SDCTE officers Sharon Olbertson and Sue Morrell attended the NCTE Standards Workshop on April 29 in Sioux Falls. The session was chaired by Millie Davis, NCTE Director of Affiliate and Member Services, and included State Council members from Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Montana, Minnesota, Indiana, and Canada.
As you know, Education 2000 requires that we will have written standards in all curricular areas and will attempt to define what we teach and what students should know. English/Language Arts Standards are being written with input from NCTE and IRA (International Reading Association) and should be drafted by the end of this year. Although South Dakota is a late-comer to the discussion, several important ideas were raised that we thought you should know about. Among them are these:
What Do We Value in English/Language Arts?
This brainstorming session asked participants to define what English/Language Arts teachers do. Participants listed the following:
We touch the lives of children and young adults;
We interest students in the beauty of human artistic achievement;
We engender transformation;
We encourage discussion and open-minded tolerance for opinions and expressions of others of all nationalities and backgrounds;
We provide and atmosphere conducive to the expression of feelings;
We honor the process of self-discovery;
We set a standard for oral and written clarity;
We provide a common bond of communication through a common body of knowledge.
Can you think of more suggestions that we might convey to the National office?
Among other valuable questions that surfaced were these:
What can we do to contribute to the mental health of good teachers?
How can we educate our respective publics about what we do?
How can we solicit inservice contributions from local personnel?
How can we more successfully involve parents and public in the process of educating children?
Obviously, we left with lots of questions and thoughtful responses. We believe the SDCTE constituency and the teachers of our state should be talking about these issues and establishing some criteria, too. Let us know what you think--participate with us in this consciousness-raising exercise. Together our voices make a difference.
If you haven't done much reading about standards, or if you would like to update your reading, I have a bibliography of reading on English Language Arts Standards I'd be happy to photocopy for you. Contact Sue or Sharon at the SDEA convention, or call Sue.