Michael Simspon and his staff have done it again! This is outstanding news for NCSS—our publications are useful and award-winning!

We have received the good news from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) that NCSS won two of AEP’s “best of the year” awards for periodicals in 2008. This is the first time that we have received two number 1 awards from AEP in the same year. 1. The September/October 2008 issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner was judged the best anniversary or commemorative issue of any educational journal for adults (i.e., teachers rather than students) to have been published in 2008. This was the special 20th anniversary issue of SSYL. 2. Social Education’s Research and Practice column was judged the best column or department of the year to have been published in an educational periodical for adults in 2008. These were two of the three NCSS publications that AEP had previously announced as being among the top publications of the year in their category. The third was the article by Valerie Pang and co-authors on “Addressing Student Trauma in the Wake of the California Wildfires,” published in Social Education. The article was considered one of the best four learned articles in an educational periodical for adults in 2008. However, the “best article of the year” award in that category was given to the Harvard Education Newsletter for an article entitled “Small Kids, Big Words.” This is a great way to end the publications year and begin summer! Congratulations to Michael!

Very best,
Susan Griffin, NCSS Executive Director

A PROFESSOR REACTS TO THE GOOD NEWS WITH A GREAT IDEA

After reviewing all the congratulatory notes from so many people concerning the NCSS publications, I find one thing lacking: recognition of how such outstanding work can be an incentive for having former NCSS members rejoin the organization or a vehicle to help recruit new members for NCSS. I will be putting my money where my mouth is on this one and am notifying the three top students from GEOG 419 (Methods and Materials in Geographic Education for Middle and Secondary Education) in Sp09 at the University of North Dakota that I am sponsoring them for student memberships in NCSS complete with underwriting their memberships. Now, all we have to do is figure out how to run the paperwork, eh? Meanwhile, I am looking into having similar student memberships awarded to top students in teacher education social studies programs at the other campuses in the North Dakota University System. Small steps but a means to help grow the profession, particularly in a time of troubling economic times. Student teachers in the Peace Garden State and elsewhere in North America having access to such outstanding materials as found in NCSS publications will be a great resource for them as pre-service educators and a springboard to continue as NCSS members when joining the profession as in-service teachers.