Hello
everyone! I hope you are all having productive semesters thus far, and that you
had a very marry Halloween! I was very busy this last week. I was able to attended
the KATE conference (Kansas Association for Teachers of English), and I have to
tell you all that I had an absolute blast. Not only did I learn a lot, I got to
reflect with other educators on all the stresses and joy that the profession of
teaching brings. The conference took place on the 30th and 31st.
The guest speaker was Taylor Mali, and honestly, from what I’ve seen and heard
from the man, I was surprised how humble and honest he was. He showed his
passion for teaching and the English language, while also making everyone
laugh. On a side note, he is fantastic at photobombing.
It
was a great conference and I learned a lot of useful ideas for lessons. There
was a panel called “Icebreakers, Teambuilding, and Brain Breaks: Using Collaborative
Play to Faster Positive Learning.” This panel especially intrigued me, as I was
not only lectured on the various types classroom activities, but was also able
to participate in them as well! As soon as the day was over, I went home as
hastily as I could to alter the lesson plan I had set for later this week, and
changed it as I could not offer to miss this opportunity to experiment with one
of the ideas that were presented!
There
were so many panels, but only so much time. I had to plan which ones I could benefit
the most from carefully. Many times there were two panels that I wanted to attend,
and it would come down to the last minute for me to decide. One of the better panels
was the Making it Stick: Communicating Ideas and Information to Students. To
me, this was the most beneficial, as it was taught by two veteran teachers, who
both made the point that as educators we want to get fifty points across in a
lesson, but ultimately, children won’t remember. That is why we need to get one
point across clearly.
Overall
this conference was fantastic, I learned so much, and am eager to try some of
the things I have learned in my own classroom. It was also nice getting to talk
with other teachers who know the ropes and understand the idea of what sort of
emotions I’m feeling towards student teaching next semester. Also, getting to
meet and hear Taylor Moli speak was a wonderful experience and it made me more passionate
about the career I’m pursuing.
That’s
all for now! More to come soon!
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