Dear Kentucky English/Language Arts Teachers,

I am reminded of a middle school student who was accompanying a teacher presenter at the most recent conference. This student was speaking to the audience and made the simple comment that "you cannot think outside of the box unless it is open." Too many teachers live in their classroom day-after-day, teach engaging and rigorous lessons, and see outstanding results and never know they are doing so well. This conference invites all teachers to "open the box" so that they might step outside and share their own great work and also peer into the great things that are happening in other schools. What works for you in your school? How can you grow with and through others? I challenge our members to be the growth.

As of Tuesday 9 February 2010 our scheduled featured speakers are

• NCTE Vice-President Yvonne Siu-Runyan, Professor emerita from the University of Northern Colorado.  Formerly, Siu-Runyan was a classroom teacher for grades K-12; a district reading specialist and language arts coordinator for Boulder Valley Public Schools; and participated in, as well as chaired, NCTE's Elementary Section Steering Committee.  Siu-Runyan believes that "Stories matter!" and that "Literacy should empower all its citizens—the young and the seasoned—to learn about the world around us, and question the status quo, uncover social inequalities and injustices, and take social action." Siu-Runyan has published articles in several literary magazines including Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Reading, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literature, and School Talk.  She has also written the "Forward: Notable books for the Global Society—the Beginnings" in Breaking Boundaries with Global Literature for IRA and "Asian and Pacific Island Literature," in Adventuring with Books, 13th edition for NCTE.
• Georgia Heard: Georgia is the author of numerous professional books on writing including her most recent A Place for Wonder: Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades, as well as The Revision Toolbox: Teaching Techniques That Work; Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School; Writing Toward Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way; For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry; Climb Inside a Poem: Reading and Writing Poetry Across the School Year (coauthored with Lester Laminack); and Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School, which was cited by Instructor magazine as "One of the Twelve Books Every Teacher Should Read." She is also the author of several books for children including Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems; Creatures of Earth, Sea, and Sky; Songs of Myself: An Anthology of Poems and Art; and This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort.
• Thomas Foster: The author of the wildly popular How to Read Literature Like a Professor and the follow-up How to Read Novels Like a Professor, Tom has been teaching literature and writing since 1975, the last twenty-one years at the University of Michigan-Flint. In that time, he claims that he has learned more about literature from his students than in all the classes he ever took. "[It is] Amazing what questions, explanations, and the odd-doubting look can accomplish."
• George Watsky: Only 23 years young, George Watsky is a writer and performer who believes in the equal power of the tear and the belly laugh. Watsky aims to cross-pollinate the stage, screen, and stereo with work that speaks to both the humor and frustrations of modern life. Watsky was featured on Season 6 of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO. He was the 2006 Youth Speaks Grand Slam Poetry Champion, 2006 Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Champion, and performed in a record six consecutive Youth Speaks Grand Slam Finals. The last three of those audiences, all topping out at over 3,000, were the largest ever for poetry slams anywhere in the world. In 2009 Watsky was one of three poets who performed live on FOX at the NAACP Image Awards in honor of Russell Simmons' lifetime achievement award.
• Frederick Smock: Frederick Smock holds degrees from Georgetown College and the University of Louisville. He has received an Al Smith fellowship in poetry and won the 2002 Henry Leadingham Award for Poetry from the Frankfort Arts Foundation. He has also published a travel memoir, This Meadow of Time: A Provence Journal, with Sulgrave Press. Mr. Smock is currently poet-in-residence at Bellarmine University, in Louisville, where he teaches creative writing, literature, and art criticism; each summer, he teaches in Denmark with the KIIS Consortium. Mr. Smock currently serves on the advisory editorial boards of the Kentucky Writers Coalition, Paris Press, and The Louisville Review. He has published three books of poems with Larkspur Press, a letterpress publisher—Gardencourt, The Good Life, and Guest House. He also published a book of critical essays with Wind Publications, Poetry and Compassion—Essays on Art and Craft. The Iowa Review, Poetry, Shenandoah, The Southern Review, and The International Quarterly are among the many American journals to have published his poetry. Mr. Smock was the founding editor of The American Voice, the international literary journal published in Louisville for fifteen years—during that time he published many of the ground-breaking authors working throughout the Americas. In 1999, when he closed the journal, he published a retrospective collection, The American Voice Anthology of Poetry, with the University Press of Kentucky
• Neil Brewer: Neil Brewer spent the first twenty years of his teaching career in 5th and 6th grade classrooms, and has drawn from that journey with students on many occasions in various written forms. For his epic thematic adventure, The Travels of Harmon Bidwell, Neil received The Christa McAuliffe Fellowship, and Phi Delta Kappa International published Flying With Both Wings, which tells the story of how 104 year-old Harmon and the highly interactive curriculum of his travels were created. Neil also penned the story, and co- wrote the music for the book and stage performance Rusty and Dusty, a fun-loving romp of encouragement for young audiences. The author also enjoys playing a variety of instruments and has performed in two long-running stage productions of A Cotton Patch Gospel. Neil has also taken The 8 O'Clock Bell to the stage of The Derby Dinner Playhouse, to The Ogle Center for the Arts as a member of the Chase Bank Children's Series, and to Hayswood Theatre of Corydon, Indiana. A frequent keynote speaker/performer for special events and conferences across the country, Neil has written hundreds of poems related to personal experiences, and performs the very best of the 'school ones' in his current presentation.
• George Ella Lyon: Her poem "Where I'm From" has become, quite literally, world famous. Born and raised in the mountains of Kentucky, George Ella Lyon grew up with a love of poetry and music. She has published two collections of poems, along with Where I'm From, Where Poems Come From, a poetry primer; twenty-two picture books, five novels for young readers, an autobiography (A Wordful Child, in the Richard Owen "Meet-the Author" series), Choices (a book of stories for adult new readers), and With a Hammer for My Heart, a novel. She is the editor of A Kentucky Christmas, and co-editor, with Leatha Kendrick, of Crossing Troublesome: Twenty-Five Years of the Appalachian Writers Workshop. Her work is featured in the PBS series, The United States of Poetry.

I would like to thank all of you who proposed sessions for the 74^th Anniversary conference. We have closed our call for presenters for the 2010 conference and will be contacting proposers by the end of 2010.

Professional Development is one of the Kentucky Teacher Standards, and I've found that the KCTE/LA Conference is one of the best ways to fulfill that standard. In addition, you will have the opportunity to network with teachers from around the Commonwealth.

Please join us as we "Open The Box" and make an impact on the learning of your students. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Brandon Abdon,
2010 Conference Chair conference@kcte.org

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February is officially Black-History month. Americans now have many resources through the web that relate to African American History. The Library of Congress has a number of sites devoted to the history of Americans of African descent. Perhaps the best way to explore the LOC's collections is to go to the "American Memory" search page at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mdbquery.html and enter the search term "african american" in the search box.

Another good site for students to explore is the US Census site. One of their resources includes links to eXcel workbooks for individual state census records from 1790 to 1990. Each workbook contains information about the racial mix for the census year. The main resource is at http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056.html One question you might ask your class to explore is why the percentage of African Americans in Kentucky has declined while the percentage in the United States has remained nearly constant? Note that Kentucky's percentage was equal to or greater than the national percentage until the 1930 census.

For additional information about diversity in Kentucky based on race, try searching the US Census web page at http://www.census.gov/main/www/srchtool.html with the following query: (race OR slave) Kentucky

Many great African American authors live in Kentucky or were born here. Consider developing a local reading circle for your students and their families centered on some of these authors. For more information and suggestions about incorporating diversity into your classroom, contact the KCTE/LA Chair for Diversity at diversity@kcte.org

Celebrate the history of African Americans in Kentucky. Join in the Kentucky English Collaboration about African American Culture at http://www.kyenglish.org/February-Is-Black-History-Month

The KCTE/LA writing contest is now coordinated by the section vice presidents. Contact them for information. Email all of the vice presidents at contest@kcte.org. Contact individual vice presidents at elementary@kcte.org (Sherri Bazzell, Elementary VP), middle@kcte.org (Kerry Stephenson, Middle-School VP), secondary@kcte.org (VACANT, Secondary-School VP), or college@kcte.org (VACANT, College VP). The deadline for this year's contest is 01 May 2010. Winning entries in the 2009 contest appeared in the Fall 2009 Kentucky English Bulletin. Registration and submission is now electronic. You will still need to use postal mail to send the cover sheets (permission forms). The forms are avaiable at http://contest.kcte.org/student.html. More complete information (including information about past winners) is online at http://contest.kcte.org/index.html.

The NCTE sponsors two national writing contests for individuals, one for 8^th graders and the other for 11^th graders. For information about the contest for 8^th graders contact Frances Helphinstine at young-writers@kcte.org. Information about the awards and past recipients is available on this site at http://www.kcte.org/achievement/pyw.html . Information about the NCTE Writing Achievement Awards, which offer opportunity for Kentucky 11^th graders to receive national recognition for their writing, is available on this site at http://www.kcte.org/achievement/aa.html . For information about the contest for 11^th graders contact Frances Helphinstine at achievement@kcte.org.

The NCTE also sponsors an award for junior highschool, middle school, highschool, and secondary school literary magazines. For more information on PRESLM (Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines) awards contact Frances Helphinstine at preslm@kcte.org. Further instructions are available on this site at http://www.kcte.org/achievement/preslm.html .

Join the thousands of educators from all over the U.S. and beyond who have participated in the exemplary Advanced Placement training offered by The Center for Gifted Studies for twenty-seven years. Since that time, the program has serviced close to 6,000 teachers from every state and over two dozen foreign countries, including Brazil, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Korea, and Australia. Our many years of experience have allowed us to handpick the finest College Board certified consultants. Among them, our consultants have roughly 530 years of teaching experience and have won nearly thirty awards for teaching. All of our consultants have been or are AP exam readers and AP exam table leaders for the AP readers. Some are even test and textbook authors.

We offer over twenty seminars for both experienced and new AP teachers. At the AP Summer Institute, teachers embrace the notion of providing a quality learning environment for their students by first challenging themselves to become better educators. Engage in stimulating conversation, establish a strong network of colleagues, and leave eager to challenge students in the fall—become a part of the great tradition of Advanced Placement excellence at WKU!

Go to the WKU Gifted Website, and look for links to the "AP Institute" event, or call for more information (270.745.5991).

Toyota now offers a number of opportunities for teachers from the United States to study cultures and environments abroad. Different programs offer destinations of varying types. Each program has its own application deadline and specifications. Teachers participating in past Toyota International Teacher Program opportunities have returned with renewed commitment as teachers and with fresh ideas for sharing first hand experiences and international perspectives with their students, colleagues and communities. Find the details and apply online at http://www.toyota4education.com/ Call (877) TEACH-JP or email toyotateach@iie.org for more information or an application.

Charlie Hughes has set up an announce-only email list at U of K to cover Literature-related events in Kentucky.

News of publications, authors, readings, writing contests and awards, and more literary news will be distributed in infrequent e-mail messages to list subscribers. Subscribers are also encouraged to send their own announcements to the list. This is a moderated, announcement-type mailing list. This is not a discussion list, the kind that can overwhelm your mailbox. Your e-mail address will not be disclosed to any other entity or used for any other purpose. KCTE/LA has set up a page at http://www.kcte.org/etc/kylit.html with instructions from Charlie on how to join the list.

Shelby W. Fannin, past Middle School Chairman for OLEMA, shares adolescent literature titles which capture the most averse to reading, an array of activities which turn students into readers, and sources for inexpensive reading materials as Townsend Press.

Kathryn Mincey shares her guides for students to use to teach themselves standard grammar and usage within the evolution of the Alliance for Excellent Education position.

Mary Jerde and Maggie Gulley share current grant sources for K-12 English teachers, pointers for writing grants, and strategies which increase chances for receiving funding, such as collaborating with other schools.

George Eklund shares activities to use to take our students into the exploratory process of a poem.

The Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts, Inc. is an incorporated non-profit, service organization for Kentucky English and Language Arts teachers of all levels (Kindergarten-Graduate School). Membership dues and conference registrations support

• our journal, The Kentucky English Bulletin, published two times each year and edited by Dr. John Hagaman ; information is located at http://www.kcte.org/keb/
• our newsletter, the KCTE/LA News, edited by Amy Cody
• KCTE/LA's involvement in the NCTE Achievement in Writing Awards; information about the Kentucky contestants is available at http://www.kcte.org/achievement/ .
• an annual student essay contest; information is located at http://contest.kcte.org/
• KCTE/LA's involvement in the NCTE PRESLM (Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines) awards. For more information contact Dr. Fran Helphinstine at preslm@kcte.org .
• a teacher-of-the-year award
• an annual conference (each February); information is available at http://conference.kcte.org/

The over 200 members of KCTE/LA create a vibrant organization which has been recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English as one of the more active state affiliates.

In addition to supporting funded projects, the KCTE/LA connects English and Language Arts teachers to the Kentucky Department of Education. A number of KCTE/LA board members either direct or coordinate outreach progams for state Writing Projects, and the KDE sends a liaison to triannual KCTE/LA board meetings.

Regular membership in KCTE/LA is $30.00 per year (January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010). Membership includes a subscription to the KEB and the KCTE/LA News. Membership paid between 31 May 2010 and December 31, 2010 goes into effect at the time the membership is paid and continues through December 31, 2011. An online printable registration form and registration information are available at http://www.kcte.org/membership/member.html . A secure, online credit-card registration form (for full-membership only) is available at https://secure.kcte.net/membership/register.html .

If you would like to receive additional information or have a copy of our printed membership form mailed to you, please follow this link to our online information form at http://www.kcte.org/info.html .