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CSUN SED 610 - Advocacy

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20 The Council Chronicle  March 2009Teacher Advocacy: What Happened in Texasby Deb AronsonTeachers typically do not enter the profession intent on becoming political advocates. Their focus is how best to help individual students, leaving others to look out for students’ and teachers’ interests in the wider world. However, many teachers are recognizing that their classroom efforts are being hampered by forces outside the classroom. In order to counteract those forces, some teachers have become advocates for their profession and their students in the public arena. For example, in Texas, English teachers have found that their efforts to teach English language arts are be-ing compromised by some actions by the State Board of Education (SBOE). Last May, the SBOE passed a set of standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS) that, one teacher, Pat Jacoby, described as “flawed standards that will produce errors, gaps and weaknesses in the curriculum.” The document, say teachers who have seen it, is cobbled together, poorly written and unclear, with many holes in it. Examples include the adopted reading stan-dard: “monitor accuracy of decoding.” Teachers say that reading is more than decoding words; it also uses syntax, semantics, and visual information in order to com-prehend the text. The teacher version of this standard reads, “monitor accuracy of reading using decoding, syntax, semantics, and visual information.”Over the past three years, as the standards have been slowly reworked, Texas English language arts teachers learned to form coalitions with other literacy organiza-tions and other professional teaching organizations; to work with state legislators; to use the media to publicize their efforts to create high-quality standards; and to communicate with PTAs, parents, and school superin-tendents. In addition, Texas teachers have begun to recognize the importance of participating more fully in the political process by paying closer attention to local elections, by considering running for local office them-selves, and by informing others about local politics and the importance of local elections. The Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (TCTELA), an affiliate of NCTE, was a driving force in these advocacy efforts.The discord in Texas comes from philosophical differ-ences between board members and teachers. The major-ity of board members, led by SBOE chair Don McLeroy, feel strongly that it’s useful to teach subjects like gram-mar and spelling in isolation from writing, and also that comprehension skills, such as inference, do not need to be taught in more than one year, saying that is repetitive. Teachers and a minority of school board members feel that grammar and spelling is more effectively learned in the context of reading and writing. Doing otherwise, says Forth Worth teacher Betsy Oney, “makes about as much sense as teaching a child to ride a bicycle without a bicycle.” In addition, teachers note that comprehension skills might appear repetitive, but that each year the texts become more difficult, and that teaching comprehension every year is key to students’ learning critical thinking. Voicing an opposing view, board member David Bradley, who shares McLeroy’s views, told the Houston Chronicle “This critical thinking stuff is gobbledygook.” The teachers’ efforts began three years ago, when the TEKS were first being re-worked. Although the process was confusing and unclear, with the goals and methods changing, teachers worked hard to have their voices heard. For example, Alana Mor-ris, a literacy integration specialist and past president of both the TCTELA and of the Coalition of Reading and English Supervisors of Texas (CREST), and others spoke up to make sure professional organizations had a voice in how the TEKS were revised. Originally those organiza-tions were not included. In addition, regional meetings were held, allowing educators all over the state to review changes to the standards so that they also could have a role in creating quality standards. Attendance at these meetings ranged from between 15 and 47 participants representing more than 40 school districts and several The most important thing teachers can do is be informed about the positions of candidates running for the legislature and for local and state boards that set educational policy.—Cindy Tyroff, NCTE/SLATE representative for the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts Copyright © 2009 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.National Council of Teachers of English  March 2009 21You Can Be an Advocate for Education “Though the legislators and I inhabit different spheres, there is good in talking to one another.” —Anne Cognard, Lincoln, Nebraska “Legislators want to hear from the classroom teachers.” —Janice Suppa-Friedman, Stanardsville, VirginiaYou too can make a difference! Join your col-leagues for NCTE’s Literacy Education Advocacy Day on Thursday, April 23, 2009, in Washington, DC. This event, free to all NCTE members, will allow participants to:• learnhoweducationalpoliciesaffectingEnglish language arts teachers are shaped;• hearkeyeducationalpolicymakersdiscussEnglish language arts legislation issues and participate in question and answer sessions;• gainadeeperunderstandingoftrendsinfederal legislation;• receiveabriefingfromNCTElegislativecounsel;• andshareNCTEpositionswithlegislators.Visit www.ncte.org/action/advocacydayFor other ways you can make a difference, visit NCTE’s Action page at www.ncte.org/action. universities, and an enormous depth of experience, said Morris. In addition, TCTELA passed resolutions calling on the board to heed the recommendations of Texas educators, as documented in the CREST meetings, and to broaden its panel to include experts recognized by state and national education English and reading organizations. National organizations like NCTE also became in-volved. Kylene Beers, then NCTE president-elect, and Kent Williamson, executive director, each wrote letters to the State Board of Education regarding the TEKS. Up until one day before the school board voted on the new standards, teachers were cautiously optimistic that, despite their differences with the board, their voices would be heard. And then McLeroy decided to rewrite


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CSUN SED 610 - Advocacy

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