The Minnesota Council of Teachers of English (MCTE) plans a spring conference at the end of April.

The Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English (WCTE)
posted a video on YouTube to promote the state conference in the fall. It includes short interviews with teachers and a student teacher who attended the 2014 conference.

From Region 2: The affiliates in Region 2 have been very busy promoting professional development for area educators. February was a busy month for the Maryland Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (MDTELA). This dedicated group of educators led the way during a state-wide National African-American Read-In held February 1-28. TheKentucky Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (KCTELA) and the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA) hosted their spring conferences the weekend of February 27 and 28. Both conferences boasted excellent speakers and provided top-notch breakout sessions for attendees.

And From Region 7: The Oregon Council of Teachers of English will host a spring conference on April 18. One of the keynote speakers, Jennie Harrop, will present, “The Mathematics of Language: The Simple Math of Writing Well” (see initial poem in the TED talk linked below).

International Poetry Slam Winner: Kathy Nelson, Region 4 representative, sent a TED talk link to Harry Baker reciting his poem “Paper People,” which won the international poetry slam competition. The introduction to the winning poem starts

at 5:25 of the linked video. Two excerpts from the poem appear below as this month’s artistic addition/conclusion.

I could build a pop up metropolis.
but I wouldn’t wanna deal with all the paper people politics,
paper politicians with their paper-thin policies,
broken promises without appropriate apologies.
There’d be a little paper me, and a little paper you,
and we’d watch paper TV and it would all be paper view.
We’d watch the poppy paper rappers rap about their paper package or watch paper people carriers get stuck in paper traffic on the A4. There’d be a paper princess Kate but we’d all stare at paper Pippa, and then we’d all live in fear of killer Jack the paper ripper.

…but in a pop up population people’s problems pop up too.
there’d be a pompous paper parliament who remained out of touch, and who ignored the peoples protests about all the paper cuts,
then the peaceful paper protests would get blown to paper pieces,
by the confetti cannons manned by pre-emptive police.

Affiliate Officers and NCTE Membership: According to the “Rules for Affiliation,” all members of the governing board of the affiliate shall be members of the National Council of Teachers of English. Kirstey Ewald: Is your membership up-to-date? Our records show your dues are paid through: 06/30/2015. You can renew/join on the NCTE website. If you have questions, please call our Customer Service Department at 877-369-6283, Monday-Friday,8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT.

The Standing Committee on Affiliates sends this monthly newsletter to leaders of NCTE affiliates. The representatives of the eight regions welcome content for and comments about