Some Encouragement

I have spent the last two days at the Iowa Council for Teachers of English. Overall, I was impressed by the thoughtful ideas and motivating speakers that were provided. I realize that attending these types of conferences can be a gamble. It's also important to realize that your mindset going into the experience can make all the difference in the world. I was ready to learn and get a little break away from the noise (literally and figuratively) of classroom teaching.

Yesterday was full of round table discussions and talks of YA Literature. It's only a matter of time before I make my way to Half Price Books. There are so many awesome titles that both myself and my students really need to read. I realized that my passion for encouraging life-long readers is shared by my colleagues. Reading is such an important part of everyone's lives, so it is essential that we as teachers make reading enjoyable. There really is a book for everyone... or as the speaker, Penny Kittle, said, "Give them a home-run book." Isn't that just the coolest term!?

This morning, I met with a group about bridging the gap between high school to college. In other words, what do teachers need to be doing to make the transition easier? What do college professors expect my students to know when they step into a college writing course? It was a great discussion, and I feel like I heard a lot of insightful ideas. I was hungry for suggestions from seasoned teachers. As we were walking out, one of the college professors looked at me and said, "You need to relax." I laughed nervously and replied, "Can you tell I'm feeling unsure about my senior writing classes?" He went on to say (along with two other teachers) that it gets easier. He said that my first year is behind me, and I survived... that is what matters. He also mentioned that it does get easier; however, as soon as you have one thing figured out, something else changes. I realized as I got into my car that the important part is that I care. If it didn't bother me, then we would have a real problem.

Currently, I am staring at my lesson plans for next week and wanting to change just about all of them. It might be best if I take a step back... and maybe take a step towards the mall :-) Happy weekend!!