Break out the confetti and the party hats: soon the National Council of Teachers of English will mark its Centennial, 100 years of leadership in literacy education. Founded in Chicago in December 1911, NCTE has grown from its original 60 or so members to its current strength of 54,000. And while 2011 is the birthday year, plans and activities are currently underway to mark the organization’s vital place in literacy education in American and to foster more public awareness of issues in literacy education.
The group charged with the Centennial celebration is the Task Force on Council History and 2011, and for three years members have been meeting and planning. To date, the Centennial projects include:
Archival Research: A wealth of photographs, recordings, documents, publications, and other artifacts are housed both at the University of Illinois archives and at NCTE Headquarters. Documents of interest to scholars and other researchers are currently being selected for future digitalization so that they will be widely available on the NCTE website and searchable for research and study. The digitalization project is expensive and will require outside funding; grants are being prepared to underwrite this project.
Centennial Book: Plans are underway to invite approximately one dozen essays on a wide range of literacy-related topics and to frame the issues from a historical perspective. The completed volume should be available early 2010.
Centennial Video: Videographers are currently being interviewed for the production of a 20-minute video on NCTE and literacy education in America. The video will utilize the rich array of visual resources available as well as interviews with members. A completed video should be ready for viewing in 2010.
Activities for NCTE Affiliates: All affiliates are being invited to initiate a number of Centennial-related projects, notably the creation or updating of a local Literary Map; an Honor Roll of affiliate leaders; and a list of Affiliate Milestones. Once completed, all of these will be available on the NCTE website.
Convention Activities: Sessions regarding NCTE history will be offered at the 2008 Annual Convention in San Antonio, and the “Moment of History” given at the Board of Directors meeting will continue. More targeted activities are also being planned for upcoming conventions in Philadelphia (2009), Orlando (2010), and the Centennial Convention in Chicago (2011).
Website: The upcoming re-designed NCTE website will feature a Centennial section where all scholarly and other history-related material will be housed. Members who have participated in the “Then and Now” essays (solicited through INBOX) will have their work posted, and other Centennial material, such as the Affiliate Honor Roll and Affiliate Milestones, will also be on the website.
Journals and Other Publications: A number of NCTE journals, notably CCC and TETYC, have begun to showcase historically related articles; many other journals have been invited to follow suit. Since January 2008 the “Blast from the Past” feature has appeared in the weekly INBOX and highlights historical facts. A recent entry was:
Have you ever heard of the NCTE Commission on Dreams? It never existed—but it was actually proposed in 1977 by NCTE Executive Director J.N. Hook who urged the Council to consider the challenges of the future.
Logo and Slogan: The Centennial also has a recognizable identity. A logo was created after intensive study of similar organizations’ Centennial “brands,” and the slogan, Reading the past. Writing the future., was selected from 150 submitted by members through the INBOX “Name that Centennial” contest.
NCTE’s Centennial is far more than a nostalgic reminiscence of the glories of the past. As interesting—and impressive—as many of NCTE’s historic achievements may be, the Centennial is more properly a time to take stock and look forward as we all work to shape literacy education in the present and future.
For more information, to ask questions, or to share ideas, please contact the chair of the Task Force, Leila Christenbury.