MRA 2024 - "This is such a great conference!"

Picture it.  Sturbridge.  Massachusetts Reading Association Conference 2024.  

Two crazy reading ladies are running late - per usual - and can't find our badges.  People jump to help us.  "This is such a great conference."

We sneak into the keynote, content to stand in the back.  We're quickly ushered to front row seats.   "This is such a great conference!"

They keynote was...chef's kiss.  All around us, heads are nodding.  Pencils are scratching.  Keys are clicking.  The audience is engaged, invested.  Again, we find ourselves saying, "This is SUCH a great conference!"  

As teachers,  we appreciate how rejuvenating and encouraging it can be to spend time with like minded peers. As a principal, Mary reminds us that participation in conferences is excellent evidence for Standard 4.  (Present and you might just earn an Exemplary!)  

The Sturbridge Host Hotel and Conference Center was such an accessible venue.  How lovely to not need escalators and a hover board to go from one session to another within the allotted transition time.  The lobby with the giant fireplace?  The courtyard with the live trees?  The exhibit hall that can be navigated without GPS?  Heaven.  

Gholdy Muhammad, author of Cultivating Genius and Unearthing Joy, spoke to our souls.  Her message was enlightening and truly validating.  Do curriculum designers study our students?  Take their measurements?  Or, when the dress doesn't fit, do they tell the kids they need to go on a diet?  Historically responsible education teaches identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and JOY.  

  

As presenters, we were given the VIP treatment.  Coffee and muffins, super accessible and helpful tech support.  And they gave us a session moderator / reluctant bouncer.  Jodi - call us!  We'll get coffee at An Unlikely Story!  

Perhaps the most cup-filling component of MRA 2024 was the caliber of attendees.  People didn't leave sessions.  They were attentive, taking notes, asking questions, fully engaged.  Dare we say, they were all in?  

And just when we thought the day couldn't get any better: Lauren Wolk.  (Just like Ms. Wolk's next book, Candle Island, more on this encounter is coming soon!)  

    

If you're a Massachusetts educator, you should join MRA.  You can learn more about them here.  And mark your calendars for MRA 2025: March 26 - 28 in Newton.  

It'll be such a great conference.  

"We can't wait for Monday!"

 On Friday afternoon, a pair of sixth graders appeared in my doorway. 

“We need a book,” they said in unison.

Sure! Do you have a title in mind, or do you want to look around?

“It’s The Honest Truth. It’s about this b--- THERE IT IS!”

One of them took a giant step towards the bookshelf, her hand outstretched as if the book might disappear.

“OH! And you have TWO! Can we have them?”

Of course! 

As the happy customers clutched their books, we had a spontaneous conversation about whether the bus driver would report Mark, what Jessie should do, and why Beau is the finest dog in all of young adult literature.

These are students I don’t have in class, but we have a connection now because of a book. Experiences like this can fuel me for days; quite honestly, they make me feel like a magician, but the real magic happened in their sixth grade homeroom. 

In an effort to maintain the expectation of our daily 20-minute reading block, we instituted “read aloud rooms.” One teacher on each team decides to read a book aloud, and students can either opt-in to that experience or choose to read a book on their own. A teacher had recently started The Honest Truth and these two were so invested in the story they needed the book for themselves. I’ll say it again: they needed the book.  Everything about them - from their posture to their gushing gratitude - told me about the emotional connection they had made to the story (and to each other) over the course of just a few days.

Even though I knew the teacher who had started the book earlier that week, the students continued to talk about what she had read and what had happened so far in the story.

“It’s soooo good! We couldn’t wait for Monday!”

If you need a reminder to keep reading out loud - yes, even in middle school - take this as your sign.