SIG: Socio-Political

Scope

The entire MITESOL membership is invited to join a discussion group about socio-political issues in our field.

Regarding the actual committee, there are four rules for membership:

  1. The Socio-Political Concerns Committee (SPCC) shall be composed of between three and twenty MITESOL members in good standing who have one-year appointments concurrent with the MITESOL annual state conferences.
  2. There will be a chair, appointed by the MITESOL President, who convenes conference calls and other forms of communication on a periodic basis, but at least once every two months (i.e., between board meetings).
  3. Members are approved by the incoming President. If more than 20 people express interest in formally joining, a process for selection will be implemented. In principle, conference calls and meetings can be made open to the general membership and SPCC members should consist of a broad representation of the membership and consult with a broad range of the membership. However, the final recommendations of the SPCC to the President will be made only by official members.
  4. If a member withdraws from the committee, the President can nominate a new member. If the existing committee is fewer than 20 members but more than three, the President will not appoint new members in between the annual conferences.

Purpose

This committee provides a way for MITESOL members to discuss and stay abreast of socio-political concerns affecting Michigan ESOL teachers. It also provides advice to the MITESOL president and, when necessary, mobilizes organizational resources for activity in the socio-political arena.

Activities

  • The socio-political listserv: This is a forum for discussing socio-political issues affecting our profession. The SPCC chair uses the listserv to share news and information from the SPCC, MITESOL, TESOL, and other relevant sources. To join the listserv, please contact the SPCC chair or click the link at the bottom of the page.
  • SPCC-sponsored sessions (on issues such as part-time employment concerns) at the annual MITESOL conference
  • Annual general meeting and informal discussion sessions at the MITESOL conference
  • Member-initiated projects

Membership Participation

Members are encouraged to participate in the SPCC by:

  • Sending questions and answers to the SPCC listserv
  • Passing along useful or interesting non-inflammatory socio-political information
  • Proposing Committee-sponsored sessions for the annual MITESOL Conference
  • Suggesting and leading projects, workshops and colloquia
  • Assisting the president in tasks of a socio-political nature

Leadership

The current chair of the Socio-Political Concerns Committee is Scott Riggs, Curricula Coordinator for Language Center International. (="mailto: sriggs@languagecenter.usThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it "MACROBUTTONHtmlResAnchor sriggs@languagecenter.usThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). The chair is chosen by MITESOL's president to serve a one year term concurrent with the annual state conferences. Please contact the current chair if you are interested in serving in this position.

Join the Committee

Any current MITESOL member can join the socio-political discussion group. Please do so at the following web address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SPCMITESOL/

If you would like to join the committee, please email the chair of the SPCC.

Links

U.S. Advocacy Action Center
http://capwiz.com/tesol/home/

TESOL Postion Statements
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=32&DID=37

TESOL Advocacy Resources
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=80&DID=1550

TESOL Letters and Alerts
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=81&DID=1551

Federal Education Update
http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=948&DID=4182