The Bright Ideas conference this weekend was a blast for me. I love going to conferences like this one and exchanging ideas with people of like minds. Jacqueline Woodson, the keynote speaker for the event, spoke of her writing process as a professional author. Although it was difficult to transfer some of her experiences to writing classroom pedagogy, it was helpful to hear her talk about her writing. What I took away from her talk, was the fact that when all is said and done, writing is a highly creative, highly inspired activity. There are things about “the writing process,” aspects to the way in which a story is created that will never fit into a flow chart or concept map. While it is difficult to instruct this kind of inspiration to students who are not “born natural writers,” I think it is important that we never forget the fact that writing cannot be forced, tied down, or predicted. Jacqueline Woodson said two very important things. The first was that in order to write well, you must read good writing. I certainly think this is true, and it is an important thing to incorporate into writing classrooms. The second was Woodson’s statement that “you should never ask yourself what the story is about. Instead ask what the story is saying.” Perhaps in other words, this means that plot is not as important as relevance and purpose. Woodson’s stories give voices to voiceless populations. All of her characters have something to say. I think it is important to make students aware of the need for purpose, relevant reflection, or underlying messages and themes to be present in their writing. This is the difference between “a nice story” and a relevant piece of writing.
I first attended a breakout session on Virtual Worlds for Teaching Literature. It wasn’t the full action literary video game that I was expecting, but I was very interesting in this emerging area of classroom technology. The presentation was on using MOO spaces for teaching literature. (The presentation was inspired by and dedicated to Professor Rozema, and he video taped it from the side of the room like a proud parent.) In spite of the fact that the literary worlds did not take the form of a Zelda game for a Nintendo platform, I was excited about some of the things that were happening. Some of the “worlds” took on the form of a museum which would give students background information about the history surrounding a novel or play. Others created a virtual world where students could role play as characters in order to learn more about character motivation as they interact with each other as their assigned character in order to achieve that character’s goals. I really liked both type of ideas. I felt that the museum approach would be a more fun and meaningful way to teach back ground information. The role paying gaming ideas excited me most. I felt that they were very similar to David and my presentation on character exploration through Myspace. I think that this type of instruction is important if we are going to get students to think about literature from the inside out. It is so important for students to understand character motivation and character interaction. This type of technology offers an optimal way for students to do this.
The second presentation I attended was about what Principals say they value during interviews. While I probably should have been in a session about how to teach, this session helped me to feel more prepared for the competitive job search I will need to begin next year. The biggest message I took home was to let my excitement, enthusiasm, and interest in the school show through. I need to let the hiring board know that that interview day is an important occasion for me. They need to know that I have done my homework on the school, and that I am a perfect fit for their students and their community. I should be dressed in a way that shows that I know it is an important day. It would be good for me to ask for a tour of the school before my interview. This shows interest and familiarizes me with the school. I would have never thought to ask for a tour before attending this session, so I thought that was very helpful information. Also, eye contact with everyone in the interview room is important. This made so much sense, but I also might not have thought about this. When I first came to GVSU, I fought the idea of going into teaching because my Dad has not been able to get a public school job although he is certified. He always had to settle for part time country school jobs, and eventually he had to give up teaching all together so that my family could afford health insurance. My father’s unsuccessful experiences with interviewing have left me nervous about how I will measure up when the time comes. This session helped me see that I can be my excited, enthusiastic self. If I practice answering questions, keep my cool, but show how interested I am in the position, I should be fine. Also, practicing how to articulate my teaching philosophy, and being very familiar with state standards is important to principals.
Of course, I also enjoyed presenting at this conference. It was an invaluable opportunity for me. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to share one’s own ideas with a group of interested people. It also is amazing practice for speaking in front of an attentive audience about academic ideas.
