Day 11 of Classes

 This post is a little late - but I have a solid reason.

Most of these, so far, answer a prompt for one of the courses I am currently enrolled in. This prompt asks about positionality and networking. My brief comment on positionality - writing about that is easy for me. I write personal reflection regularly, so putting it in the form of a statement regarding my research topic did not cause anxiety or stress on my part.

Networking, though.

Here are my reasons for delaying this post:

1. As an introvert and almost certainly neurodiverse person, I despise networking.
2. Networking events tend to exhaust me, so a little distance makes writing about them easier and results in a piece with less bias.
3. I had another networking event on the horizon - the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) conference.

The event with only the students and professors of the doctoral program was okay. I was lucky to be seated on the edge of everything, rather in the middle of everyone talking, which makes a significant difference when it comes to noise. I did learn from the event that a recent doctoral student in the program wrote a dissertation similar to what I intend. This valuable piece of information will lead me to sources I can use.

The much more difficult networking event was NCTE. I usually avoid conferences - the sound, the people, the food, the lights, my chronic pain. (Seriously, I know it was Tom Hanks speaking, but did the ballroom really need to feel like a rock concert beforehand? I was already excited to see and hear him; there was no need to amp it up.) With all the reasons I find conferences anywhere from uncomfortable to downright distressing, I only go if I have a really good reason - like a presentation I am giving, in this case a roundtable on "Reading and Writing for Social Change."

I enjoy the sessions where I can sit in a smallish room and learn, discuss, engage in some activity. I enjoy getting a chance to talk with colleagues and friends I do not see often. For this conference, I got to see my sibling, who only lives 90 minutes from the venue, which was one of the highlights of this conference. While these things are wonderful, they generally are not reason enough to get on a plane, stay in a hotel, and attend the conference - and pay for all of it (or most, as sometimes my institution covers part of this cost).

Last weekend, though, I ended up accidentally networking, which is the best kind.

Somehow I ended up in a room with several people in leadership roles for NCTE (I was not the only non-leader there). They included me in the discussion, part of which was introductions with what we do professionally. This meant I ended up telling them about my research with the goal of creating federal legislation to protect and support LGBTQ+ students.

And one of the people in the room happens to be an editor for a journal which publishes LGBTQ+ related research.

When I was young, one of my favorite words was serendipity - in part because the first syllable has the same pronunciation as my name. It remains one of my favorites, but more for the concept than the morphology. The unlooked for treasure. Serendipitous moments stand out in my mind, like the one I experienced at NCTE.

One of other favorites is synergy, that idea that the combination of things creates a whole greater than the sum of its parts. I find that it often goes hand-in-hand with serendipity.

I did not attend NCTE looking to network. I planned to meet some author, listen to some amazing speakers, spend time with cool people, check out the exhibit hall, but not network. Networking, though it is a primary element of conferences like this, was not among my expectations. I had no intention of putting myself out there and talking to a bunch of people I don't know. My introversion and anxiety make the idea horrid.

But then I end up doing it anyway. Serendipity and Synergy.

It's the only way I ever network.

Day 10 of Classes

We are just past the week I always describe as the worst week of the semester. In Week 10 it feels like the semester will never end, and then in Week 11 (this week), it suddenly feels like the semester is rushing to an end. Work is piling up for students and professors alike. Those of us who teach writing have pages upon pages of student writing to read. But the fun part... student presentations.

Years ago, I had a student standing in front of class, stuttering their way through a presentation, face turning red with embarrassment. I thought to myself in that moment, I am torturing this poor kid. I decided then that I would change the way I had students present their work. After all, there are so many ways that academics present, why not offer some of those methods to my students?

For a couple of years, I had students create conference posters. I invited other professors to come to their final presentation, see what my students were working on, and ask them questions. Another year, I had students present as panels, sitting before the class in a group, but providing their individual information and answering questions.

During COVID, and for a few classes after, I had my research writing students working on one project as an entire class. The class divided into teams at the end of the semester depending on their strengths and interests, which meant that just a few of them were speaking during the final presentation (which also included some other professors), though all were available to answer questions.

Then I hit on the method I am using now - my presentation café. This year, because of the way I have designed my research writing course, I am calling it the Presentation Market. Each group of students - my Guilds - will set up a table as a group to share their research with the class. They can use tri-fold boards, posters, handouts, or even lead the class in an activity. Whatever they choose, they will work as a group. (Also, since we meet at 8am, there will be BYO coffee and donuts, but I may bake some scones and bring them in.)

I ask my students to present their writing every semester, regardless of the way I do so. Since I ask them to present, they may wonder how often I present, or which methods I prefer.

Oddly, most of my presentations of academic work took place during COVID. Before then, I had presented at the Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association conference, but did little else. It was during the pandemic that I found I had a lot to contribute. I presented at RECAP with my partner-in-crime Amy about our work combining the expertise of librarian and writing professor to model collaboration in the writing classroom. We are talking now about another RECAP application. I gave my presentation on the current book banning phenomenon to a local audience, for the organization Chester County Marching Forward, and a national audience, for the organization Red, Wine, and Blue, speaking about the history, the current trend, and how to combat book bans.

One week from tomorrow I am leading a roundtable at NCTE (National Council for Teachers of English Conference) on Reading and Writing for Social Change, with a focus on LGBTQ+ students. This one has me a little nervous, as it is my first roundtable, but I know it will go well. I'll be surrounded by my fellow West Chester Writing Project Teacher Leaders as part of this group session.

You may infer from all of this that presenting my words, my thoughts, is a place where I am exceptionally comfortable. To some degree, yes. I have been performing since I was six-years-old. I've performed in musicals, plays (I'm a Shakespeare fan), operas, choirs, vocal ensembles, band concerts, and marching band competitions. For ten or so years I was a model, primarily in hair shows. I am a teacher, speaking in front of people almost daily. I have even led church services - an annual poetry service, an LGBTQ+ pride service, and a service which blended the ideas of historic preservation, biology, and faith (UU churches have some really interesting services). Starting at age 13, I have spoken in front of school boards to counter book banning.

All of this indicates comfort on the stage.  

However, there is significant difference between performing someone else's words, playing or singing someone else's music, speaking in front of your own community, and revealing the huge amount of work you have put into academic studies, especially if you are challenging well-established ideas or speaking on controversial subjects. 

So, yes, I am experienced speaking in front of people. I get a rush from a successful performance or from seeing a student's eyes light up in that "ah-ha" moment. I will always, though, have that last-minute nervousness which comes before I step on the stage, before I teach a class for the first time, before I begin speaking about my research areas.

That nervousness is part of what makes the success feel so amazing in the end.

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