• In Mr. Barton Goes to Washington, Fred Barton tells us that "to be successful, advocacy must build from what the two sides have in common rather than center solely on their differences. This is the only way to move from talking at one another to talking to one another."
  
  
• Anne Cognard reminds us that "though the legislators and I inhabit different spheres, there is good in talking to one another. Even though we may be in the sometimes surreal surroundings of Washington, D.C., as we attempt to find a way to negotiate different perspectives on education we enact those early values of American culture affirmed through its literature again and again and again."
  
  
• "Legislators want to hear from the classroom teachers," Janice Suppa-Friedman tells us, "making it critical that we write letters voicing our concerns when new issues arise. Better yet, if we could gather even a larger group from the Virginia Association of Teachers of English (VATE) next year and teachers from different districts, we could make a greater impact on policies."
  
  
• "Sometimes the best laid plans not only go awry, but they march, or run, to the beat of a different drummer," explains Shelah Novak in NCTE Advocacy Day -- So Easy, Even This VATE Member Can Do It. Novak and her VATE colleagues were waiting to meet with their congressman when he came into his office and told them that the meeting would be on the run, literally. He had three minutes to make it to the Capitol Building for a vote and they could talk along the way. "While running down the hallway, out the building, and down the sidewalk," Novak says, "he matter-of-factly asks, 'What do you want to discuss?'" An aide talked with the group while the congressman went into the Capitol; when he returned they continued their meeting. "It may not have progressed in the customary fashion, but I felt our first meeting was a success."

Reminder:  May 1 Is the Nomination Deadline for the NCTE/SLATE Intellectual Freedom National Award


Critical Policy Resources
NCTE's Action Center and the Latest Action Alerts
NCTE's Anti-Censorship Center
NCTE Position Statements
NCTE Policy Collections
NCTE Executive Committee Strategic Governance Policies (see "Strategic Governance" at the bottom of the page)
SLATE Website (archives of past SLATE newsletters, SLATE Starter Sheets, and other SLATE-related resources)
Congress.org (to find your elected representatives)

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SLATE Update is distributed by email by the National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096; 800-369-6283. This online newsletter is mailed to you at the email address NCTE has on file for you. In it you'll find articles and information on and about issues that affect the teaching of the English language arts. If you would like NCTE to have a different email address on file for you, please email slate@ncte.org.  If you do not wish to receive future SLATE emails, please send an email to slate@ncte.org.  If you have trouble viewing this email, read this issue online.

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Copyright 2008 National Council of Teachers of English