Global Literacy Project, Inc.

The Twenty-First National
African American Read-In

February 1st – February 28th

Sponsored by the Black Caucus of NCTE and by NCTE

In the spirit of celebrating February as Black History Month in the USA, The Global Literacy Project, Inc. continues to endorse the National African American Read-In Chain, sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English.

This endorsement asks that school libraries, community centers and other partners of GLP are urged to make literacy a significant part of February by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities. Hosting a Read-In can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers.

To be counted as participants, simply:

• Select books authored by African Americans;
• Conduct your Read-In(s); and
• Report your results by submitting the African American Read-In Host Report Card.

Download Information packet here

Host Report Card

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International Mother Language Day

February 21

The majority of the world’s population speak two or more languages, and “mother language” is the one they learnt first. Languages play an important role in the integration process in all aspects of public life but especially education.

Education in many countries of the world takes place in multilingual contexts and so such societies must look towards a philosophy which balances and respects the use of different languages in daily life.

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International Women’s Day

March 8

In December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women’s Day has been observed on 8 March since 1975.

The United Nations General Assembly celebrates International Women’s Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.

The Global Literacy Project uses this celebration as an opportunity to focus on Millennium Development Goal number three:

Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education. This goal also encompasses:

3.1 Impacting the ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
3.2 Impacting the share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
3.3 Increasing the proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

World Teachers Day
October 5

World Teachers’ Day is celebrated annually on 5 October. A celebration of teachers and their enormous contribution to learning and social development. Teachers are the heart of the education system. Human civilizations cannot sustain themselves without investment in training and measures to promote respect for the teaching profession.

Celebrating World Teacher’s Day

A number of countries have celebrations to celebrate teachers with the new school year in September. In China, the day is celebrated on September 10. In India, September 5 is the day set aside to recognize the special contributions made by teachers. Throughout Latin America, September 11 is Teacher’s Day.

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Int’l School Library Month

 October

(Celebrate with GLP at our “Walk for Literacy”)

“Literacy and Learning at your School Library”

The aim is to celebrate school libraries and to highlight the importance of school library programs in the education of our children (From 2008, International School Library Day will be celebrated throughout the world on the first Monday in October).

Research shows that student achievement increases with access to school libraries with well-funded curriculum-based collections, strong school library programs, and professionally qualified teacher-librarians who work collaboratively with classroom teachers. In addition, students become better readers when the have access to a school library and books to read.  Specifically:

1. students get a large portion of their reading materials from libraries
2. students read more when they have a comfortable place to read
3. free voluntary reading has an impact on reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling ability, grammar usage and writing style
4. access to books and magazines predicts higher reading achievement
5. an ample supply of books is key to the fostering of independent and engaged readers, particularly second language learners
6. students who read more typically have higher literacy development as well as higher student achievement
7. standardized scores tend to be 10 to 20% higher in schools with an investment of well-stocked, well-equipped school libraries, managed by qualified and motivated pro­fessional teacher-librarians working with support staff.

Many of the research studies can be found on the International Association of School Librarianship’s webpage “School Libraries Make A Difference To Student Achievement,” http://www.iasl-slo.org/make-a-difference.html