KATE Conference_The First Experience

Excitement. Trepidation. Anxiety.

I have survived my first Kansas Association of Teachers of English conference, a.k.a. my first KATE conference! It most definitely will not be my last. It was informative and an experience that I am happy to have had, and will be happy to relive. Having said that there was a bit of the experience that was slightly off putting.

It is understandable that there are only so many places that such a large conference can be hosted, but this was a conference for teachers. I have met very few teachers in my education career that don’t take notes and I found myself in multiple sessions WITHOUT tables! The rooms, not often large enough to hold tables, were slightly cramped at times, and the lack of space and places to write took away from the experience. In just the first day of the conference, my brain went into overload with the information filling every inch, and I cannot imagine not having had my notebook. Though I elbowed, bumped, and accidentally scratched multiple people in the process of my note taking, I know that it was worth it. I just wish it wouldn’t have been necessary for me to adopt the habit of apologizing for any potential harm that would come to my seat mates during the sessions.

"Please excuse any invasion of space and accidental harm that may come to you during my note taking of this session."

There was one session of the many I attended where the seats were comfortable, and tables at the ready for the obsessive note takers attending the conference. Not to mention, 15 plus people fit in the room comfortably!

 The seating also posed an uncomfortable situation come time for lunch. I realize that this conference is an opportunity to socialize and to meet people that I would possibly not have otherwise had a chance to meet, but I am also a person, a future teacher, that is bursting at the seams when I learn a surplus of new information. A surplus of new information that I want to share with my colleagues that I know well and that I know will be just as interested and excited as me. We sit in the sessions with new people, and learn new names and ideas at that point, but come lunch, it would be nice to be able to sit with people I know. I say this because, come lunch, a few of my colleagues and I sat awkwardly at the front table, one of us accidentally taking a seat and beginning to eat the food in a spot that someone else had been planning to sit, watching as the rest of our group spread out and sat silently at tables where the others seated chatted among themselves. Though it would be difficult with people coming in and out of the conference for the duration of the day, it would be a far more pleasant opportunity if, those of us who knew we would be staying all day, could have marked our seats so as to converse with each other over what we were experiencing in the sessions we attended.

                This is not to say my experience was ruined because the content was far more valuable than these minor complaints. The many ideas encountered, such as changing an argumentative into a narrative, using multi modal literacy, or using sports YAL to teach LGBTQ in a classroom, were immeasurable compared to the discomfort in the arrangement. I just believe that comfort is a key aspect in attendees’ attention in any situation whether it be in a classroom or in a conference full of teachers and future teachers alike.

I would still recommend the KATE conference to all teachers and student teachers looking to fill that role of being a forever learner and wanting to change and improve as each new year comes their way!

(Genre Reflection) Dear Miss Bailey: A Letter to My Future Self

Dear Miss Bailey,

            Hopefully you are at the point in your teaching that you look upon this letter and laugh, rather than cry as I feel like doing now. The struggle in balancing the firm expectations of being a teacher writhe through my mind and I fear that I will never become you. We learn that it is important to build relationships with them, our never ending mass of pupils, but to be careful in our natural mannerisms and terms of endearment that we have grown up using.  We learn that we must be cautious in our own, personal lives, for we represent something far more important than ourselves.

            I do hope that you have come to master this, for I am in utter fear.

            How am I to be firm in rules and policies, but not so much in a manner where I am “targeting” a student. We learn that we must be precise in our teachings, but flexible to cater to the multitude of different children that come through our door. How do I avoid being accused of racial stereotyping and avoid that dreaded phrase, “It’s because I’m black,” or, at least, how do I respond to it? I haven’t even come to understand how to cater to the needs of my future students without giving special treatment, or inadvertently singling one of them out. We read about methods of teaching, and how to apply one idea or concept in different manners, but we so little learn about how to interact with specific students, with specific problems, with specific demons. That one exceptionalities class did so little for me.

            I do hope that you have picked up some ideas along the way, for I am in utter fear.

            They often say that teaching is a never ending learning experience, and that a true teacher is a forever learner, but this idea scares me. I find it terrifying that I will not ever truly have the knack of teaching down pact, though I do know it is because with every new group of students, comes a new group of minds, personalities, and backgrounds. I feel silly for understanding, yet still fearing.

            I do hope that you have overcome this, or, at least, come to better accept it.

Best of wishes,

Just Lorylyn 

Blog Post #2: Changing the nature of the thorn

   As I work my way through learning to groom my future garden, I come to an impasse with a specific thorn in my side when in the classroom.

   Cellphones. Our students cling to them, unwilling to separate themselves from that connection to the world outside of our classroom walls. Cellphones. Some of the biggest thorns in my garden. I have always fancied that I would be the understanding teacher that allowed my students to have their phones out in class, I was not going to be the cellphone Nazi of the school. I am definitely gaining a new perspective on it at this point in time. I have bgun to question the presence of cellphones in the classroom: do they inhibit classroom management, or do they more so provide opportunity for learning experiences? Are only tools of abbreviated words and the latest celebrity gossip, or could they be used as tools for reading inquisition and writing?
   My mentor teacher chooses not to make cellphones in her class a big deal, which works at some points in time, but it makes me contemplate the place of cellphones in the classroom. It truly instigates wonder at the possibility that these thorns, so crucial in our students' lives, could be deemed as crucial in our class as well. Of course, there would need to be some rules about the cellphone usage.

   In their book, The First Days of School,  Harry and Rosemary Wong emphasize the importance of distinguishing the specific rules and procedures of a classroom. I often return to this section of their book because it is central to the effective management of a classroom, and, when it comes to the thorns in my garden, it helps me determine ways to turn those thorns into things of importance rather than irritation. The two authors state that, "rules are used to set limits," (151), but not necessarily extinguish an entity.
   The Wongs advise to, "limit your rules...never more than five," (150) so it is understandable if a teacher may not deem cellphone usage plausible because it would come with so many rules and restrictions, but, in my classroom, cellphone usage will not be cut off, rather conformed to work with the class, regardless of the rules that it will take to effectively implement. Some examples of the rules I may choose are:

• Cellphone usage is prohibited during quizzes, exams, independent reading, and as otherwise stated by the teacher. 
• Cellphones may be used in such circumstances: for class Quizlet, Kahoot!, or as otherwise stated by the teacher.

It is important to note that only having the two rules permits me to make adjustments to whenever and however the cellphones are to be used, but also distinguishes moments of specifics when the students are definitively aware that they are or are not allowed.
   "Rules must have consequences," (Wong 152) is the next step in my consideration of cellphone usage. Though there are positive consequences in most aspects, I would focus more so on the negative consequences when discussing cellphone usage in my class. These negative consequences will be precise, and posted and discussed in the class, so the students will be very aware of them. A sign will be posted labeled "Cellphone usage when not permitted will result in:"

• Strike One: You will receive a hint or direct request to put the phone away.
• Strike Two: Your phone will find itself in my desk drawer for the remainder of class.
• Strike Three: Your phone will be sent to the office for the entirety of the day. 
• Multiple Offences: Your phone will be taken and a conference call, with you, to your parents about your inattention in class.

My consequences are obviously not fine tuned, but necessary in a garden where thorns are inevitable.
   Some of the ideas I have for cellphone usage come from observing my current and past placements. I have been introduced to fascinating and useful apps such as Kahoot!, Quizlet, Remind, and many more. In experiencing these apps and uses, it has reintroduced the positive presence of cellphones in the class, but also made me more aware of the need for rules. My mentor teachers have had rules in place, but I imagine different rules and consequences for my future classroom.
   I will continue to wonder on cellphone usage in the classroom as inhibiting the classroom management in some way, but it is pertinent to remember that "self- discipline is what discipline is all about," (Wong 157), and allowing, yet restricting cellphone access in the classroom could be a good learning point for students and us as teachers. Only experience will tell! :)