Touching My Dreams

         I knew I was going to enjoy the KATE conference. I just did not realize how inspiring it would be, and I am not just talking about the keynote speakers either. There was just something about learning amongst actual English teachers or professors that was truly amazing. It made me realize just how close my dreams really are.

          I thought, honestly, that Jay Asher would be the most inspiring keynote speaker, for me. I love his book, and I was so excited to hear from someone who is currently living another one of my dreams. Having not read Clare Vanderpool’s book yet ( I do intend on reading it when time allows. Ha. Ha.), I was not sure what to expect. I knew she would be an interesting speaker, but I had not come to love her through her words yet. I felt as though I knew something about Jay Asher, just from reading his novel. The same could not be said for Clare Vanderpool. So I assumed (and we all know it’s bad to assume) that Jay Asher would be the most inspiring.

          Then I heard Clare Vanderpool speak, and I felt like she was the one living my dream. She understood what it is like to be from Kansas and be a force in the literary world (a dream of mine). Goosebumps ran up my arms as she continued to speak. Every passing second my dreams of becoming a published author began to slide into better focus. I realized that it was time for me to really concentrate hard on the ending process. I can get over the rejection letters. I have received many of those (10), but it’s so hard to find time and dedicate it to searching for an agent or publisher. It’s nice to know that it’s a process that is possible to get through with enough determination and work. So while I did not come to love Clare Vanderpool through her written words, I did come to love her through her spoken ones.

          Survivalism 101 and Creating and Fostering Student and Teacher Creativity were two of my favorite sessions, because I learned many strategies I could use for my future classroom. In Survivalism 101, I learned great ways to stay organized. Most of this included color coding as many things as possible. While this may see a bit much, think about your CT’s desk. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to digest if it was color coded? Point made.  In Creating and Fostering Student and Teacher Creativity, I learned how to make things, such as vocabulary words, more interactive with students. This includes using or creating songs, acting motions, or simply giving students a chance to be creative.  Of course it helped that I have a few memories of using these strategies in my own learning career. For example I learned the quadratic formula by signing it to “Pop Goes the Weasel” in tenth grade. To this day, I still remember the words to the song. “x equals negative b, plus or minus radical, b squared minus four a c, all over two a.” So I know from firsthand experience that strategies such as these, if used appropriately, can really stick with a student for life.

          I met a few current English teachers from various schools, in a breakout session about a Write Source. From here I gathered different ideas about how teachers viewed the software (internet environment). Talking to a few of them, I realized that not all of them were open to technology. This reminded me that as an incoming teacher, I have something not all teachers have; an open mind. Which means it is up to me to communicate effectively with all teachers without stepping on too many toes. While I did not spend a lot of time networking, I received e-mails from many of the presenters who were teachers. This is obviously a resource I can use in my future to help me with any of my struggles or ideas.

          I would have loved to have a YAL book talk session. In this, everyone would have to come with book they would like to share with the group. I think this would be a great way to find new reads that students love as well. Of course that would take extra planning, but I think it would be worth it for everyone involved. Having students share some of their favorite YAL books would be another way to do the same thing (expose teachers to new books that students actually respond well to). It can be hard to remember that just because a book is interesting to us, that might not be the case for our students.

          I loved the conference, and I hope to keep attending! There were so many great things to learn and share with others!

Finding Socks

Okay, I was hoping to get some feedback about this poem...but I have not know where to put it to get some. So I thought maybe someone would see this on my blog and comment.  Hint: (There are two poems in one, idea I got from Ellen Hopkins).

Finding Socks

Standing            apart under the moonlight,
                             eyes closed.
Wondering         why neither of us could be him.
Hoping                that between us we might create him again.
Nothing              came but the emptiness, the nothingness of life without him.
                             Eyes opened,
Feeling                comfort where there had once been distance.
Realizing             neither of us are him, but somehow
Uncovering        his presence between us.
Discovering        a bridge under water, hidden but
Connecting        our distant shores.
Uniting               first through him, then only through his memory.
                            Eyes closed,
Finding               ourselves in one another.

Writing in a Low Cooker

Note: All names are pseudonyms.  

          How many times did you fall off your bike the first time you tried to ride? Two, three, five, or maybe more like twenty? Was someone teaching you to ride? Did he or she tell you how to correct your mistakes? My guess is yes.  But what did you do after that first lesson? Did you come back two weeks later and try again? Or did you go out the very next day? There is a saying “that practice makes perfect.” I argue that it should be worded as “regular practice makes perfect”.  Now you are probably wondering why I am talking about bike riding in a blog about teaching English, well the two subjects are not as different as they first seem.  More specifically I intend to use my “regular practice makes perfect” argument for use in writing.

          Hands up high, how many of you have heard of low stakes writing? Okay, hands down. One more time, hands up high, how many of you have seen low stakes writing used regularly in your CT’s classroom? Okay, hands down. While I don’t know how you answered those questions, I do know how I did. Both hands up high, and then both down low. I do know what low stakes writing is, but I have not seen it implemented regularly in my CT’s classroom.

          First, for those of you who do not know, I will share the definition of low stakes writing with you. Low stakes writing is writing which is either not graded or holds little weight.

          Okay, now some of you are getting a little excited, good or bad. Why would a teacher want to use ungraded writing? To quote Margot Soven, in Teaching Writing: in Middle and Secondary Schools, “students will tolerate criticism when they believe that they are writing for a teacher who cares about them” (114).  In other words, students must build a bond with a teacher in order to accept the criticism and praise a teacher is giving him or her. How do students build a bond with their teacher, other than connections possibly made during teaching time or throughout the school day? Soven has an opinion on this as well. Low stakes writing gives students and teachers a chance to establish a dialogue with one another without either of the parties worrying about what grade the writing will/should receive (114). In sum, low stakes writing can open up the connection, between students and teachers, necessary for students to “tolerate criticism”.

          Now there are many ways a teacher can bring low stakes writing into the classroom. My personal preference is the use of daily journals. In these journals students can respond to different things; answer questions teachers pose, free write, write poetry, or do whatever else comes to mind. Teachers can then respond to these journals daily, weekly, monthly, or any other time frame that works both with the students and with the teacher. Besides the typical journal most of us think about, where teachers pose questions students answer, there is another journal type to consider; the dialogue journal. The dialogue journal is a journal where students write letters to their teachers discussing questions, problems, assignments, books, or writing. The teacher then responds to these questions by writing a letter within the students’ journals addressed to the students. This is a great way to consider opening up communication between teachers and students, in my opinion.

          In addition to opening up lines of communication and creating connections, low stakes writing is practice! This is my point to begin with, daily writing, is daily practice of writing. But in the form of low stakes writing, this daily practice of writing is not overwhelming. Students and teachers are focused on the writing, not the grade! So while low stakes writing may not have much of an impact on a student grades, it can do nothing but improve student writing. Is that not the goal? Do we not as English teachers want our students to be wonderful writers? Of course, but are wonderful writers created in limited practice provided by use of essays, or other major writing practice?  My opinion is that they are not. The best way to learn and perfect skills is through regular practice.