Resources

You are encouraged to develop professionally throughout your teaching career. Professional publications, such as those mentioned below, will keep you current in your field while providing you with research-based teaching ideas.

The conferences sponsored by the organizations mentioned below are efficient ways of absorbing a lot of useful ideas in a short period of time and maintaining contact with colleagues who are professionally active and engaged. Attendance at such conferences is also a good way to log some of the 150 professional growth hours required of teachers over each five-year period to keep their credentials current. We encourage you to consider joining one or more of these organizations at a student discount to see what they have to offer.

National Council of Teachers of English

One of the best ways to remain current in the field of English Education is to become a member of the premier national association of English teachers, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Membership allows you to subscribe to Voices from the Middle (aimed at middle school teachers) or English Journal (of interest to teachers at the high school level) and attend its yearly conferences. Members also receive The Council Chronicle--NCTE's member newspaper; INBOX--the weekly email with professional information, practical ideas, and news in education; NCTE position statements; lesson plans in all areas of the language arts; access to mentors; and many other useful professional resources, including books on the subject of teaching English and an online journal database.

California Association of Teachers of English

The equivalent state-level organization of English teachers in California is the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE). It publishes California English and holds yearly conferences in February, alternating between venues in northern and southern California.

Southland Council of Teachers of English

At the regional level, the affiliate association is the Southland Council of Teachers of English (SCTE), which holds two local conferences each year.

California Writing or Literature Projects

There are many viable ways of developing as a professional, but two of the most valuable, other than earning a Master's degree in English, are participating in the California Writing or Literature Projects. These are summer institutes created by teachers for teachers in an effort to share the best practices in the teaching of writing and literature. Teachers model their most successful lessons, work collaboratively in creative ways, attend presentations by experts in the field, and network as they hone their skills in these two central areas of the language arts.

Under the directorship of Dr. Ron Strahl, the South Basin Writing Project takes place during the summers at CSULB. The project has been approved, both nationally and statewide, to provide No Child Left Behind support.

Follow the links below for information about California Literature Projects at other universities in the region:

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Los Angeles

Bibliography

A compilation of books and articles that may be of interest to teachers of English, otherwise known as "the summer reading list" for English teachers (all the summers of one's career). You'll find it here.

Last update: 3/16/06