[etni] Re: ETAI Newsletter 30 - May, 2010
- From: Graham Richards <grichards03@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 09:11:21 +0300
I was surprised to read in the ETAI Newsletter that there is no room
in ETAI conferences for a discussion of issues such as Ministry policy
and programs, or teacher conditions and pay. Aren't these issues also
related to teacher professional development and support?
Does anybody else find this strange?
Graham
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: ETAI office
> Subject: ETAI Newsletter 30 - May, 2010
> ETAI: Keeping in Touch
> Newsletter 30: May, 2010
> Dear Readers,
> Looking back at my last Newsletter, written from the IATEFL conference in
> Harrogate, and thereafter at different points on my way home: I was pretty
> busy…
>
> And so am I now, though less with other people’s conferences, and more with
> our own.
>
> The convening team of the ETAI 2010 International Conference (Valerie Jakar,
> Nava Horovitz, Debbie Lifshitz and myself) are meeting now pretty well every
> week, either face to face or through two- or three-hour long conference
> calls, trying to keep up with the deadlines and make sure everything is
> organized and will run smoothly on the Day (Days, I mean).
>
> Marna, back at the office, is feverishly dealing with incoming advance
> registration (the final deadline for that is May 31st), making sure people
> renew their memberships in time, keeping in touch with publishers and
> sponsors. She can’t possibly deal with it all on her own, so is ably
> assisted by Karen and Naomi.
>
> And this is only mid-May: two months to go!
>
> Incidentally, do register in advance if you haven’t yet done so: it makes a
> huge difference to cost, and will also ensure a much quicker and smoother
> checking-in process at the conference. (No standing in long lines!) Same
> with hotels: by the time you read this Newsletter there will probably be no
> rooms available at the Park Hotel (deadline: May 17), but there are still
> rooms at the Ramada.
> And check out the Pre-conference Event on the 12th; some special in-depth
> workshops offered, focusing largely on elementary and middle-school
> teachers, but something for everyone. Again, worth registering now, as
> places are limited.
>
> The main focus of the convening committee at the moment is finalizing the
> actual program. We have over a hundred presentations, and also some
> attractive afternoon and evening cultural events: three drama performances,
> a concert, a tour, a dinner, a Pecha Kucha event (if you don’t know what
> that is, Google it!). Valerie, particularly, is working hard planning the
> timing and placing of the different sessions, and it’s coming together!
>
> And then, of course, we have some delicate problems in selecting and
> rejecting sessions. For example, is session X going to be commercial, in
> spite of the fact that it was submitted as academic? It’s happened in the
> past that sessions have been billed as academic and turned out to be
> commercial, and audiences were disappointed, so we’ve got to be very careful
> about negotiating with possibly ‘commercial’ speakers without hurting
> feelings. Or, another issue: is session Y going to be ‘activist’: setting
> out to rouse or quell opposition to Ministry programs or policy, or dealing
> with matters of teacher conditions and pay? ETAI cannot provide a public
> forum for discussion of such issues: we have to keep to our mission of
> teacher professional development and support. But again: a lot of tact and
> careful explanation needed when we encounter requests for such sessions!
>
> Many interesting issues will be raised at the conference, and some fun
> topics too. I’ll just promise you that it will be a Great Conference!
>
> An appeal for volunteers: we need ETAI members to act as ‘minders’ for our
> foreign guest lecturers, to act as room monitors at the conference itself,
> to offer home hospitality to out-of-towners and foreigners. Please, if you
> think you can help with any of these, contact one of the convening
> committee!
>
> And finally: if you’re wondering why you haven’t received the spring issue
> of the ETAI Forum, it’s because we’re combining spring and summer issues
> into one bumper issue coming out at Conference time!
>
> So lots to look forward to …
> Best wishes,
> Penny Ur
> Chair, ETAI
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