I am a person who prefers to take handwritten notes. Typing is admittedly faster, but digital files that don’t take up physical space in my world don’t remind me to open them, look back through them, and remember.  I like looking through old notebooks to reflect, re-learn, and reconsider from new perspectives. A few days post-NCTE, I took the time to review the nearly-full composition notebook containing all the wisdom I could snatch from the air around me in St. Louis.

As a presenter of a poster session, I can say with certainty– all the presenters in the entire conference did not have a secret meeting to confer and plan a unified message, but the sessions I attended certainly seemed as though that might have been a possibility! The conference organizers clearly worked to pick submissions that brought the same message and heart to the conference.

I could simply list my top 10 takeaways from NCTE, but that would fail to do justice to my thoughts about what I heard, discussed, and learned.  Instead, I will share a series of blog posts all related to the amazing conference.

First up-– students need to speak their truths.

Many people sidestep or skirt around controversies because they’re afraid, but we should not be afraid of our students’ truths.

 

 

This message rang loud and true from the first general session.  

I will admit this is a thought that keeps me awake at night. I am not afraid of their truths, but I am terrified of my inabilities.

I am an advocate of choice reading and choice writing in a workshop environment that individualizes as much as possible– not only because I believe in the many ways it helps my students engage and grow academically, but also because I know it allows them to seek what they need from the universe in order to grow as human beings. They will read what they are ready to read, and they will take away from it what they need. If I make it safe to do so– which is always an ongoing goal– they will find the voice to whisper or to boldly proclaim the words they need to say.

I believe in my ability to guide them through the stacks of shelves to find the books they need.  I am confident I can support them in putting thoughts into the words that give them a voice.

 But, I have always… always struggled with moderating whole-class discussion.  

While I’m a queen of cooperative learning and small group discussion, large group conversations are my kryptonite. A hard and scary reality of teaching is that teens– who are not always known for their objectivity, calm analysis, and civil discourse– sometimes say hurtful things, and I cannot snatch them out of the air.  

I don’t fear the truths.  I fear the reactions, the interpretations, and the responses. I fear the push-back, the denial, and the misperceptions. I fear biases gaining root and growing, discord widening the gap that exists in my student body, and emotional bruises being bumped. I fear the possibility of their words perpetuating wrongs and my inability to fix the damage.

We as educators who are trying to shape the world need to have conversations about that reality too.  We need help one another understand how to sit in discomfort, how to shepherd people through the rocky terrain of conversation, and how to address the wrongs in the most effective manner.  These are skills we can learn, but we can’t just tell someone who understands the ‘why’ to go and do it without also helping understand the how.   How can I most effectively facilitate those uncomfortable conversations of deep truth and simultaneously protect students from potential additional hurt? 

People need to speak their truths, and people need to hear the truths of others.  It is how we will eventually come to know and better understand one another. 

I will continue to build these opportunities through offering choice in any and every way possible.  I will offer authentic audiences for writing and continue in my lane of small-group conversations.  I will keep reading, exploring, listening, trying, and hoping.

And I will expect to see some sessions about how popping up for next year’s conference. I get why.  I have many ideas about what. Teach me HOW.