Dublin Literacy Recap and Slide Presentations

On Saturday I had the honor of being a featured presenter at Dublin Literacy in Dublin, Ohio. This was the 30th year they've had this conference and I was amazing at the amazing sessions they offered. 

Because I presented three times I was only able to get to Jason Reynolds' keynote, but wow. I sat next to a friend both in awe and in tears, in equal measure. Every time I've ever heard Jason speak I am left beyond impressed as he shares his love of kids and his desire that we honor them. Today he reminded us that we need to show them humility, intimacy, and gratitude. 

Humility in that we need to let them teach us, we need to listen. 

Intimacy in that we need to put ourselves out there, let the kids know us. We say children should respect us, but have we shown them respect?

Gratitude in that we need to be grateful they are in class. Do we think about what they went through to be there? 

Jason inspires me, always. So do the educators I met today. Public speaking is not my forte. It's hard, I get anxious, I wonder why I'm there. The people I met today were beautiful. They were kind, caring, and wonderful listeners. They came up afterwards to whisper kind words to me. They sent me messages. I think if you don't ever present, you cannot know what that means. 

Thank you.

The weekend was filled to the brim with goodness. I honestly was so taken by the experience that I rarely got my phone out to take a photo, but a few are below and I've added a caption to each. 

I had a blast shopping for books before my presentation in the exhibit area. Under my Hijab was on my list to purchase. I had eaten dinner with the author, Hena Khan, at dinner on Friday night. She is seriously one of the kindest people I've met. I had loved her middle grade novel, Amina's Voice, and was beyond thrilled to find this new picture book. I will be sharing it in my seventh grade classroom next week. 

 So many dear friends this weekend! I love being part of the Voice from the Middle podcast with Gretchen. 

Katie snapped a photo while I was presenting. Every audience I had was filled with the kindest people. What a day! 

There was a coffee shop down the way from the hotel. I had to try their homemade blueberry pop tart. Holy crap, it was amazing.

 Karen is someone I talk to almost daily on Voxer, yet she lives over five hours away from me. Great to see her in person.

Even though Chris was recovering from Influenza A, he still made the trek to Ohio with me. Our way back was filled with wind gusts, potholes, a trip to a candle outlet, Starbucks, and a beer run. Good memories indeed. 

If you attended my presentations, you know I mentioned I'd be uploading the slides to my blog. In the past I've put all of my presentations on SlideShare. However, I've heard rumors that it will be no longer. The site still seems to be there, but maybe my blog is a better location anyway? Who knows. At any rate, I've added a page to the blog and will attempt to link it HERE. Please let me know if you have any questions. And, without doubt, if you get a chance to attend the Dublin Literacy Conference in the future, do. It was a fabulous weekend in Ohio for sure. 

*****

Quick note, if you'd like to learn more about what I do in the classroom, I'm giving a course for Choice Literacy this spring on student research writing. It is my absolute favorite way to end the school year. My course is called "It's a New World" and will be running this spring. Find out more HERE.