An Argument for Attending the KAKE Conference

Perhaps the most overwhelmingly influential break-out session at I attended at this years KAKE Conference was entitled "Honing Literacy Skills Through Argument". As of right now, I am in the homestretch of leading my students through the monumental task of writing their first serious high school essay. My CT warned me weeks before the unit began that it would be an arduous task that would involve plenty of hand-holding, and that while the finished product would be lovely that end would at times be difficult to hold on to. I was understandably concerned.

 To add to my overall nervousness concerning the Conference, while we attending this session, my students were in the thick of it. I was a little jumpy, knowing that my students would have to face that days hurdle without an extra mentor to guide them. I sat in my chair, sipping water and envisioning my cooperating teacher, dashing from table to table, answering the same manner of questions that had popped up seemingly every few seconds the day before, with three or four students desiring our complete attention and focus on their written words at once. Now, they had less adults whose attention the could utilize. Would Austin, a student who had missed class the day before and generally needed a generous helping of extra instruction when it comes to composition, catch up that day? Would Morgan develop a stronger confidence in her writing or keep changing her opening quote, not ready to move on to the meat of the essay yet? Who should I take outside to a desk in the hallway the next day for some one-on-one time outside the noisy room that was now bursting with twenty-nine kids? How could I best manage my time the following week?  Luckily, every single one of these necessary but anxiety-inducing questions were quieted once the presenters stepped up after handing out rather hefty packets to us.

  Mary Liebl and Ranay Alcorn quickly set about providing their lucky listeners with a plethora of helpful tips to help students write arguments, an area that my honors students were struggling with in particular.They were given the extra responsibility of adding a paragraph or two providing a solution to the problems presented in their essays. They were just now breaking the five-paragraph essay mold and it intimidated and surprised them. Using the advice given to me by Thursday's presenters, I was able to better lead my students the very next day,after breaking out before Friday's lunch to check up on my freshmen. In addition, I vastly appreciated Liebl's and Alcorn's inclusion of Common Core's new standards for argument not only for my grade, but every grade including kindergarten. Being able to follow the path of my students projected progress by just glancing at one packet in undeniably helpful and it serves as a reminder of what I must help prepare my students for now so they are better-equipped to handle their sophomore, junior and senior years.  In addition, I truly adore and plan on using their rubric idea: they present their students with the requirements to get an A or a '4' in all section, showing that they expect that of each student and not giving students the chance to look at the paper and decide that they would only do the steps required to get a '2'.

Overall, the KATE Conference was vastly enjoyable and just plain intriguing once I got over the not inconsiderable barrier of simply missing being in the classroom. The pure amount of high-quality resources I received at the event and the comfortable sense of comradery at the sessions made it extremely worthwhile. I would love to attend next year (how amazing is it to have the Conference in Wichita?!) though perhaps only for the first day, enough to rejuvenate my passion for teaching English and soak up the advice of my more experienced peers.  I hope to see you all there next year, with as all now able to joke about being on the other side as 'real' teachers!

*All student names herein have been changed.