Council Chronicle - Volume 22, Issue 1, 2012

Sherman Alexie hoped his first young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, would reach students of color, but had no idea it would hit a nerve with readers across the country and from a wide range of backgrounds and ethnicities.

While educators can be tempted to respond with inflammatory language to heated debates, especially when comments malign teachers or hurt students, a more effective response is to “stay focused on what is working, on what your students did that day that was successful.”

This NCTE Policy Research Brief “Reading Instruction for All Students,” explains that research on student readers and the texts they read confirms the need for teachers to play a key role in matching individual students with specific books at appropriate levels of textual complexity. In addition, research shows that educational policy needs to include professional development opportunities that ennable teachers to match instructional approaches to diverse student needs.

“It was never about what we were doing, it was about who we are.”

Collaborating to Review Student Work Leverages Teacher Expertise

The results of NCTE’s Spring 2012 elections

Children, the Arts, and W. E. B. Du Bois

Handlin Our (Unfinished) Bidness