2003 Annual Report, NCTE/SLATE Steering Committee on Social and Political Concerns

During the past year, SLATE continued to support intellectual freedom, not only in its fight against censorship but also the rising concerns of high-stakes testing.

Charles Suhor, NCTE/SLATE Field Representative, continues to respond with letters of support to members and letters of information to school systems involved in censorship issues. Of the six letters that have been written in support of teachers (and one student this year) and to reiterate NCTE policies, Suhor has addressed concerns about prior censorship, censorship of video and the use of controversial titles in class.

In the SLATE Newsletter, Editor Michelle Tremmel continues to report of current issues dealing with legislative agendas, classroom practices, and issues dealing with censorship. Previously published Starter Sheets, valuable reproducible resources for teachers about specific issues and classroom procedures, are currently being updated. Starter Sheets are now available online at www.ncte.org

SLATE also honored groups and/or individuals nominated by the Affiliates who had advanced the cause of intellectual freedom with the NCTE/SLATE Intellectual Freedom Award. This year ReLeah Cossett Lent and Gloria Pipkin from Florida will receive the national Intellectual Freedom Award for their courageous over several years efforts to support the rights of students and teachers against censorship SLATE Regional Representatives met at the Atlanta Annual Convention to discuss publishing the SLATE Newsletter online, goals for the coming year, SLATE’s role in NCTE’s advocacy efforts, and the support for development of additional rationales for a second CD-ROM. 

At NCTE in San Francisco, SLATE will offer two concurrent sessions—Intellectual Freedom Award Winners and their Stories and The Research behind the NCLB legislation: What worth is there in it.

Donald A. Mayfield, Chair