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Reprinted from the ATA Magazine (February 1961, volume 41 number 6, page 23)
Active and continued interest will be the single most significant factor in determining the future of Specialist Councils. Your Association has initiated and stimulated the development, has provided temporary organizational machinery, final analysis, however, the enthusiasm of the classroom teacher will decide success or failure.
The Association’s current program of assistance includes an annual grant, one quest speaker or consultant for an annual conference or workshop for each council and the offer to print and distribute periodic bulletins or newsletters. Some secretarial and counseling assistance will also be offered dependent on the availability of personnel.
So far, the Executive Council has been encouraged by the interest and enthusiasm of teachers and members of the Department of Education and the Faculty of Education. Cautious optimists believe that the transition from the flurry of organization to the problem of making the councils function will be achieved within the year. They assert that, now that the opportunity is at hand, Alberta educators will contribute freely of their time and energy to develop effective programs in their special interest fields.
At the moment councils have been formed in the fields of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Modern Language, School Administration, Business Education, Industrial Arts, Home Economics, Physical Education, and Guidance, and plans are afoot in most, if not all, to organize a conference immediately following the 1961 Annual General Meeting.
The dates for the inaugural conferences of all councils, with the exception of Physical Education, and Modern Language, have been set.
The meetings will be held on April 6 and 7, with the exception of those for the Council on School Administration and the Mathematics Council. The Council on School Administration is holding its inaugural conference on March 25, and the Mathematics Council’s inaugural conference will be held August 14 to 17.
Information and application forms for the English, Social Studies, Modern Language, and Science Councils were contained in the November issue of The ATA Magazine.
Registrations received to date for attendance at the inaugural conferences of the six original specialist councils range from 40 to 100. Although the deadline for registration to attend most of these conferences has now passed, late applications may be accepted by several councils and application for membership will be accepted at any time.
