Love in Philadelphia the 2009 NCTE Annual Convention
It was 222 years ago that 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to craft the Constitution of a new nation. In November, English educators will gather in this city for the 99th NCTE Annual Convention. The City of Brotherly Love held an important place in the development of the United States. Here, today, textbook lessons about the American Revolution come to life. With a visit to Independence National Historical Park, you can see the Liberty Bell and stand in Independence Hall where the founding fathers debated the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia also offers first-rate museums, including the Franklin Institute Science Museum and, for art lovers, the Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia has more public art than any other city in the country. Merrell Shoes Discount And we can’t speak of this city without mentioning the ubiquitous Philly cheeses teak sandwich!
With much to see and enjoy in the city itself, you will also find many mind-stimulating components in the upcoming Convention. As educators, we are aware of the problems facing public education today. Many states and districts face smaller budgets and increased class size. The national emphasis on measurable outcomes challenges teachers whose ideal goals when choosing the profession did not include “teaching to the test.”
We are also aware that the learning landscape must change to accommodate today’s students, who respond and learn and are motivated differently from students 20 or 30 years ago. As our world has shifted from one propelled by an industrial economy to one driven by an information-services economy, English language arts teachers must respond by equipping readers and writers with 21st-century literacy skills.
Yet at the same time, teachers must not neglect the critical role we play in helping students embrace the traditions and elements of the multiple forms of print literacy. This year’s NCTE Annual Convention Program Chair Carol Jago has chosen the convention theme “Once and Future Classics: Reading Between the Lines.” As Jago explains, the Convention theme “reflects my deeply held belief that books matter, those reading changes lives, and that literature helps prepare us for living.” She says, “Students who graduate without advanced reading skills will be frustrated by the demands of the 21st-century workplace and will struggle to achieve their dreams. . . . Without wide reading—classic and contemporary, fiction and nonfiction, in print and online, from around the globe—Americans will grow insular and understand less and less about the world outside their borders.”
With these seemingly contradictory paradigms in mind—the need to equip students with 21st-century survival skills as well as to make classics come alive for contemporary students—the Secondary Section Steering Committee has put together a program that we hope will meet the needs of both new and experienced teachers. We have selected some 160 individual and panel/conversation sessions on topics such as technology, reading, writing, literature, assessment, and pop culture. Shakespeare will be there, and Chaucer, and also graphic novels and Web 2.0.
Plan to arrive on Thursday and join us for the Secondary Section Get-Together at 4:30 p.m. Our featured speaker is Nancy Pearl, who some say is the “librarian version of a rock star.” Having worked as a librarian and bookseller in several cities, Pearl settled in Seattle where she developed the program “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book,” which spread across the country. Her books include Book. Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; and Book Crush: For Kids and Teens— Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest. Cheap Merrell Shoes She is a regular commentator about books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. In addition to hearing Pearl champion books and reading, you are invited to meet Secondary Section Steering Committee members and join in the interactive hands-on activities they will lead.
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