I hesitate to divert our focus from the fireworks going on right now over on the ACTFL Foreign Language Educators site, as most of us have our gaze there and many of are helping light the fireworks under Eric’s leadership, but this is such a nice report from Angie that we should all read it before starting another week, to keep our focus on what really matters:
Hi Ben!
I just wanted to send a little report/reflection from the Maine conference. Anne Matava is my latest hero. She gave a calm, masterfully simple presentation and had a packed room riveted as she described setting up for a story and then led us through the process from idea to reading. Afterwards I felt a sense of peace – that this can be simple, human, and effective. The rocket-fuel of acquisition, I think she called it.
Kind of on the other end of the spectrum, but still in the CI framework, was Carrie Toth’s backwards-planned units using film, apps, stations, projects, and a lot of other things that scare me to death but are inspirational for teachers who are ready to take on things like that. I do hope someday to have cultural units in my course planning, but for me I’m just lesson plan by lesson plan trying to get through this first year so I did not go to the UBD sessions because I didn’t want to feel overwhelmed any more than I already am. I’m not defending that mindset, but it’s where I am right now. I loved what Laurie said at the closing today…something like if you love to dance, then dance. If you love to sing, sing. If you love tech, do tech. Make the method your own and bring yourself to it.
Laurie ran a very focused coach training this morning. I got to get up and be coached during the whole-group demo. Eric H. was my coach-in-training. Laurie said, “Remember that I have instructed Eric to be sending you love.” I looked at Eric and he was beaming at me. As I began to work with my little crew of “students” I felt myself drop in to the process in a way that was new to me. When Eric stopped me after 5 minutes, I almost felt like waking up out of a trance. After the demo we broke into groups to practice. I excused myself to go back for Anne Matava’s wrap-up from the morning session and next thing I knew she was pulling up a chair for me to be on the panel with her, Sabrina and Carrie Toth. Ha ha! Well, I said to myself, why the hell not? Anything can happen at a CI conference, I guess! There were lots of curious people new to the method, and there was a state administrator of some kind from the state of Maine, who reassured us that nobody really expects high school students to graduate at Intermediate Mid level, even though that is the long-term goal.
This afternoon, Sabrina and Jen did a wonderful movie talk demo…Sabrina was on fire, bringing the house down with her perfect timing and hilarious vocal inflections. I loved what she said during the afternoon panel…something like, I’m just a machine that brings the language through. All of the creativity comes from the students. Anything you don’t know how to do, have them do it. She insisted that she is not at all creative…something I found hard to accept as I watched her weaving beautiful French words with us.
Skip and Beth seemed to be everywhere at all times, keeping the whole conference running smoothly. I feel like every time I saw Beth, she was smiling. Skip gave a deeply heartfelt closing statement. I was so impressed by the committed, humble quality of his leadership.
It was great to connect with so many friends from the blog…John Bracey, Nathaniel, Brigitte, Ruth…it seemed like every time I turned around there was a name tag with a name I recognized…and of course Eric, Sabrina, Jen, Laurie, and my buddy Elissa and I managed to car pool this year. Yay! I wish you could have been there, Ben! I still feel scared going in to school each day, but I believe that it will get easier and there is this whole community of people learning and growing together and really it is very, very simple. Just have comprehensible conversations and then make them into readings. Over and over and over again.
Much Love,
angie