Kylene Beers's Welcome Message Archive

[Traci Gardner]

This thread includes all of the messages from the main page of the Ning. All are from President-Elect Kylene Beers.

[Traci Gardner]

Posted August 25, 2008

A Welcome-ning Note from the President-Elect, Kylene Beers

Thank you for being an inaugural member of the 2008 NCTE Annual Convention Ning! Join groups, share your thinking, pose your questions, upload videos, and begin discussing Convention session topics. Why this different way to communicate, collaborate, and create? Because shift happens! Visit often, invite your friends, and be a part of an exciting way to not only be in touch, but be informed.

—Kylene Beers

[Traci Gardner]

Posted September 2, 2008

As teachers in Florida rebound from Fay and teachers in Louisiana recover from Gustav and teachers along the east coast carefully monitor Hanna, I am reminded of one particular image from the aftermath of Katrina—a young boy from New Orleans starting to school in Houston after losing his home, his neighborhood, and his school in the Lower Ninth Ward flooding. While he could have walked into this new school with trepidation, the smile on his face as he greeted his new teacher with a hug said it all—school is not only a place of learning, but it is a place of stability, of safety, and of hope.

My heartfelt thanks to all of the teachers who, as they face their own losses from flood and wind, go to school each day to be there for the children they teach. On behalf of the 55,000 members of NCTE, thank you for your work and dedication.

—Kylene Beers

[Traci Gardner]

Posted September 8, 2008

“The NCTE Ning is THE place to be!” one teacher wrote to me. I agree!

Many thanks to each of you who have joined this Ning. You have created or joined important groups—Adolescent Literacy, Early Childhood Education, English Language Learners, and Talking about Books to name a few. You are starting and participating in conversations about content area literacy, culture and history and storytelling, NCLB, or grammar. You are sharing information about your sessions for the upcoming Convention and are posting notes to colleagues across the country.

In other words, this Ning is exciting because of—YOU! This is indeed your space to create, communicate, and collaborate. Enjoy!

—Kylene Beers

[Traci Gardner]

My Inbox has been filled with notes from concerned teachers who, knowing I live in the direct path of Hurricane Ike, have taken their time to extend best wishes to my family and me. Others have called offering shelter—Ed and Joanne Farrell have the distinction of calling first and helping me to laugh the most. Each note and call has meant much to me. While I might be the most visible NCTE member who lives in Ike’s landfall path, the truth is that this area is home to many active and dedicated NCTE members—Joseph Rodriguez, Alana Morris, Carol Bedard, Judy Wallis, Peggy Hill, BeBe Hood, Leigh Van Horn, and Teri Lesesne to name ONLY a few, a very few. Indeed thousands of NCTE members call this area of Texas home.

If you’ve lived along the Gulf Coast for any length of time, you know how to prepare for a storm—board up, stock up, gas up, and then hunker down or head out. You prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and know that, as with much of life, the reality you’ll face will be somewhere between those two extremes.

I look forward to that clear blue sky that follows a storm, and I face this one heartened by your well wishes. Thank you.

—Kylene Beers

[Traci Gardner]

A Longer Update on the Aftermath of Ike from Kylene Beers

First, all the emails have meant a great deal to each of us. Thank you for your thoughts and well-wishes.

Things here continue to be a mess. No power; limited water; no landline phone service; no cell phone service most of time, sometimes we are able to make a call; gas shortage is becoming a real issue. We need gas to run our generator for a few hours each day—that keeps our cell phone and laptops charged (and keeps the beer cold—most critical!). The cell phone is mostly reliable only for text messages. The Verizon card for our laptop means we sometimes can send emails—and sometimes not. We receive emails hours/days after you’ve sent them—but they are eventually getting through and they mean much. Thank you.

Minimal damage to our house, surprising since we were in Ike’s direct path. Living in a place called The Woodlands, you can imagine the number of trees in our area—huge ones, 75’ tall pines. So the majority of damage to this area came from falling trees. Trees on our property had the good manners to fall toward the back of our property, except for the one that gave us small skylight we hadn’t quite planned on adding at this point—and certainly didn’t want during a hurricane! But it’s a small hole and is the very, very least of our worries.

Power problems come primarily from transformers and substations that were flooded. One was flooded so severely that it is now filled with snakes and not possible for workers to get into. That comes from the entergy.com website that is doing a good job of trying to keep customers informed—for the few times people can make a connection to see what’s happening. Tens of thousands of downed power lines in Houston from poles that snapped in two or from trees that fell on the lines only compound the problems.

We have no idea when schools will reopen. No idea. Not just one school district but all the districts in this area. The Greater Houston Area and the Gulf Coast area is home to several hundred thousand school age children. We have one of them and he has quickly learned that not going to school is only fun when your school is up and running and you get to miss for a reason of your own choice.

Downtown Houston is in shambles. Brad and Baker drove there yesterday to check on Brad’s office. He was surprised he was let into the business district, but he was. He said almost all trees that were downtown are gone; many traffic lights and signs, gone; many buildings downtown lost at least some windows, some lost majority of windows. When windows blew out, inside office things also blew out—so debris (desks, chairs, computers, paper, tables, etc) everyplace on the streets. Cleanup means bulldozers pushing aside debris so glass can be swept (with huge sweepers) into an area. No move yet to begin to put buildings back together. Brad has the 33rd floor of the Wedge Tower—across the street from the Hyatt if you know downtown Houston at all. While the outer windows blew out, the inner windows held so his floor does not have water damage at all.

Heading on down toward Galveston makes me stop complaining about no power or water or gas. We still have a home. We have streets that are passable. Galveston just isn’t there any more. Huge swaths of it are flattened. Homes that still stand are flooded. No sewage, no water (not just low, but none), no power, no food, no gas. The headlines of USA Today said it best: “You cannot live here now.”

Tempers across the Houston area are sometimes on edge as people worry about basics—food, water, gasoline. But, for the most part, neighbors are helping each other, people are understanding of the situation, and that old-fashioned way of communication (actually talking with your neighbor) has proven itself not only reliable but also fun and comforting.

Continued below....

[Traci Gardner]

continued from above...

The weather has offered us some respite today as it is cooler and less humid. We’re spending our time cleaning up so Brad has become the popular kid on the block as he has all the right toys—chain saw, chipper, axes, saws, and a generator. But ending the day with canned tuna and a peanut butter sandwich just isn’t the same as a steak and baked potato. Baked anything, actually.

More next time we have a connection. I now understand Maslow’s Hierarchy with new-found appreciation.

Again, thanks for your concern.

—Kylene Beers

[Joan F. Kaywell]

Hi Kylene,

I sent your message out to the ALAN distribution list and other colleagues around the country and have received numerous replies. I've encouraged everyone to send you a note on the NING, but I wanted to send the one below because well wishers abound from around the globe. Remember to let us all know what we can do. JFK

See message that follows:

Please pass our deep concern and best wishes to NCTE President-elect and all those who are suffering from the flood. It is our hope that the area
will soon have power supply and the citizens will resume their normal life.

Xiaoping Wang
from Beijing

[Traci Gardner]

Posted October 14, 2008

While leaves fell early here in Houston thanks to Hurricane Ike, without doubt it is now fall throughout the entire country. In the last 2 weeks, I have been in Idaho, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Colorado, and tomorrow, October 15, I head to Florida.

In each place, I’ve seen the visible signs of fall—leaves turning rustic red and flaming orange, pumpkins appearing by doorsteps, and shadows growing long earlier and earlier each day. But those aren’t the only signs of fall.

In each place, I’ve also seen teachers turn with excitement toward this new school year. No matter the trials—economic issues, hurricanes, or wild fires, to name only a few!—each day, teachers helps students become their best. You encourage, excite, and inspire.

I look at the things NCTE is doing to support your work through journals and books, Web Seminars, sustained PD with programs such as Pathways, and our upcoming annual Convention—and I see an organization that, like you, is approaching this school year with commitment, excitement, and passion.

If you’ve not yet registered for the NCTE Convention, take a moment now to do so. I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio, November 20-23. Until then, enjoy this season of change!

—Kylene Beers

[Traci Gardner]

On Election Day evening, I flew from Hartford to Houston with a stop in Cleveland. In the airport in Hartford, before polls closed, the buzz was low but audible—“What’s happening?” “Has anyone heard anything?” “When will first results be shared?” Whether the travelers were supporting Senator McCain or Senator Obama, their excitement was obvious. In Cleveland, I gathered with hundreds around television monitors to watch as an election—too early to be called—took an obvious turn. Latino, Black, White, Asian, old, young, women, men—all stood together and watched history in the making. When I landed in Houston, Senator McCain was urging us to come together, now that the election was over, to join him in support of the new President-Elect, and to focus once again on the hopes and goals that he and Obama share, and that we share with them. As I made my way through the terminal I looked at the people riveted to the TV screens, and though some were happy and some were sad, I sensed that all of them were ready to join with Senator McCain and President-Elect Obama in taking our next steps into the 21st century.

Then, once home, I listened to President-Elect Obama’s remarks and saw a face determined, heard a voice committed, and felt a passion resolute. Undaunted by the difficulties we face, one man stood before this nation and this world and reminded us that together, with hard work, with commitment, with optimism, and with a spirit of unity, we can and will succeed.

We—teachers across this land—have always known the power of that collaboration, the significance of commitment, the meaning of hard work; we have always known that without the audacity of hope, we are a nation lost. One hope that we share as educators is that this new administration will take advantage of the wisdom and knowledge of NCTE members in shaping literacy policy that advances every learner. Our ultimate goal-- a more literate future for all of our students.

To help plan this future, I invite you to be a part of the 2008 NCTE Annual Convention, November 20-23, in San Antonio, Texas. If you have not yet registered, it is still not to be late to be a part of this historic convention, aptly themed Because Shift Happens. Hear Eric Cooper, Yvette Jackson, Alfred Tatum, Barbara Flores, Victor Villanueva, Pat Mora, Donna Alvermann, P. David Pearson, Regie Routman, Lucy Calkins, Janet Allen, best-selling authors Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America) and Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea), internationally-acclaimed futurist Marc Prensky and a host of others discuss the literacy demands of the twenty-first century. For information go to http://www.ncte.org/ or http://ncte2008.ning.com/.

My best to you,
Kylene Beers, Ed.D. President-Elect
National Council of Teachers of English

[Traci Gardner]

Posted November 12, 2008

What do Gary Knell, the President and CEO of Sesame Street, Marc Prensky, Barbara Ehrenreich, Regie Routman, Pat Mora, Victor Villanueva, Jr., Eric Cooper, Yvette Jackson, Tomie dePaola, Tim Tyson, Ellin Keene, Alfred Tatum, Donna Alvermann, David Pearson, Ernest Morrell, Bobbi Houtchens, Karl Fisch, Greg Mortenson, Harvey Daniels, Stephanie Harvey, Lester Laminack, Teri Lesesne, John Golden, Dawn Latta, Jerry Harste, Carolyn Burke, Lois Ehlert, Jacqueline Woodson, Barry Lane, Sharon Creech, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Francine Prose, Anna Castillo, Simon J. Ortiz, Deborah Brandt, and Naomi Shihab Nye all have in common?

They are all headed to the NCTE Convention to help us learn more about teaching in the 21st century. Be sure to join and enjoy these General Session Speakers and Featured Speakers at the Convention! I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!

—Kylene Beers

[Luke Beals]

Posted January 20, 2009

Most of you visiting this Ning are classroom teachers, and today you had the opportunity to share with this nation’s children the historic inauguration of Barack Obama. I hope students had an opportunity to watch and to listen, to question and to wonder, to talk and to write. I hope they shared with classmates and you their understandings of this moment.

It strikes me that you, the teachers of this nation, are often with our nation’s children at times of historic importance. Often this has been for the worst of times: the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the Challenger explosion; the attacks on 9/11. Sometimes you are with them for the best of times: the successful return of Apollo 13 and, today, the inauguration of the first African American President of the United States.

You do so much more than simply prepare students for tests. You already know that a single test will never be an adequate measure of success. Your real challenge is to play an integral part in preparing our nation’s children for active participation in this great democracy. For the thousands of parents who send their children to you each day—some days that are historic—thank you for never losing sight of the real goal.

—Kylene Beers

[Luke Beals]

Posted April 10, 2008

We often say that April showers bring May flowers. That adage points out the importance of the right nourishment (rain) to get the result we want (daffodils!), and it offers wisdom for much of life. At NCTE, April is a time of much providing nourishment as we turn our thoughts to advocacy, the National Day on Writing, and reminding students and ourselves about the beauty and power of poetry. Some effort—nourishment if you will—in each of those areas from each of us will mean wonderful rewards in the future.

1. Figure out how you and your community will participate in the NCTE National Day on Writing. Watch for information at this site and http://www.ncte.org. The National Day on Writing Virtual Gallery opens to the public on October 20. We begin accepting pieces for publication in the gallery on April 27.

2. Decide what you will do to support NCTE’s Advocacy Day on April 23. Will you join us in Washington DC for a day on the Hill? Information is at http://www.ncte.org/action/advocacyday. For ideas you can implement in your hometown for yourself and your students, see the advocacy calendar of events we’ve put together at http://www.ncte.org/action/advocacyday/calendar. Be sure to click on the ideas link on April 10.

3. Take a moment to read the 2009 NCTE Legislative Platform. It’s a powerful statement that will show you what NCTE is talking about at a policy level this year. See http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/2009legisplatform.

4. Celebrate National Poetry Month. See http://www.favoritepoem.org/ to hear favorite poems read aloud. Go to http://www.poets.org for ideas to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket day on April 30.

—Kylene Beers