Annual Conference Trip

Last year I read so many wonderful tweets and posts about NCTE that I really wanted to attend this year. This is, however, not going to happen. But no worries, there are conferences closer to me that are more accessible at this tine. There are also tweets to read and blogs to follow during and after NCTE to learn from a distance as much I possibly can.

This past weekend was our Michigan TESOL annual conference.

I was presenting with three other ESL teachers from around my area. We had an interactive presentation where each of us highlighted one to two areas that we felt we have been successful, or new initiatives that we are trying this year. I learned so much from my fellow presenters! These are teachers who have written curriculum, made home visits, tutored after school, and all this on their own time. These are professionals who want to make a difference in the lives of the students that they serve, and also with the classroom teachers that they encounter every day while working with the ESL/ELLs in their schools and districts.

I learned about new technology that teachers are using. Jing is one of these new tools that I would like to try in the next few weeks. (Check it out here.) Have you tried Jing? I learned about using U.N. debate model with students. I am trying to figure out when I could incorporate this type of model into my curriculum. I think my students would really enjoy debating in this manner. Maybe I could even find a clip or two to show how it is done in real life...

And then there was the great part: driving to the conference and back with Liz! Two and half hour drive each way. We covered so many topics I lost count! Some were extremely personal, and others completely professional. Liz and my school are about 5 miles apart, but our student population could not be any more different! Different language groups, different problems. But through all the differences, one thing remains the same: Our desire and our commitment to teaching English to our ESL students.

I should have stopped along the way to take some photos as the creation around me was so beautiful. Imagine driving in clear weather down a smooth highway that is surrounded by trees in all the beautiful fall colors. This colorful nature restored my soul! Yes, I would have liked to extend my weekend through Monday--I actually almost called to stay home--but then I remembered that I had a volunteer coming to help me this morning! Time to apply what I learned!