NCTE Affiliate Intellectual Freedom Award

Award Purpose from NCTE:

“The NCTE Intellectual Freedom Awards honor individuals, groups, or institutions that merit recognition for advancing the cause of intellectual freedom.”

Nomination Process:

Any WPCTE member may nominate an individual, group, or institution who has contributed to the work outlined above by completing the Intellectual Freedom Nomination Form. Self-nominations are accepted.

NCTE describes criteria for an ideal nominee as follows:

Nominee “has shown courage in advancing the cause of intellectual freedom or fighting censorship,” noting that “the awardee can be an educator or noneducator; an individual, group, or institution;” and their “activity can be related to particular recent events (e.g., a censorship dispute) or it can be ongoing (e.g., leadership demonstrated over a period of years)”

Judging Panel:

• WPCTE Executive Board and Intellectual Freedom Advocates will select a judging panel of at least three people with an odd number being required. The judging panel must include at least one Executive Board Member. Members interested in judging should complete the Intellectual Freedom Judging Interest Form. 

Suggested Intellectual Freedom Activities:

• Write an NCTE Book Rationale

• Write a newspaper editorial that supported a teacher, school, or Board of Education action in defense of a challenged book, film, or educational method

• Write a blog post for WPCTE or other entity focused on intellectual freedom

• Speak out publicly, such as a public official in legislation or a concerned person during a school board meeting, to take a stand in an intellectual freedom case

• Fight an intellectual freedom issue as a teacher, administrator, school board, etc.

• Create or run a program about banned books or intellectual freedom

• Inform others publicly about books that are challenged

• Connect young people with titles that help to support their identity or intellectual curiosity, even in the face of challenges to those works

• Connect organizations with titles that help to support others with identity or intellectual curiosity, even in the face of challenges to those works

• Start a little free library, especially in an area in which access to a range of texts and ideas may be limited

• Engage in any meaningful work that promotes intellectual freedom