Communication | High school » High School Communication Education as a Graduation Requirement

Source: http://www.doksinet High School Communication Education (Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy) as a Graduation Requirement 2017 Review Committee: Scott A. Myers, Jordan Atkinson, David McMahan, Kyle Rudick, Sara Chudnovsky Weintraub, David Wendt, and David Yastremski on behalf of the Educational Policies Board . Current resolution (adopted by NCA Legislative Assembly in 2010; revised in 2012) Whereas, students are first exposed to the discipline of communication in elementary and secondary classrooms where the benefits of communication education may be most profound; and Whereas, forty‐five states, three territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity have adopted and are currently implementing the Common Core State Standards sponsored by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers; and Whereas, these standards include reading, writing, speaking and listening, language, and media and technology;

and Whereas, the third goal of the NCA Strategic Plan 2010‐2015 commits NCA to supporting disciplinary pedagogy through three objectives: 1.increase resources for communication course development, 2. enhance resources for developing instructional practice, 3 increase dissemination of communication pedagogy beyond the discipline. In addition, the second goal expresses the need to disseminate knowledge about communication by improving public understanding of communication research and makes a commitment to improving the state of elementary and secondary communication education. Now, Therefore Be It Resolved that the Educational Policies Board of the National Communication Association launch an initiative consistent with the College Board Standards for College Success: English Language Arts and the new Common Core State Standards Initiative to require communication education (speaking, listening, and media literacy) in the nation’s high schools as an integral part of the graduation

requirement and to stress the importance of using appropriately trained teachers to teach communication education. This will include the following: 1. Development of a strategy to acquaint the Departments of Education in the states implementing the Common Core Standards with the resources available through association with the National Communication Association, and also to determine the areas in which these Departments of Education believe NCA resources can be of most help. 2. Development of resources to meet the needs of those implementing the common Core Standards in Speaking and Listening. 3. Development of resources to encourage the adoption of media literacy instruction within the implementation of the Common Core Standards. 4. Creation and dissemination of a list of consultants for curriculum development and implementation. Source: http://www.doksinet Proposed Revised Revision (June 2017) The National Communication Association supports the inclusion of communication education

as a graduation requirement from the nation’s secondary schools and stresses the importance of using appropriately trained teachers to teach communication education. History of Revisions Second revision submitted by Cheri J. Simonds, Melissa Broeckelman‐Post, Scott A Myers, Joseph P. Valenzano III, and Joshua Westwick on behalf of the Educational Policies Board in April 2017. First revision submitted by Mark Redmond, Jacquelyn Buckrop, Deborah Hefferin, and Cheri J. Simonds on behalf of the Educational Policies Board and Basic Course Division in November 2012. Rationale and Supporting Materials I. Introduction Education provides the foundation for our nation. Its importance in establishing students’ intellectual curiosity, commitment to goals, and strong work ethic valued throughout our nation and within our institutions of higher learning must never be underestimated. As products of this educational system and as citizens of the United States, the condition of communication

education in elementary and secondary schools should be of utmost importance to the National Communication Association (NCA). The Educational Policies Board (EPB) is requesting that the Legislative Assembly pass this resolution in support of the role that secondary education plays in developing students’ speaking and listening competencies. At this time, no specific actions are expected to be taken by the NCA if the resolution is passed and no resources are needed to initially implement the resolution, although this need likely will change as the EPB works on launching an initiative to support the resolution. This launch may require the formation of an Association‐wide Task Force at a later date. II. The NCA’s Historical Involvement The Elementary and Secondary Education Section, an integral part of NCA since the 1970’s, has consistently presented programs at the Annual Convention. These programs deal with curricular offerings and methodological procedures in elementary and

secondary classrooms and these programs always have been open to all members of the Association. In addition, these programs are frequently attended by those educator teaching at both two‐year and four‐year institutions. In both its section meetings and its presence in the Legislative Assembly, Elementary and Secondary Section members have brought attention to the need for the support of the teaching of communication in elementary through secondary schools. Since 1996, the NCA has supported prior iterations of this resolution, beginning with the Legislative Assembly’s endorsement of both the Comprehensive Language Arts as part of the Policy Platform and the Standards for Speaking, Listening and Media Literacy in K‐12 Education. In 2005, the Elementary and Secondary Section endorsed the College Board Standards for College Success: English Language Source: http://www.doksinet Arts, which included (at that time) reading, writing, speaking and listening, and media literacy

standards; the NCA Executive Committee subsequently endorsed these Standards as a replacement of the aforementioned 1996 NCA K‐12 Standards. Moreover, several NCA members have contributed to the creation of the Speech Communication Praxis II test, further emphasizing the commitment of NCA and its membership to these issues. III. The Initiative Passing this resolution is important for three reasons. First, it is in the elementary and secondary classroom where students gain initial exposure to the discipline of communication in; indeed, it is in these classrooms where the benefits of communication education may be most profound. Second, forty‐two states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) already have adopted and are implementing the English Language Arts & Literacy Common Core State Standards sponsored by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

These English Language Arts & Literacy standards include reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. Third, the second goal of the NCA Strategic Plan commits the Association to enhance communication and teaching through two objectives: (1) support curricular development and (2) advocate for Communication education to policymakers, campus administrators, and the public. Therefore, it is imperative that the NCA supports the inclusion of communication education (i.e, speaking and listening) in the nation’s high schools as a graduation requirement and to stress the importance of using appropriately trained teachers to teach communication education. To do so, the Association will need to launch an initiative‐‐to be undertaken initially by the EPB‐‐to develop a framework for such support. This initial initiative will include the: 1. Creation of resources to assist all entities implementing the Common Core Standards in Speaking and Listening. 2. Development of a

strategy to acquaint the Departments of Education of these entities with the resources created by the NCA. 3. Creation and dissemination of a list of communication education consultants for curriculum development and implementation. 4. Creation of a partnership with the regional communication associations to establish a two‐way information cycle between K‐12 teachers and NCA to better address the needs of educators in their specific states