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From the Editor
Fred Barton, Michigan State University, Chair NCTE/SLATE Steering Committee, 
...It is time for teachers to become active, to take a stand for themselves and their profession...   

Public Schools and Intellectual Freedom in a Democratic Society
Anne Cognard and the Lincoln East High School English Department, Lincoln, Nebraska
...To create and maintain within classrooms an intellectually safe and thriving environment for the diverse voices that arise from and strengthen a democracy, predicated on debate, discourse, and difference, where equal access applies to ideas as well as to people.

NCTE Censorship Challenge Report 
Millie Davis, NCTE Division Director, Communications and Affiliate Services 
We had 1/3 fewer reported challenges in Quarter 2 of FY2007 than during the same time in FY2006 (19 challenges in 2006 as compared to 30 in 2005). 

One Teacher's Freedom of Curricular Choice Curtailed
See NCTE INBOX News Lesson in Poetry Gets a Teacher in Trouble (The Gainesville Sun, March 8, 2007) and Levy Teacher Suspended for Poetry Lesson Returning to Job (The Gainesville Sun, March 16, 2007) and NCTE INBOX Blog Teaching with Forbidden Words

Personal Opinion Paper 
No Child Left Behind: Legislated Censorship
Rick Meyer, University of New Mexico
Most of us are teaching in schools affected by No Child Left Behind, a law that was passed with bipartisan approval in 2001. This law has had a profound influence on testing, programs that schools may use, funding, and other pragmatics in the running of schools. At a deeper level, the law, intended to serve the disadvantaged, has been successful in disadvantaging thoughtful seasoned teachers, new teachers, bilingual students, children in poverty, research on education, and teacher education.  

Personal Opinion Paper 
Exterminating Public Education
Jack Gerson and Steven Miller, Oakland Public Schools, California
The corporate campaign to privatize public education entered a new phase on December 14, 2006, when the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce released its book-length report, Tough Choices or Tough Times. 

How to Submit a Resolution
One of the most important ways you can make a difference is to submit a resolution on an issue of importance to English language arts education. NCTE resolutions, along with NCTE guidelines and position statements, tell the world what we feel is best practice (and sometimes what we feel is not) in English language arts education. These resolutions are voted on at the Annual Business Meeting for the Board of Directors and Other Members of the Council, and they do make a difference. Submissions for resolutions are due on October 15 of each year. See current resolutions, which are good models for resolution format, and the rules and procedures governing the submission of resolutions. 

Contribute to SLATE 
Your donation to SLATE will help us to implement and publicize the policies adopted by NCTE, to support NCTE’s anti-censorship work, and to influence public attitudes and policy decisions affecting the teaching of English language arts at local, state, and national levels.

Donate through the NCTE online store or use the donation form available to fax your donation to SLATE (217-278-0977) or mail NCTE your donation to SLATE (National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd. Urbana, IL 61801-1096). 

NCTE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible. Donations received by December 31 may be deducted from your income taxes for that year.

Important Policy Connections
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 (scroll to Strategic Governance near the bottom of the page)
SLATE Website with archives of past SLATE Newsletters, SLATE Starter Sheets, and other SLATE-related resources

 
Some linked documents are provided in PDF format and can be viewed using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader program. To download a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to the Adobe Acrobat website.