SRIS Newsletter - August 2020 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
•  LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS
•  LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
ARTICLES
•  FACILITATING ART/REFLECTION FOR ESOL/ESL WITH LARGE GROUPS: INSIDE AN IMMIGRANT FAMILY DETENTION CENTER
•  CRITICAL AUTOETHNOGRAPHY IN TESOL: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
•  SOCIAL JUSTICE PEDAGOGY: CROSSING THE BORDERS OF SELF AND LANGUAGE-TEACHER IDENTITY
•  FROM HELL TO HEAVEN? WE ARE HUMANITY, NOT A COUNTRY
REPORT FROM THE FIELD
•  TEAM BROWNSVILLE'S ESCUELITA DE LA BANQUETA: ESOL/ESL FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS IN MATAMOROS, MEXICO
RESOURCES
•  INTEGRATING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGH EXTENSIVE READING IN AN EFL CONTEXT: SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
CALL TO ACTION
•  HOW CAN TESOL HELP TO REDUCE HEALTH DISPARITIES?
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY
•  CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: REFLECTIONS AND LESSONS ON DISRUPTION

LEADERSHIP UPDATES

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS

Sky Lantz-Wagner, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA
Federico Salas-Isnardi, College Station, Texas, USA

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