Well it has been weeks since I returned from my first ever NCTE Convention, but I have been so busy getting myself organized with student teaching and finishing my MAT, that I haven't had time to really sit down and write about it.
My friend Joyce and I drove down early on Friday morning to try and make it to a luncheon where one of our favorite authors (Gene Yang) was going to speak. We wanted to make it earlier to support our friend Jen Kirchoff, but both of us were sick and we couldn't have left any earlier than we did. From the moment we arrived at the Philadelphia Convention Center we were awestruck. The immensity of the convention was not lost on these first time attendees. Just in time for the luncheon, we were able to see Gene Yang give an unbelievable presentation on graphic novels in our culture, and Joyce got her new book signed.
For the rest of the day on Friday, we tried to decipher the enormous book that referenced each workshop, lecture, session, and vendor that was available to us. I chose to attend a session on Social Justice, since it pertained to what we were going to present on Sunday. This session outlined several titles in Young Adult Literature that promote the teaching of multicultural perspectives, and I came away with several new ideas for classroom implementation.
I spent more time before bed on Friday night planning out which sessions I wanted to see on Saturday. Having my plan marked out, I went straight to my first session on Saturday morning (after grabbing a cup of java, of course). This session was of particular interest to me, because it was presented by teachers in the Fayetteville-Manlius school district, to which I had recently applied for an interim position. I was also interested because this session focused on analyzing film with critical theory, which is something I have always wanted to do. Seeing it in action, and experiencing the "light bulb" that often accompanies viewing new texts through a critical lens, really made me want to go home and scrap what I was doing in the classroom. I also had the opportunity, after the session, to meet some of the master teachers who had presented.
Saturday flew by, and I was on a mission to get as many books as I possibly could. I had several bags full of books, some purchased, some signed by authors, and some that were free.
FREE? FREE??? FREE!!
It was like Christmas for a little kid, seeing all of my fellow teachers line up at booths to meet and greet famous authors like Jay Asher, Walter Dean Myers, and John Green. It. Was. Awesome. As you can see by the picture above, my classroom library has grown tremendously thanks to my trip to Philly!
Saturday night we went to the Hard Rock with our friends from Cortland, but I was concerned about getting home early to prepare for the following morning's presentation. I spent all morning going over my part of the presentation, tweaking the website I had made for attendees to access my unit plan, and mentally preparing for one of the biggest moments of my soon-to-be-career. As an English teacher, I am supposed to hate cliches, but time really did fly by. Before I knew it, we were packed up (free books in tow) and headed back to the 'Cuse. Dr. Sarver did a great job introducing our topic, Joyce and Bri were on point as usual, and I didn't do so shabbily myself. Basically the experience has left us with the feeling that we can accomplish anything in this field, and we are ready to tackle our next obstacle- graduating and getting a job!
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