We at NCTE are deeply saddened by the violence that has occurred over the last several days. We send our heartfelt sympathy to the families of the victims and sincerely hope that their grief will be eased and that they will find healing through the next days, months, and years. We stand with and support all who are grieving and all who are working to heal, throughout our country and world.
At NCTE we believe that literacy education is one important way to end violence in this world. When teachers engage their students in critical readings, writings, and discussions about issues that matter—civic issues, neighborhood and school issues—students’ understanding of the world and empathy for all people in it grow.
For teachers and others we offer these Resources for Teaching in These Times compiled after the Orlando shootings, the NCTE Statement Affirming #BlackLivesMatter, and this issue of Voices from the Middle sent in December 2001, published in the wake of 9/11.
Teachers, it is you who have “provided the consistency and normalcy our most vulnerable have needed” (NCTE Past President Kylene Beers, December 2001, Voices from the Middle). It is you who are there for our youngest and our oldest on the days when they need it.
–NCTE Executive Director, Emily Kirkpatrick 