Always searching for inspiration…

As we become English teachers in the near future, innovating our thinking as we reinforce the knowledge we have already learned is important to developing skills which will benefit our work in the field. After finishing the trip to Lansing for the Bright Ideas Conference, many concepts which have been explored in class thus far, I feel were examined in depth in the various sessions that I attended.

The keynote speech given by Jacqueline Amanda Woodson provided some basis for many of the meta-cognitive ideas which have been discussed amongst our classmates. For example, she often discussed how instructing writing is important but teaching students to value their own voice is just as necessary. In addition, in order for students as well as others to be aware of what they are writing they must simply be allowed to do just that without stipulations or instructions interfering. But when students write they should be able to become aware of their flaws because doing so will allow improvement. I agreed with Woodson when she described how students should be allowed to express themselves outside of “standard requirements” because doing so will open more to the possibilities writing has to offer. Also, with guidance students are more likely to think meta-cognitively about what they are doing therefore developing skills which will continue to help them.

I also attended the presentation titled, “Engaging Literature Lovers and Reluctant Readers” which provided oppositional ideas for these kinds of readers. For those who are reluctant, the speakers suggested fostering the love of reading when students have free time. In other words, when we are in school we often are forced to read selections from the “cannon” or other pieces which may not suit our liking that causes students to formulate an opinion about English which lasts the rest of their lives. But what is useful in a classroom is allowing students to read what they love while getting them to think critically about them which can be done through various activities. As future teachers, we need to think about how we can incorporate what students are reading on their free time into classroom curriculum.

The other portion of this session discussed those who are advanced and love to read literature. The speaker explained how having lit circles outside of the class allows students who do read this much an outlet to express their ideas with each other while keeping up with their pace of reading.

The last session attended was the “macBeth” presentation in which the speakers mostly discussed how in this digital world, students have been immersed with this technology giving us as teachers more reason to incorporate technology into the classroom. In other words, giving students the opportunity to use iMovie or MySpace creatively can still enable them to think critically while innovating the way we do this. I feel this conference was beneficial to my personal knowledge of the classroom and it demonstrated many of the principals which have been discussed in our class.