Chair
Luane Haggerty
lrdnpa@rit.edu
The
Teachers of English and Language Arts (TELA) was the first
Special Interest group (SIG) within CAID and was officially
approved on October, 1974. Spearheaded by Dr. Nancy Kensicki
(Gallaudet), the section was formed for the "purpose
of exchanging information among language arts teachers
(of the deaf) at all levels." During recent years
it has attempted to contribute to the success of the CAID
conference in several ways, including the organization
of an academic program and a social program held during
the conference. In addition, for the past decade TELA
has sponsored even-year meetings with presentations and
discussions of particular concerns to teachers whose primary
focus is developing the reading and writing skills of
deaf students. In 1992, a TELA-hosted, two-day session
was held in Harrisburg, PA; in 1994, another was held
in Youngstown, OH; in 1996, a third was held at the Western
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) in Pittsburgh;
and in 1998, a fourth was held at the Ohio School for
the Deaf, Columbus. The most recent session was held at
Maryland School for the Deaf in 2000.
HOLDING HISTORY IN YOUR HANDS by Luane Haggerty
(3/07)
Anyone who as been a member of TELA for more than a few years has them, crumbling on your office shelves, taking up space in a file drawer. Too precious to get rid of but not used everyday. I am speaking of the TELA archival newsletters. First begun as a publication by Dr. Nancy Kenisciki through the Gallaudet English department during the late 1960's, the various incarnations of the TELA newsletter (more of a journal than anewsletter, really) went through the alphabet - TED (Teachers of English Language) then moving to SETC (Secondary Education Teachers to the Deaf) becomeing more inclusive in the 1970's as articles by elementary and highschool educators appear it bacme TEDSL (Teachers to the Deaf as a Second Language) and finally emergings as THEMES. These publications dovetail TELA's history in bcoming a SIG (special interest group) of CAID.
I have been in the midst of a project to move these valuable articles of practical suggestions in improving the education of the Deaf from print to digital media. The need to preserve the information is clear - else we wouldn't all be hording them! As the hours of scanning documents ticked off I could see articles by familiar names. Names I associate with my early days studying Deaf culture. People who "shook the hand that shook the hand" of Clerc or Gallaudet. How to teach poetry by Roberts Panara, a description of the mission of the arts in education by Eugene Bergman, an interview with Bernard Bragg as a young man, ten steps of leadership by Dr. Ed Scouten, several articles by Trent Bateson. Each one a peek into the thoughts and perspective of the best of the best (as we now know) in the field.
At the unpcoming CAID conference in Reno I hope to have copies of these materials both on CD and in a collection as a printed book. I have also found a print-on-demand publisher so if you would like to have a copy in either form for yourself and we have run out, we can have them sent to you. I haven't yet worked out the cost per book or CD, but I expect to keep it no higher than the $30 range. Keep your fingers crossed that is realistic!
