|
Sky Lantz-Wagner
|
|
Federico Salas-Isnardi
| We are honored to be stepping into the roles of co-chairs for
the upcoming year. Taking on this responsibility during a pandemic that
forced TESOL to cancel the international convention for the first time
in its history presents both a number of challenges and also great
opportunities. One of the reasons members attend the convention year
after year is the chance to network with colleagues; we have heard many
confess this is what they will miss the most. Some of us were looking
forward to the chance to hug our TESOL friends, and that will have to
wait. However, TESOL did host a Virtual Convention, July 16-18, with
many of the Denver sessions having moved to that format.
An opportunity we are looking forward to presenting to you this
year is to have a number of regular formal and informal meetings of the
SRIS on a TESOL meeting platform. For more than fifty years, much of
the learning at TESOL has happened once a year at the convention. Now,
we have the opportunity to decide to be present for each other a few
times during the year. Our four domains (EL Advocacy, Global Issues,
Professional Learning, and the Intersection of Identity and Teaching)
are a perfect mechanism to make that happen, and we are planning on
having a few professional-development sessions between now and the 2021
conference in Houston. Also, we have discussed somewhat regularly held
online social hours. Please stay connected to our TESOL community of
practice to learn more.
We know that the road ahead will be bumpy, but the strength of
this community embedded within the strength of the larger TESOL
community gives us confidence that we will make it through and be
stronger than we were at the outset.
We also want to acknowledge Riah and Anastasia’s work as
co-chairs, and Carter’s mentorship as outgoing chair during the last
year. They provided strong leadership and mentorship and helped prepare
us to take the reins. The most recent
leadership
update contained detailed information about staying connected
through various online platforms as well as professional development
opportunities; if you haven’t read it, we encourage you to do
so.
As we start our work, we need your ideas. The pandemic has
changed our lives to be sure, but it has also made it even more apparent
how important the work of social responsibility is. The fracture lines
seem to widen during a global crisis. In the United States, racial
tensions have escalated. Around the world, the economic impact of the
health crisis will be felt more acutely by the poor. Our work as
socially responsible teachers has only become more critical. Please, let
us know how we can help you and share your ideas and concerns. Let’s
make this the year when SRIS represents the voice of TESOL more than any
other interest section.
We are looking forward to facing the challenges ahead.
Sky and Federico |
