Reflecting on the KATE Conference

Attending the KATE Conference this week definitely increased my desire to become a teacher. Seeing so many people who share my same passion for teaching English in the same place was inspiring, and I loved the opportunity to meet new people and share ideas. Luckily, I was able to attend the entire conference, so I had the chance to listen to an excellent variety of presentations and listen to the keynote speeches. 

I absolutely loved the first Keynote address by Brent Crawford, who wrote Carter Finally Gets It, as well as other books. His speech was hilarious, and the way he told stories had me laughing the entire time. However, Crawford’s speech wasn’t just funny, it contained a good message as well. I loved the fact that he wanted to write books that would get boys interested in reading, since many books about high school seem to be aimed towards girls. The excerpts he read were engaging, and they were definitely books high school students would want to read. I know I wanted to read the books after he was done presenting. 

The second keynote address by Rachel Hawkins, author of Hex Hall, was inspiring as well. The background she gave in her story about how she became a writer was extremely interesting. I thought the way Rachel just went with anything that was offered to her was inspiring. She didn’t hesitate to take chances. The stories she shared about her time teaching in high school were entertaining as well. Her high school sounded very interesting, and I was glad I got the chance to hear her stories. I occasionally think about seriously writing, and Rachel’s speech inspired me to consider doing so! 

The breakout sessions I attended were quite informative as well. These sessions were great opportunities to hear presentations about ideas for the classroom, and share with other teachers as well. I was given tons of great examples of lesson ideas, management plans, first year teaching tips, and exciting programs. My attendance at this conference will definitely help me become a better first year teacher, because I got to learn from those who had already been through it all!

The Reasons Why (Genre Reflection One)

The Reasons Why

I don’t want to do this!

My students complain 

And ask,

Why should we anyway?

Often I respond

“For the points

Of course.

This is a big part of your grade.

You want to pass,

Don’t you?”

Because it’s all about the grade you get

The points you earn

The quality of your work.

You don’t really need to know

What the characters are like,

Or what themes are in the novels we read.

You can survive without it.

But as teachers we ask you to anyway.

I say, “You need the points!”

I say, “You have to pass!”

I say, “You need to work.”

But what I should be saying is what I truly feel.

Why should you read all of these books, you ask?

You should read them because they will

Change

Your life.

These books can open your mind to completely new worlds

They can take you to places you’ve never been

They can comfort you, scare you,

Make you laugh and make you cry.

When you learn to love reading and writing

like I so desperately want you to

You will see.

When you find those books that resonate within your soul

You will know.

Words will always be there for you,

Whether they come from someone else’s mind

Or your own.

When you feel so angry you could cry

Or so sad that you could die

You can transfer your feelings onto paper

Push them away from you

Find relief

You can write.

So why do I want you to read and write in my class?

Why should you do this?

Does any of it really matter anyway?

Well, it matters.

I want you to read and write

Because I don’t want you to just graduate,

Or survive,

Or get a good grade.

What I want for you is an experience.

I want you to learn how to truly live.

This is why.

Learning how to respond to students' writing

This week my students turned in their very first piece of writing. My cooperating teacher had warned me that many of the students had never written before, but I was still excited to see what they could do. The students had the option to respond to one of three prompts that correlated with the story we had read as a class. When I began grading my students' work I was definitely surprised by the papers I received. Many students had obviously never written before, and seemed to want to summarize the story instead of responding to the prompt. The effect of texting on writing was also evident, as a lot of my students chose to abbreviate words and forgot to use punctuation. However, in spite of this I was still very pleased with what I received. I had to keep in mind that my students really had not had a chance to write before entering my class, and they all put forth their best effort. We had gone over the important parts of an introduction previously that week, and I was very excited to see that almost every student formulated their introduction correctly. In addition to this, I loved being able to read the students' thoughts about the various topics. Every student had something great to say, and their essays were fun to read.

When I began grading the papers, I didn't want to be too critical. No one likes getting back a paper that is covered in red marks, and as this was basically my students’ first attempt at writing, I didn’t want to undermine their efforts. My CT and I agreed that it was best to focus on the positives for this first paper, instead of correcting every single mistake. This paper will serve as a learning process, a baseline we can use to decide what elements of an essay we need to focus on.
As I was writing this post I came across an article by Brian Slusher that addressed the exact problem I was facing. I didn’t want to be too critical, but I also wanted to make sure my students knew what they needed to improve. His article, titled “Praising, Questioning, Wishing: An Approach to Responding to Writing,” gave me a lot of great tips for responding to student writing. As evident by the article's title, Slusher encourages readers to use the Praise, Question, Wish model of response to help writers. He states, “Praise, Question, and Wish solves these dilemmas of tone by adopting positive language that strengthens the writer's confidence, while empowering him to take control of his piece.”

Through this model of response, writers are able to see what you appreciated about their writing, which generally motivates them to want to continue to write. This model also works for teachers, because it allows for the ability to give constructive feedback that can help students continue to improve, without returning a paper full of red marks. I really liked the wish part of this model, because, as Slusher states, “Since many writers are sensitive about receiving advice, it is a good idea to avoid sounding like you are directing their piece. The word wish has a positive connotation, so starting your advice with I wish avoids the tone of a command. For example, ‘I wish you would tell more about the horse.’” This allows the response to seem more like a conversation than an order.
I’m hoping that as I continue to teach my students how to format an essay, the papers I get will only continue to improve. I have a very intelligent, hardworking class, so I know this will be the case. I can’t wait to read more papers! I told a student this and he looked at me like I was crazy, and then said, “If I had to read that many papers I’d probably fall asleep.” Funny kid.

I love my students and I love my school. This year just keeps getting better!