically is an invaluable gift from English teachers to students. In 2018, she publicly opposed the banning of The Hate U Give by the Katy ISD school board and was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award and the Mercedes Bonner Leadership Award by the TCTELA. Vikki enjoys teaching English and writing curriculum as well as presenting about the many intersections between literature, race, equity, and justice. She currently teaches eighth grade English at the Briarwood School in Houston, Texas.