Hello SRIS!

As your incoming SRIS newsletter editors, we are energized and ready to bring our interest section newsletter to you on a regular basis, and we are already so grateful for the quick response to our recent call for submissions. We couldn’t have a newsletter without all of your inspiring submissions, so thank you for your interest and your ongoing contributions. It is our goal to have at least three more issues before the next TESOL convention in 2018: a September issue, a December issue, and a preconvention March issue.

In this issue, we have letters from our leadership team: new Chair Laura Jacob, our Co-Chair-Elects Carter Winkle and Heidi Faust, and ourselves. In addition, we have a section that details who is on the SRIS leadership team this year for your reference. We are also pleased to bring you four relevant, insightful articles that illustrate some highlights of social responsibility and advocacy at the TESOL 2017 convention in Seattle, Washington, USA.

In the first article, “Reflection on Reading and Rights: Social Responsibility and Text Selection,” Alexandra Guilamo reflects on Sherman Alexie’s TESOL keynote and connects it to a recent classroom observation in which a teacher wanted to use reading material that wasn’t appropriate for her diverse group of students. The second article, “Addressing Linguicism and Its Racial Implications in the Age of Nationalism,” is a reflection by coeditor Riah Werner highlighting the importance of linguicism and race in the classroom. In “Creating Inclusive Classrooms for LGBTQIA Students,” our third article, TESOL presenters Molly Kelley and Andrew Lewis share practical ideas to help teachers create welcoming and inclusive classrooms that prioritize the learning of LGBTQIA students and denormalize homophobia. Finally, TESOL presenter Cathy Raymond discusses the work the Alliance for International Women’s Rights currently conducts in Nepal and Afghanistan to train women educators via Skype. Collectively, these articles showcase the powerful ideas that were exchanged at this year’s convention and provide inspiration for educators who want to create a more equitable world.

If you were not able to submit an article for this issue, please consider submitting one for our September issue on Identity, Inclusion, and Advocacy. You can find our next call for submissions in our Community News Section. For now, we wish you a productive and active summer and look forward to hearing more about how this amazing community of activists and educators continues to create change in our classrooms and communities. Please enjoy our first edition as your editors.

Sincerely,

Anastasia Khawaja and Riah Werner