Professional Organizations
by Carmen Fiscal
Texas Association for Literacy Education (TALE)
Purpose/Mission
The mission of TALE is to promote literacy that will enhance the lives of all Texas citizens personally, socially, and economically.
They want an education system that promotes positive literacy for all students, values students for their diverse interest, creates a curriculum that is flexible and responsive to each student, motivates learners using meaningful and joyful learning, and connects schools and individuals with the purpose of using literacy for social good.
Cost to Join - as a professional and is there a student rate?
The cost to join is $5 for everyone. This is for a year long membership. To me this seems like a very cheap membership and from what I have seen on their website it is totally worth it.
Is there an annual conference? How much?
Yes there is an annual conference. The cost is $150 for early registration and then $175 for regular registration. Full-time undergraduates can get a discount, but the website does not say what the discount is. The prices seem a little high to me, however, I have never paid for a conference before so I am not sure they are really that high. This years conference is being help in San Antonio on February 12 and 13.
Are there opportunities for leadership? What are they?
There are opportunities to get involved with the TALE. There are local councils that you can join or if there is not one already near you, you can start your own. There is also an opportunity to have a student council on your campus. These are just two of the ways that you would be able to have a leadership role in the TALE or a branch off of it. There are also different committees that you can get involved with.
What are the benefits to being a member?
There are many benefits to being a member of TALE. It is open to anyone who is interested in the development of literacy in children, youth, and adults. They offer conferences, newsletters, websites, and journals to provide its members with topics that will interest educators committed to the literacy development of their students. They are also an affiliate of the International Literacy Council, but you do not have to be a member of it to join.
Do they have a social media presence other than their website? What are they?
Yes TALE does have social media presence. They have a Facebook page and a twitter account that people to look at to get up to date information. The Facebook page seems to be kept up to date and full of great information for educators to use.
TALE is an organization that wants to help promote literacy, and provides people with the tools needed to do this. When going through their Facebook page I found links to many useful websites that help promote healthy reading ideas for students among other things. They also list teaching guides and tips for teaching different subject areas. In my opinion for $5 this would be a great organization to join. I know that as a reading teacher I need to start looking for organization to join. I can see that this are great places to gain the knowledge needed to keep up on all the latest ideas and trends. I plan on finding a few to join, and hopefully at some point be able to attend the conferences I can only imagine how much information you would get from attending one of these.
Teacher Association of Texas (STAT)Science
Purpose/Mission
STAT is a statewide organization of all levels of teachers (elementary school through college) that is dedicated in maintaining the highest levels of science education in our schools. STAT is also a chapter of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Its mission statement is to build a community dedicated to advancing science teaching and learning. Its vision is to establish a resource for science education so that all students are scientifically and technologically literate, responsible, and productive citizens.
Cost to Join - as a professional and is there a student rate?
The cost to join depends on who you are. The cost of a regular member is $30 a year. The cost of a business member is $25 a year. The cost of a retired teacher or a student is only $10 a year.
Is there an annual conference? How much?
There is an annual conference called CAST which stands for Conference of the Advancement of Science Teaching. The attendance to CAST in recent years has been over 7,500 people. This is why CAST is the nation’s largest meeting of Science Teachers. This year’s CAST was November 12-14. The cost was $130 for those who paid early and $180 for those who paid after the early bird time. It was in Fort Worth this year, and I actually had a few people I know attend and it looked like a lot of fun!
Are there opportunities for leadership? What are they?
They do have opportunities for leadership. They are currently having officer nominations for the 2016-2017 year.
What are the benefits to being a member?
There are many benefits to joint STAT. A few of them are:
- Access to CAST handouts
- CAST scholarships for teachers
- Mentorship programs
- Newsletters
- Discussion groups
- First notice CAST registration
- Cash prices
- STATFlash news alerts
- Representation at the State Legislature
- Your own science blog
- Numerous offers
Do they have a social media presence other than their website? What are they?
I know that they have a Facebook page. This is actually where I found our science experiment for school this week. There Facebook page is full of CAST information and links to blogs and different ideas for science experiments for your students.
STAT seems like it would be a very informative and fun organization to join. Reading is my first love, but science is a very close second. I think that this would be a great organization for me to join because I teach math, and I need all the help I can get to teach it. Science is a very hands on subject, and it is something that you need to keep up to date on. This organization focuses on doing just those things. Also the conference looks like loads of fun. I had a few people go so I got to see firsthand pictures. Lots of exhibits to look at, informative booths and so much more. I will not be joining right now, but it is a group that I am very interested in. $30 seems like a good deal for all the information you will be getting.