This week I’ll be heading to National Harbor (outside Washington, D.C.) for my annual trek to the NCTE Annual Convention. This year will be my 4th time attending the National Council of Teachers of English convention, and my 3rd time presenting. It’s one of the most meaningful professional development experiences of my year because not only are there great sessions to attend with gurus in the field of E/LA education, but I have the opportunity to network and continue developing relationships with the amazingly supportive publisher reps who recommend books to bring back for my students, and also a chance to see my edufriends – people I’ve gotten to know over the year’s through my PLN on twitter and now consider friends, even if we only see each other in person a few times a year at conferences. I always feel exhausted, but reinvigorated after attending NCTE. I come back with ideas of things to try in the classroom and ways to improve my teaching, validation of the goals I’ve set for myself professionally and the growth I’m aiming for, and lots of new and upcoming books to share with my students.
The most exciting part this year is the session I am co-chairing with Sarah Andersen for the second year in a row (it was such a success last year, we’re hoping to make it an annual session!). We created a session with roundtables of authors with their editors to talk with teachers about their writing and revising process in order to help teachers take on more of an editor role with the student writers in their classrooms. I heard so many ideas to take right back to my classroom and start implementing last year, and I can’t wait to hear what this year’s group of authors and editors will have to share that will impact my teaching.
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| Thank you to all of the amazing publishers who support their authors and editors in attending to make this session possible! |
If you’re going to be at NCTE, I’d love to see you there (or around anywhere)! Please come say hi if you spot me.
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| The start of the ALAN Workshop is like English teacher’s Christmas, and the energy in the room is equivalent! |
Then, on Monday and Tuesday, I get to spend two days listening to author talks and panels discussing YA literature at the ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE) Workshop. This is always one of my most anticipated events of the year, and not just for the awesome box of books we get upon arrival (over 40 this year!) but because it’s a nice wind down from the craziness of running around at NCTE and I always hear things I can bring back to share with my students and things that remind me why I’m passionate about this field and why I do what I do to get books into the hands of adolescents. This year will be my 7th straight ALAN Workshop – I can’t wait!
