RIWP Spring Conference

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Walking into the conference I arrived around 8:30am.  Immediately I sat with our class and waited for the speakers to commence.  The first two speakers spoke about how Thomas Newkirk impacted their lives.  One of the women said, “question the status quo rather than be complacent.”  That really grasped my attention because after reading “1984” and taking a class with Professor Feldstein I really have started questioning EVERYTHING.  She also spoke about how Newkirk did not exactly criticize her paper but instead he explained, “What he had learned.”  That was amazing and so fresh it made me really go “Wow.”

Finally Thomas Newkirk started speaking and he kept my attention throughout his whole speech.  Something that really stuck with me was how he did not stand on the podium he wanted to be with us, his audience.  He also stuttered at a couple words while reading his PowerPoint.  I really paid attention to these things because of what Professor Collins said that we must show our students that we are human too and I think Newkirk did this subtly as well.  Yes, he is successful and an amazing man but he is one of us, he is a teacher.  One of his main points was that narrative is the prominent and central way of how we see the world.  So his question was why the common core standards put more of an emphasis on narrative?  I agree with him about how narrative is the central way of life.  Back in high school I learned more about watching a civil war movie or reading a soldier’s memories about the civil war than reading any boring textbook.  He also touched upon thesis and how it should leave the reader with an “itch” to keep reading.  I think that is a piece of advice I will try to carry with me now throughout my whole life.

In my first workshop I attended the “Overcoming #NoviceTeacherFails” option.  We were walked through (not literally) a series of questions at the end of maybe 10-15 questions we were to write a manifesto (which is a written public declaration which uses many adjectives to motivate yourself or people).  Instead of explaining my process I would much rather show the product so here is what I came up with:

I absolutely loved this workshop! I am printing out the manifesto and framing it on my wall as a reminder to always be the best I can be (probably will make one for my classroom too once I am a teacher).  I left that classroom very inspired and I am reminded as to why I am here at RIC and why I am becoming a teacher.

In my second workshop I chose to go to the “Highlighting the Positive: A Way of Reflecting, Revising & Evaluating.”  The teacher there was Keith Sanzen who is an 8^th grade English teacher.  He explained his beliefs in grading and how he would much rather track progress in writing much rather than stamp an “A” or a “D” on a paper.  He would check off things like the student had a “clear theme and purpose” or “used capitalization correctly.”  At the end of his unit if the student had accomplished all of their goals he would give them an “A” and if they did not he would work with the student and make sure that they got that “A” or “B.”  I like his thought process on grading because he is making SURE his students are accomplishing everything a good writer does.  He also expressed how students who receive “A’s” feel like they are accomplished and throw their papers away meanwhile students who receive “D’s” feel like failures and stop trying.  His method works because both the “A” and “D” student will always be working toward a goal whether it be to improve their spelling, using strong word variations and working on having effective imagery/language use.  I left that classroom with a good tool for when I have to start grading papers and a new way to look at grading.

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All in all I am very happy that Professor Collins required us to go to this Conference - I probably would not have attended if it were not required. (What student wants to give up a Saturday morning?)  But it is an experience I will never forget and now I feel like I remember why I am majoring in education and most importantly writing.  I will hopefully continue attending these conferences because I have realized that it is a very important tool for teachers.  I learned a lot and grew as a writer in those couple of hours, a very well spent $25.  Thank you Professor Collins!