The Language Teacher
October 1999
The Teaching Children SIG
Michelle Nagashima
TC-SIG Newsletter Editor
At home, past 2 am, a teacher is still burning the midnight oil coloring, cutting and pasting pictures to cards. At lunch time, between mouthfuls, the same teacher is putting together a classroom display for a thematic unit. And on weekends, our teacher is tackling the responsibilities assumed by volunteering for the Teaching Children SIG.
There are many teachers in JALT who work in secondary and tertiary institutes. They are usually the ones who write the papers we read in The Language Teacher. Working away just as hard at the elementary level and below are the dedicated teachers of children. You don't often hear from these teachers, but we are here, and we have a very strong presence!
The Teaching Children SIG was started in 1996 by a few JALT members who believed that we teachers of children needed a forum of our own. It is composed of very active and enthusiastic SIG members and subscribers, and it is supported in its activities by JALT's Chapters and Associate Members. Over the years, the TC-SIG has grown to over 150 JALT members. The 5-member Program Team is working to bring first-time presenters to JALT Chapters and collaborating with other SIGs and Chapters to produce local and regional mini-conferences.
Our SlG produces the quarterly TLC (Teachers Learning with Children), its extremely popular newsletter. A team of over 20 work diligently to bring readers a quality newsletter offering feature articles, regular columns, practical classroom games and activities, materials for review, reviews of books and events, a comprehensive calendar of events throughout Japan, a column for teachers wishing to further their education, and JALT news. The TC-SIG also sponsors its own email discussion forum for teachers to post their questions, views, and ideas. For more information on the Teaching Children SIG, contact our membership chair, Jeff Hollar at jahollar@hotmail.com.
This column celebrates JALT's many varied and vibrant chapters and SIGs. The co-editors, Joyce Cunningham and Miyao Mariko, encourage 800-850 word reports (in English, Japanese, or a combination of both).
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