I attended the
RITELL Fall conference on Saturday November 15, 2014 at Rhode Island College. It actually had a major
impact on my college plans because I have decided to apply for the graduate program Teaching
English as a Second Language at RIC. I am very passionate about teaching in city schools and
it seems that a reality I must face is the number of immigrant students I will be responsible for
teaching. I embrace diversity and I hear about the challenges schools are faced with when teachers
are ill equipped to teach foreign students English. As much as RIC may prepare me for teaching, I want to develop the
additional skills required to teach
English as a language, not just a subject. I am glad I realized this now so
that I can incorporate this
knowledge into shaping the teacher I become. I definitely took away a valuable lesson!
At the
conference, I learned about the literary resources available for creating a
diverse library for students.
Books that celebrate diverse ethnicities, beliefs, passions, and families are vital for students to encounter as
they begin to shape their own perspective of themselves. It is also helpful to expose them to
differences. I want to foster literacy skills in students who have had trouble learning how to read or
love to read but cannot find books that interest them. I am glad I learned about the books that
represent the diverse group of readers we find in an ordinary classroom so that I can make useful recommendations. I
plan on teaching in secondary schools
but it was helpful to learn about lower level books too in case I have lower
level readers in the future.
I actually met
the ELL resource professional at the high school that I work in at the conference. So, networking was
another positive outcome from this meeting because now I have support as a professional before I even become a practicing
professional. I attended the Promising
Practice conference last fall, RITELL this semester, and will continue to
connect with experts in my
field at future meetings in order to support my own constant growth
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