Letter From the Incoming Chair: The Future of CETC: The Sky’s the Limit
Michael Pasquale, michael_pasquale@cornerstone.edu
Change is sometimes difficult, as many of us like things to remain as they are. There is a comfort to having things stay the same and enjoying the same traditions and routines as in years past. Yet change can also be exciting, a beginning of something new. Graduation day, a wedding day, a birth day—all signify a beginning and also signal that things won’t be the same again. This is how I see the recent news of the elimination of the caucus system within TESOL.
TESOL President Sandy Briggs announced in October 2007 that the current caucus system would be phased out. This decision came about after a yearlong review process of the Caucus Ad Hoc Committee, including discussions at TESOL 2007 in Seattle. So, what does this mean for us? CETC will remain in some capacity within the TESOL organization, such as a forum, but not as a caucus. Forums will have the opportunity to have an Academic Session, a display in the exhibit hall, and a 2- to 3-hour social event at the annual convention. These are activities that we have been doing as CETC and can continue to do.
I see a wonderful opportunity for us to decide as a group what we want to become and not just lament that things cannot stay the same. The sky is the limit to what the “new” Christian Educators in TESOL Forum can become. Even though the Christian English Language Teachers (CELT 2008) conference in New York City is not affiliated with TESOL, we will be hosting an open forum to discuss some ways the “new” organization can be organized on Wednesday, April 2, at Nyack College. We will also be meeting at the open caucus meeting on Thursday afternoon during the TESOL 2008 convention. It will be my privilege to serve as the chair for CETC during the past few months as a “caucus” (through July 2008) and then lead the group through a transition to the “new” organization, whatever that looks like. I invite you to join us in this exciting adventure—the sky’s the limit! I also invite you to join us for one or both of the upcoming meetings at CELT 2008 and TESOL 2008 in New York City. My benediction is from Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV): “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”
