ΒιΒι΄«Γ½ Educator of Distinction, Hattie Maguire, Presents Workshops at the National Conference of Teachers of English
Hattie Maguire, a teacher at Novi High School in Michigan, recently received the ΒιΒι΄«Γ½ Educational Conference Registration Grant and used the funds to attend the conference in Houston, Texas.Β Β
Ms. Maguire took something concrete and valuable from each of the sessions she attended, specific to her practice. βFirst, a session by a group of Advanced Placement Literature teachers demonstrated various techniques for engaging all levels of students with critical text analysis. This was useful for my work as a literacy interventionist because they suggested several strategies for introducing struggling students to analysis. Next, I went to a panel discussion of young adult nonfiction authors discussing how we can use nonfiction texts to expose our students to social justice issues. This panel was particularly exciting because I was able to meet and talk with Dashka Slater, theΒ author ofΒ The 57 Bus. I had just finished reading that book with my AP Seminar students and they had sent me to the conference with a list of questions for her! Finally, I especially enjoyed a panel presentation of several engineers and architects-turned-writers who presented about how we might use design thinking with student writers. I am currently team teaching an inquiry-based course with business and computer teachers; this session helped me think about new ways we can approach writing instruction in that course.β
Additionally, Ms. Maguire presented two workshops: a session on "Making Research Relevant" and one on "Teaching Argumentation Through Poetry" with a team of Advanced Placement English Language teachers from across the country.Β Β
βI would like to thank the National Society of High School Scholars for this wonderful grant opportunity. Attending the National Council of Teachers of English conference was a career highlight. The amount of learning crammed into one weekend was astounding, and my students and I will benefit greatly from the experience,β said Ms. Maguire.Β