The National Council of Teachers of English

As a future English and Language Arts teacher I want to strive to be the best I can be. One way I will do that is by becoming involved in organizations that offer support and advocacy for my profession. One of these support systems is the National Council of Teachers of English. This council's mission statement is as follows,

"The Council promotes the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language.“

As a member of this organization I will benefit in many ways. Some of these are benefits are:

• NCTE provides an avenue for teachers to influence public policy and legislation in the public education field. The organization also keeps members informed and up to date on current education issues. 
• NCTE has made available to it's members lesson plans and many teacher resources to use in the classroom through readwritethink.org
• NCTE provides teacher growth and continuing education seminars via face to face at conventions, on webinars and facilitated online courses.

The National Council of Teachers of English has alot to offer in addition to what I named above. The Council was organized on December 2, 1911 and has remained strong since. Originally the council was formed to deal with college entrance requirements and how they affected high school English learning. Knowing the struggles our education system faces today we can see the relevence in this kind of organization. We need a place to go as a professional to make our voices heard and to organize support for our profession. We need the networking and collaboration with other teachers that is available through this kind of council. 

I encourage you to take a moment and look around the National Council of Teachers of English website to see what is available to you.