Living in Brisbane but being from Sydney, I am a member of both the NSW English Teachers Association and the English Teachers’ Association of Queensland.
The holiday break and a fresh term starting has brought mailouts from both associations my way.
This is a show-and-tell of what was in the respective packs.
Both mailouts contained information about Literacy and Numeracy Week, which this year has as it’s theme ‘The Fundamentals are Fun!’ (hmmm, invoking fundamentalism to talk about literacy…looking forward to critiquing that), as well as a catalogue of publications available from the AATE Bookshop.
The impetus for each mailouot is sending members the newest issue of the association journal. While I like the style of the NSW journal mETAphor better (the ETAQ journal is full of Arial font and the cover design could be developed, imho), I have to say I am really satisfied with the content and tone of Words’Worth, and look forward to contributing some material myself in future. Unlike in NSW, ETAQ doesn’t have resources to pay contributors for their articles (yet), but nevertheless the collegial spirit in the association currently ensures a flow of material to sustain the publication.
Both associations also included their annual state conference program notices. Seems like August is the flavour of the month…of the month… (?)
Here is a comparison of the two conferences (I’ll be at ETAQ, but wish I could get down for the NSW one too, bummer!):
ETAQ State Conference: English and Generation Next
- Saturday 20th August 2011
- 8.15am – 5.00pm
- Lourdes Hill College, Hawthorne
- Cost to members: $143 (presenters $44; students and pensioners $66)
- Keynote speaker – Professor Peter Holbrook ‘Literature, Literacy, the Imagination, Freedom’
ETA (NSW) Annual Conference: Makinig Connections That Count
- Friday 5th & Saturday 6th August 2011
- 9am-4pm / 9.30am-3pm
- Australia Technology Park, Eveleigh
- Cost to members: $290 one-day / $430 two-day (presenters register free)
- Ken Watson Address – Dr Felicity Plunkett ‘Blood and Bone: An Anatomy of Wreading’
Kelli McGraw 