KATE Conference Post

Wow... First of all, I would never have considered going to this conference if it was not required of me, so THANK YOU, DR. MASON for requiring it! I was really impressed with all of the speakers I listened to.

The first session I sat in on was the one about allowing students to use their smart phones and iPods in class. There are a lot of ways students can use these devices in classrooms that would be really good for them and productive uses of their phones. The one thing that really hit me was how allowing these devices in a classroom could make me a better teacher. The presenter mentioned that if you are the type of teacher who sits at a desk and does not circulate at all, allowing students to use cell phones and iPods would not be a good idea. However, if a teacher wants to allow the use of electronic devices in the classroom, the teacher will really need to walk around a lot to make sure the phones are being used appropriately-- which is something teachers should do anyway. Whether students are allowed to use cell phones in the classroom or not, there are so many other inappropriate things they could be doing in class. It is always a good idea for teachers to circulate and make their presence known to the students.

After this session was lunch and the Jay Asher keynote address. I was afraid it was going to be boring but it was incredible and I am so glad I could be there for it. One of the cool things that jumped out at me was that he chose the number 13 because it is an "unlucky" number. For him, however, it became pretty lucky. I thought it was so cool that his book was rejected 12 times and the 13 time his book was accepted-- really cool story.

After lunch, I sat in on the LGBTQ session with Dr. Mason. We got to do one book read which I thought was really cool and I actually added both books to my Must-Read List. I wanted to sit in on this session because I have a student in my placement who is gay and there have been comments made about her sexuality by other people in the classroom, as well as comments like, "that's so gay." It is so easy to let things like that slip when you don't realize there is a gay student sitting in the classroom but when it happens, I get extremely uncomfortable. I think including homosexuality in classroom discussions and lesson plans is something teachers try to stay away from because of how controversial the topic is but I also think, whether you agree with it or not, it needs to be included.

I stayed for the session about including fine arts in the English classroom because I think it's important to allow students to express themselves in different ways and fine arts is a fun and interesting way to do it. I'm really glad I attended the conference and really feel like I walked away with a lot of different things that I can't wait to implement in my own classroom!