I’ll be There
by Jim Cope
Scribbles 'n Bits, October 2006
Our annual conference will be held at Jekyll Island,
February 8-10, 2007. I will be
there. GCTE President or not, I wouldn't miss it. Since Guy Ellis urged/pushed me to attend my first GCTE
conference in 1982, I’ve always looked forward to the conference, and I’ve
never been disappointed. At that
first conference, I was excited by the “stuff” I was able to get. Teaching ideas, free books, handouts,
and posters, you name it, I took everything I could get my poor-student hands
on. This avarice continued as I attended conferences during my first years of
teaching. It is also the hook I
use to get my current English education students to attend the conference. When you are new to the profession, the
“stuff” you can collect at the conference is a godsend. This year’s conference will have a lot
of “stuff” for everyone.
As I gained more experience and my office begin to fill with
conference goodies, my motivations for going to the conference changed. During those middle years, I loved the exchange
of new ideas and teaching strategies. If I could meet an author or nationally
known speaker, then that was icing on the cake. There was never a time that I
left the conference with my ideas about teaching, literature, writing, or
language unchallenged. The
intellectual stimulation of the conference caused me to examine my teaching at
a depth I wouldn't have done otherwise. It was especially good when I attended with colleagues; then the
conversations continued for months. Whether what I learned affirmed what I was already doing or spurred me
to change my teaching for the better, I was always a better teacher and scholar
for the experience. This year’s
conference will challenge and/or affirm you as a teacher.
Now in the final third of my teaching career, I’ve seen most
trends and ideas for the second, and sometimes, third time -- old ideas are
given a new coat of paint and bandwagons are reloaded. I continue to look for intellectual
stimulation, and I still can’t pass up a free book, but as a veteran teacher, I
need more. I need something to
break through the cynicism borne of too many meetings and too many editorials
and politicians telling me how to do my job. I need something for my spirit. I need something to rekindle my teaching passion. I love to go to sessions and see young
teachers’ eyes shining because of what they hear and see. Or better yet, I love
to see veteran teachers, some starting their fourth decade, as excited by the
ideas and materials as any student teacher. That renews my teaching soul. That fires my teaching
passion. This year’s conference can do that for you.
Alan Perry and his conference committee have an outstanding
conference planned for you. Jekyll
Island is a great place to spend a February weekend. Whether you are looking for “stuff,” an intellectual
challenge, or renewal of your teaching spirit, grab a colleague or two and come
join us at this year’s conference. Maybe we can share some “stuff” and swap an idea or story or two. I’ll be there. I hope you will be too.
