US Senate Resolution: National Day on Writing

The second annual National Day on Writing is coming up on October 20th. It’s an event sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to celebrate and make visible the importance of writing in our lives. There are events and celebrations that take place across the country, and there is an online gallery for submitting writing into an archive.It’s a great way to write, get published and join the festivities around writing.

The United States Senate got into the act and recently passed a Resolution, supporting the National Day on Writing.

RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of October 20, 2010, as the `National Day on Writing’.

Whereas people in the 21 st century are writing more than ever before for personal, professional, and civic purposes;

Whereas the social nature of writing invites people of every age, profession, and walk of life to create meaning through composing;

Whereas more and more people in every occupation deem writing as essential and influential in their work;

Whereas writers continue to learn how to write for different purposes, audiences, and occasions throughout their lifetimes;

Whereas developing digital technologies expand the possibilities for composing in multiple media at a faster pace than ever before;

Whereas young people are leading the way in developing new forms of composing by using different forms of digital media;

Whereas effective communication contributes to building a global economy and a global community;

Whereas the National Council of Teachers of English, in conjunction with its many national and local partners, honors and celebrates the importance of writing through the National Day on Writing;

Whereas the National Day on Writing celebrates the foundational place of writing in the personal, professional, and civic lives of the people of the United States;

Whereas the National Day on Writing provides an opportunity for individuals across the United States to share and exhibit their written works through the National Gallery of Writing;

Whereas the National Day on Writing highlights the importance of writing instruction and practice at every educational level and in every subject area;

Whereas the National Day on Writing emphasizes the lifelong process of learning to write and compose for different audiences, purposes, and occasions;

Whereas the National Day on Writing honors the use of the full range of media for composing, from traditional tools like print, audio, and video, to Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis, and podcasts; and

Whereas the National Day on Writing encourages all people of the United States to write, as well as to enjoy and learn from the writing of others: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate–

• (1) supports the designation of October 20, 2010, as the `National Day on Writing’;

• (2) strongly affirms the purposes of the National Day on Writing;

• (3) encourages participation in the National Galley of Writing, which serves as an exemplary living archive of the centrality of writing in the lives of the people of the United States; and

• (4) encourages educational institutions, businesses, community and civic associations, and other organizations to promote awareness of the National Day on Writing and celebrate the writing of the members those organizations through individual submissions to the National Gallery of Writing.

It’s nice to see references to the influence of digital media in our lives in the resolution.

I am working with my friend, Bonnie, to gather up writing from National Writing Project teachers at our iAnthology site around “writing that we don’t often think about” — the various ways we use writing through the day.

But I am still mulling over if I can do something at my school, too. Last year, we did a HUGE comic strip that students from all over the school wrote on, answering the question: what do you like to write?

What will you do?

Peace (in the writing),
Kevin