NCTE Winds Down
Today is Tuesday, and the NCTE conference is just about over. Actually, most of the people have left already. The only ones remaining are those who are attending workshops, executive board meetings or other conferences. I am here for the Conference on English Leadership, an excellent group of leaders in the English teacher’s world. It’s actually a bit strange–I have been on CEL’s executive board for three years (I came off the board last night), yet I am not an official leader in any way. CEL believes that we are all leaders.
One of the great things about going to NCTE is that you gather so many ideas for what you need or want to do within your classes and through other professional avenues. I always make a list of things I want to do. Last year my focus was on writing, and I made myself a list of five pieces I wanted to write. Unfortunately, I only completed one of them. This year I hope to do better, as my list is a little more ambitious:
- Work with Jim Mahoney to set up a CEL blog with NCTE.
- Finish the article I started on Saturday for Terry Bigelow and Michael Vokoun’s column in English Journal.
- Enroll in an online course such as this one.
- Look into establishing a writing group with teachers in my school.
- Write a proposal to present at NCTE about our writing group.
- Write a proposal to present at NCTE, continuing to work with Bill and Bud, thinking about our use of technology in the classroom.
So hopefully I’ll get through many, if not all of these. Deadlines will be the killer. The proposals are due in January, so I need to get busy.
Hope you all have a good holiday weekend. I fly home to New Jersey tonight, teach a half day tomorrow, and then have a few days off.
Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)