“Teachers, new and old alike, need professional dialogue to keep the spirit of learning alive in the classroom as well as in their hearts.”
Sarah Costello
We hope many educators will join us on the second Thursday of each month at Busboys and Poets.
Our group today created a statement of who we are. We felt that it was important to have a clear vision of what our group is all about. This will help interested people decide if they would like to join us. Here is what we came up with:
The Washington D.C. area TAWL group is an organization made up of educators who come together through the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to network, discuss and support each other through stimulating conversation. We explore issues related to literacy, inquiry, critical literacy, new literacies, research, and pedagogy. Anyone interested in meeting with other area teachers in a rejuvenating, relaxing environment is welcome to join us!
We are discussing professional books, and keeping “conversation” an ongoing theme. The theme of “conversation” can include these ideas and more: how conversation and purposeful talk can impact purposeful conversations within our community of the children in our classrooms; how it can focus our TAWL community; and how these connections through texts can facilitate our discussion. Connecting a common theme with related professional books throughout several months will allow deeper discussion and higher level conversations, as well as providing time for reflection on our challenges and successes.
Our meetings will follow this basic structure:
-Moderator will open with a quote, question, thought or comment relating to our theme – conversation – we will discuss the book or books we are reading and our thoughts on the theme for approx. 45 minutes.
-Text sharing – please feel free to bring any text you would like to share with the group – we will share for approx. 15 minutes.
-Last Word – we will end with a volunteer saying a “last word” for the evening
At 5:30 the meeting will end, but those who wish to linger and continue the discussion over dinner are welcome to stay.
At the end of each meeting, we will ask for a volunteer to be moderator for the following meeting.
I’m looking forward to this exciting opportunity to learn and grow together!
