Eyeing the plethora of titles from publishers large and small at the 91st National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention, one relatively new educational publisher was heard to marvel, “How can so many books sell?” Indeed, that was the question furrowing many publishers’ brows during the weekend of Nov. 17, as an estimated 6,000 teachers and English professors converged upon the Baltimore Convention Center for their annual meeting. Though nobody could muster much by way of an answer, all reports indicate that NCTE still remains a signal opportunity to market new books and mingle with teachers — an educational publisher’s best sales force bar none.
Attendance seemed down from previous years (perhaps due to the less than glamorous location and the reluctance of many to travel), but that did nothing to stem the long lines of patient teachers who snapped up author-signed copies of their favorite titles. Many books on display reflected this year’s convention theme, “Recreating the Classroom,” which inspired a wide range of symposia on democratizing the classroom, integrating technology, teacher development, and, of course, basic literacy. Amid hot topics such as “Classroom As Think Tank” and the incendiary “Phonics Exposed: Understanding And Resisting Systematic Direct Intense Phonics Instruction,” the convention embraced a multi-dimensional approach to teaching language arts that targets a wide range of student abilities and interests. When not drubbing phonics, teachers bashed “neo-liberal politics” and the government’s rigidly prescribed reading programs, arguing for more inclusive syllabi across the board. Compared to years gone by, in fact, this season’s NCTE felt fresh and up-to-date, a mood undoubtedly aided by a roster of speakers that included filmmaker Ken Burns, director John Waters, author Lucille Clifton, and last year’s Newbery winner, Christopher Paul Curtis.
From a publishing perspective, the emphasis on teaching through literature — known as the “whole language” approach — seemed as strong, if not stronger than in previous years, with themes of multi-culturalism, feminism, and cultural sensitivity readily apparent in publishers’ lists. (For its part, Scholastic was noted for offering a $15,000 grant enabling 55 teachers to attend the conference.) In the end, hot-button subjects such as standardized testing took a welcome back seat to making the classroom relevant for a diverse and digitally aware population.
We thank Dan Weiss of book packager Weiss Associates for his contribution to this article.
