We don't walk alone

Advocating is not complicated...The hard part is doing it alone... It's much easier to face fire hoses when there are like 5,000 of you and you are singing gospel hymns as you walk into those hoses. It is much easier when you are walking with people...

It's not about making the case for advocacy. It's about making the case for you as advocates.

- Dr. Ernest Morrell

Today is Literacy Education Advocacy Day. This is just a snippet of Ernest Morrell's NCTE 2014 Presidential Address. I was privileged enough to be present for this speech and I have to say that it was life changing. Today is a good reminder to all my friends and colleagues who are teachers, and even those of you reading whom I don't know, that we don't walk alone and that we can and should have our voices heard. We just need to find the courage to speak up.

Visit NCTE's website to learn about things you can do to help advocate for literacy education. 

March is the month to have your voice be heard

Yesterday members of NCTE and their affiliates went to Washington DC to speak at the Capitol in honor of Literacy Education Advocacy Day. Yesterday was also the day that the National Center for Literacy Education published a study about the importance of teacher collaboration, especially with regards to standards implementation.

As I followed along with the tweets, I was stuck by one teacher in particular, Kristen Nielsen. Her tweets at the beginning of the day were energized and excited, but then as the day wore on and she met with political staffers, her upbeat attitude seemed to dwindle:

While waiting, I've encountered groups for the Peace Corps, Universalists, & the military. I'm a party of one. Teachers, let's unite. #ncle
— Kristen Nielsen (@nielsen_kristen) February 27, 2014

One is the loneliest number... Still waiting for my 11:30 meeting and been bumped from one staffer to another. Please join me! #ncle #ncte
— Kristen Nielsen (@nielsen_kristen) February 27, 2014

Thus far I've been asked why I am here as ESEA is not going to pass & congress is not going to change. & she wonders why I persevere? #ncte
— Kristen Nielsen (@nielsen_kristen) February 27, 2014

These tweets are really a microcosm of the teaching experience today. We constantly feel alone and are made to feel like we don't matter. Not only that, but Kristen reminded me of how few teachers actually stand up and use their voices in front of the people who are responsible for making change happen. I hope next year she can be made to feel like she's not alone by getting more actual classroom teachers to join the crusade.

And there's still time. Febrary 27th was Advocacy Day, but March is Advocacy Month. NCTE has some suggestions for ways you can make your voice be heard:
Advocacy Day and Month

Read some of the tweets from Advocacy Day: