Although I was unable to attend Thursday’s session of the
KATE conference, I was very happy with Friday’s experience! Just by listening
to my fellow pre-student teachers talking I knew that Thursday was very
informative and beneficial. Friday was far from disappointing!
The atmosphere was a lot different than I had expected.
Typically conferences intimidate me in their size, especially when so many are
strangers. However, there were smiles abound and friendliness was soon a long
forgotten worry. Even in the small group of the first session, ESOL Strategies
in the Language Arts Classroom, was very friendly! This session was also among
the most beneficial of sessions, as many of the students at my school are ESOL
learners. In fact, the speaker for this section is a teacher at the school I am
in! How cool is that? I did not have the pleasure of meeting her before, but
her presentation was very enlightening. Did you know that it takes 13-15
exposures to learn a new word, if the student is on grade level? Otherwise it
takes double. I never would have guessed! Many of the strategies that were
mentioned I have already had the pleasure of seeing in my current classroom,
used by my CT. This background experience in the strategies enhanced my
learning, and made this session my favorite!
It was a difficult choice to decide where I should attend
next. In the end I chose Poetry Out Loud, followed by the Children’s Book
sessions. Both provided even more amazing information and ideas! I thought it
was very interesting to hear about the nationwide poetry contest and community
college experiences. All of the sessions
showed how to enhance student learning, but to do so in a way that brings
excitement, motivation, and fun! It definitely made me feel a tad disappointed
when fellow pre-student teachers discussed how Thursday’s sessions were just as
great- if not even better.
In the end, the conference left a great impact. I wasn’t
sure what I would think of it after hearing about several long, sometimes not
the most entertaining inservice days. While a conference is not an inservice,
it was the comparison that I was making in my mind. Not anymore! I look forward
to the conference next year, in the hopes that I can attend and discover a
plethora of new information at my every beck and call. A teacher’s job of
learning never ceases; and I happily accept the task of growing into a better,
well rounded and open minded educator!
