The Student NCTE Affiliate of Winthrop University

   Students in the Teacher Education tracks of the Department of English at Winthrop University (SC) formed their own student affiliate organization of the National Council of Teachers of English in 1999. The organization was officially approved in November, 1999, at the Denver, CO, national conference of NCTE.

[This Month's Meeting]
[Membership][Our Achievements]
[Links and Resources for Teachers] [Contact Us]

Officers:
Dr. Cindy Furr, Faculty Sponsor

Who Can Join?

    Anyone who is interested in English Education and is a student at Winthrop (full or part-time). Dues are $2.50 per semester. Each new member receives a packet and is encouraged to join the national organization at a greatly reduced fee. We are also looking forward to receiving free materials from NCTE, the benefits of NCTE-sponsored speakers, reduced registration fees, and other perks affiliate-ship provides.

Our Meetings

    The Affiliate meets monthly. Meetings usually feature a guest speaker.

THIS MONTH:

Questions?  furrc@winthrop.edu

Our Achievements

Summary of 2003-2004
Our first meeting was held on September 30, and featured Mr. Chris Revels and Mr. Jason Johns, who discussed their first-year teaching experiences in local high schools.  Mr. Revels teaches at Fort Mill High School, while Mr. Johns teaches at Rock Hill High School.  Mr. Johns was also awarded the Rock Hill School District 3 New Teacher of the Year. Both are Winthrop graduates. The meeting was held at 7 pm in Bancroft 271. On  October 15, Dr. Josephine Koster led a workshop focusing on the effective use of technology in the English Education classroom.  The meeting began at 7 pm and was held in Kinard 116, one of the campus computer labs to make the session interactive.  On November 12 Mrs. Denise Khaalid from the Rock Hill School District Three Office presented information about grammar instruction using Harry Noden's Image Grammar.  The Affiliate closed the year with its annual book drive, donating the collected books to the local Children's Attention Home.  The spring was also quite busy.  We kicked off things on January 28 with a presentation by Vickie Brockman, Director of the Winthrop Writing Project and veteran teacher, who spoke about classroom assessment.  On February 11, Sheila Huckabee, from the Rock Hill School District 3 office, presented on ESOL issues in our area.  On March 31, Denise Khaalid returned to discuss reading strategies.  We closed the year on April 14, when Rita Stringfellow, Personnel Director from Chester County, presented information about the job search. 

In 2002-2003, we began with an informational meeting in September, featuring an address by Mrs. Marion Garner, a teacher at York Comprehensive High School.  In October several former interns returned to speak as a panel of first year teachers: Mr. David Suber, Mr. Andy Crissinger, Mr. David DuBose, and Ms. Caroline DunLany. Ms. Kathy Stanley from the York County Literacy Association returned in November to share information about her work in this area.  In December, the Affiliate participated in a "book buddies" program with local high school students.  During this experience, students had the opportunity to write to students in Mrs. Marian Garner's classes about reading.  On December 14, Affiliate Members traveled to York Comprehensive High School for a party to meet with their book buddies and to wrap gifts of books together for the NCTE Affiliate Literacy Drive (after which the books were delivered to the Children's Attention Home and the York County Literacy Center). The Affiliate was also very active in the spring of 2003.  In February, Ms. Rita Stringfellow, Executive Director of Human Resources for Chester County School District, spoke about job hunting strategies and the job interview.  Mrs. Barbara Jenkins, Richland School District 2's District of the Year in Columbia, SC, spoke in April about minority issues and the teaching experience.  The year concluded with an informative talk about school report cards, teacher accountability, and standardized testing by Mr. Mike Fanning, Director of the Olde English Consortium at Winthrop University.

In 2001-2002, we began the academic year by having a panel of first year teachers speak. Angela Herron, Anna Bridwell, and Caroline DunLany described their experiences as new teachers. Dr. David Vawter was the next guest speaker; he talked about making a classroom with a heart. Kathy Stanley, from the York County Literacy Association  presented information about literacy issues. Mike Fanning  from the Olde English Consortium of Winthrop focused on the problems of school report cards and the dangers of high stakes testing. Dr. Carol Pearson discussed teacher expectations and student performance. For our projects, we continued the tradition of donating books to the Children’s Attention Home and the York County Literacy Association in Rock Hill, and we held a marathon reading of challenged or censored books to celebrate Banned Book Month. In November 2001, Katie McErlean, a former officer of the Winthrop NCTE Affiliate, presented at a panel at the NCTE National Conference.

    In 2000-2001, we held a marathon reading of challenged or censored books, conducted a literacy project and donated several hundred books to the Children's Attention Home and York County Literacy Assn., had guest speakers talk to us about the first year of teaching and what teaching is like after thirty years, and listened to Mr. Mike Fanning's address on accountability in education. Also, our Pres. Emeritus, Mary Page, member Paige Johnson, and Dr. Neary presented a panel at the national NCTE conference in Milwaukee. We will be represented again this November at the national conference in Baltimore as former V-P Katie McErlean, member Lori Sowell, Mrs. Koon, and Dr. Neary present a session. We are also looking forward to working with Mrs. Marian Garner (from York HS) in a project that involves high school students in a reading exchange.

    In 1999-2000, our speakers included Krista Young Williams (Andrew Jackson HS), speaking on the first year on the job; Cathy Stanley, Director of the York County Literacy Association, speaking on promoting literacy; Assistant Principal Judy Mobley (Rock Hill HS), speaking on interviewing ideas and getting jobs; and Dr. Jo Koster (Winthrop University), speaking on using the Internet as a tool for teachers.

For More Information

    Contact Dr. Cindy Furr, Faculty Sponsor, at (803) 323-4559, or e-mail her at furrc@winthrop.edu.

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This page maintained for the Affiliate by Dr. Kelly Richardson and was last updated on 2/20/05.  The department makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of information found on this web site, but offers no warranty with regard to it. Click here for the Winthrop Disclaimer Statement.