On May 2, 2015, I attended a presentation put together by RITELL addressing effective pedagogical practices when educating ESL students. I registered on site, where a talkative secretary happily kept me for what seemed forever as we first registered me for RITELL before registering me for the actual event. When she found out that I was a college student, and that I was a secondary education major- rather than an ESL major- she commended me for my willingness to "put myself out there" and to try and better my teaching by helping students who need it the most. I neglected to tell her that I was here as part of an assignment for SED, but I reasoned that at 8:20 in the morning with no coffee in hand, I had earned the right to be treated as a good samaritan, at least for a little while. After registering, I entered the Student Union ballroom where the conference would be held, helped myself to generous portions of both coffee and the sweet pastries they had left for guests to take, and took my seat.
The presentation ended up kicking off some 30 minutes after my arrival at around 9 o'clock, giving me plenty of time to take in my surroundings. Looking around, I found myself in a sea of women of varying ages, some hispanic but mostly white; in a crowd of around 50, I think I was one of maybe six or seven men. I had a brief discussion with the woman to my right, a teacher at East Providence who must have started after I had graduated and whom I had remembered being in front of me in line while I was registering. It was very cordial, centering mostly around myself- the end of the semester, when I was hoping to graduate, what I plan on teaching, etc. Right as the conference finally began to fire up, I asked her for some advice concerning what employers are looking for when hiring new teachers. She quickly said under the boom of the microphone as the first speaker began to address the crowd, "Get involved! Do something outside of school, something that sets you apart from everyone else!" I quickly thought of my involvement in the Woonsocket Autism Benefit, and thought of other ways I could get myself involved.
After several speakers announced basic information pertaining to this meeting of educators and the organization of the next meeting, the conference got right down to business, playing a video providing some advice for effective teaching strategies by setting up a lax help center in a school's library, before the keynote speaker took the stage. Her name was Judith B. O'Loughlin, who's presentation centered around using picture books to support language and literacy learning, as well as being culturally sensitive to the needs of your students. She addressed teaching the Second World War to Japanese students and how to be effective and yet culturally competent when discussing divisive topics, keeping in mind how students are reflected in the material that you are offering. This is essential to maintaining student self-esteem, particularly ESL students, who may feel the pains of adolescence inadequacy more than their English-speaking counterparts because of their struggles to master the language and widespread cultural implications of the superiority of the English language.
Her presentation was very insightful, and I feel that I took a lot away from it despite not being an ESL-major; cultural competency is a skill all teachers should master, both because we end up playing a role in the education of all children, and because it is morally right do be so. As a son of a family of immigrants, the struggle of students to learn English- and the discrimination they face in mainstream society, reflected in many forms of media- is something I have witnessed among people I love and hold dear to me, and I think that my experiences with this topic are something that will always influence my teaching, which O'Loughlin was quick to encourage in her presentation. I also learned some material directly related to my major. I had never know that blacks in the South prior to desegregation weren't allowed to try on shoes at shoe stores, and were instead forces to bring an outline of their foot on paper or cardboard to try and see if the shoe would fit. She also addressed the Civili War and the American Revolution in her presentation, which I found particularly interesting, as well as incorporating her topic into mathematics, English, and science curriculum via discussing specific strategies, which, judging by the sound of dozens of pens flying across pieces of paper, were universally appreciated.
After her presentation, O'Loughlin was applauded before taking her seat, and a different speaker took the stage. Announcing that there would be a 20 minute break, I checked the time and was surprised to see that it was 10:30; I had been so engrossed in this new experience, that I had neglected to check the time. Needing to be at work for 11:30, I recognized that I wouldn't be able to attend one of the smaller seminars the convention was going to break off into, and left the crowd of teachers pooling around the room after saying good bye to the teacher from East Providence; looking back, I realize that I neglected to catch her name. All in all, this was definitely an interesting and useful experience, and I am very glad I attended.
