Sunday, February 05, 2006

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): 1975 Resolutions to Promote Advanced Literacy Skills

I'm getting ready to do some deep exploration of the concepts and lessons in Donald Lazere's book Reading and Writing for Civic Literacy: The Critical Citizen's Guide to Argumentative Rhetoric, which I am using in my ENG 102 courses. Please feel free to provide additional sources, ideas, and positions in regards to whatever I post. To keep in touch with different generational views, to supplement the rhetorical understandings of this book, I will also be returning to two books, one focused on the thoughts/beliefs of younger activists (Letters From Young Activists) and the other centered around the thoughts/beliefs of an older generation of activists (Global Values 101). I feel I am in between these generations and believe I have much to learn from both.

As a member of an English/Humanities department I wonder how far have we progressed in living up to these resolutions passed in 1975

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Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English support the efforts of English and related subjects to train students in a new literacy encompassing not only the decoding of print bu the critical reading, listening, viewing, and thinking skills necessary to enable students to cope with the sophisticated persuasion techniques found in political statements, advertising, entertainment, and news.

--Resolution Passed in 1975

Also check out their Resolution on Promoting Media Literacy

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