Bright Ideas Conference Review
Last Saturday, April 14th I attended the Bright Ideas Conference at the Michigan State Union in East Lansing. The keynote speaker was Jacqueline Woodson. I attended two breakout sessions. The first was about surviving the orthodoxies of English education with CMU professor John Dinan. The second session I attended was about literacy and learning in the inner-city with Mrs. Speed, a sixth grade teacher at Riverside Middle School in Grand Rapids.
To be honest, I was not overly thrilled with attending this conference. I could list about 35 different things I’d rather do at 6:30AM on a Saturday (well, actually only one and that’s sleep). So grudgingly I set off for East Lansing. But I am lying a little. I am a morning person so I was in a good mood as I drove from Grand Rapids to E.L. As I was driving home after the conference my opinion had completely changed.
The keynote speaker, Jacqueline Woodson, was simply incredible. She was a captivating, articulate speaker. As I sit here looking over my notes I notice how many amazing quotes I wrote down. I will give a few of them and reflect a little.
“Everyone has a story. Everyone has a right to tell that story.” This quote seems simple but in reality is amazing (and I foresee difficult to make sure happens in my future classroom). If my students feel their writing will not be respected. If they feel any fear at all they will not share. The atmosphere in the classroom will be toxic to learning. I need to do everything I can to make sure that all my students, every one of them, feel comfortable.
“You can’t write if you don’t read.” This is interesting to me. I read Stephen Kings semi-autobiographical On Writing and he expressed similar feelings about the writing process. This conflicts with what Dr. Dinan would later say at this conference (I will describe this later). I’m not sure how I feel on this. It sounds right to me. It feels right, but how can one say that reading magically makes one a better writer? I’m not sure I should say this in my future classroom. If I have future students who love reading but not writing, or the reverse, this sentiment could crush the positive feelings they have for reading. This is an interesting quote though.
Finally, Woodson discussed how kids love stickers. Specifically, how sticking the Caldecott or Newberry sticker on books alone seems to make students interested. This was a hilarious moment in the speech, but the logic seems flawless. If the outside of the novel is decorated, others must agree it is a great book. If the book is great, it might be worth the students’ time.
Dr. Dinan was an interesting character. He seemed to be a somewhat cynical / skeptical but kindly hearted older man. He challenged a bunch of what he termed to be the “Progressive Mandates” in English pedagogy. While agreeing in principle with these new thoughts on English education, he was nervous about simply discarding old methods as obsolete and completely useless.
For example, he discussed the five paragraph essay. While universally acknowledged to be evil, he wondered if our future students were struggling with creating argumentative essays, couldn’t this paper at least be a starting point? His lecture was interesting.
Again, I had mixed feelings about this lecture. It was good to here a person playing devil’s advocate with everything I had been taught, but it was still a nerve-racking experience.
He stated a teacher didn’t necessarily have to be reader to teach reading, or a writer to teach writing. Again, this was different than what I have heard in the past, but was a little comforting. I won’t feel so guilty about unwinding in front of a television anymore.
Mrs. Speed is the head of the English Department at Riverside Middle School in Grand Rapids and she presented about her life, first attending G.R.P.S, and now teaching there. There was also research presented about inner-city school districts.
Code-switching was discussed. This is greatly interesting to me as I feel I want to at least attempt teaching in an inner-city school district someday. I feel like I want to do this, perhaps for my life. But I also realize many teachers say this, and then once they begin to experience it, flee. The advice given in this seminar was practical. Find a mentor teacher who you feel comfortable with and who will stick up for you. Get a strong ally. I don’t know if I’m entering teaching or politics; I’ve heard both.
This conference was a great experience for me. I feel both encouraged and also a little more confident in both how to proceed as an aspiring teacher and maybe how to be a little more realistic with what to expect.
prettyladyliun06 said,
April 18, 2007 at 1:22 am
Hey Jeremy,
)
I have to say I disagree with you about Woodson- I thought the opposite about her as a speaker. I felt she was more informal than professional and articulate, I am thinking particulary about how much she said ‘um’. However, from what I heard of her writing, it sounds like she is a brilliant writer. I am very excited to read some of her stuff.
Your first session sounds like it may have been a little uncomfortable (but still interesting). To sit and listen to someone state ‘truths’ contrary to what you have been taught (I would think) would be uncomfortable and like you said a little nerve racking.
As to the second session that you went to, it sounds like it was very helpful. Getting an ‘inside’ perspective on teaching in the inner-city would be very insightful- especially the notion of code-switching. I’m curious- did she mention anything about AAVE and the student’s use of it in the halls or classrooms and how that effects her teaching methods?
Anyhow, I agree with you about the confrence- I too thought it was a great experience and what it offered me. Perhaps we will see each other at future conferences- only then we will both be teaching (hopefully
Comments « daily pennies said,
April 18, 2007 at 2:58 am
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