TALE 2020 Annual Conference

I spent the last few days of February and Leap Day in Odessa, Texas (West Texas), fulfilling Board Member and social duties, and presenting a session for the Texas Association for Literacy Education.

I have been a member of and involved in TALE for almost five years. Each year, have had the honor of presenting a session on reading or writing. In that time, I have met the most amazing educators, and I am so thankful that we crossed paths. Not only have I gotten amazing teaching ideas and inspiration from my time in TALE, but I have gained an group of supportive educators to lean on as I transitioned into teaching in higher education. It has also given me the opportunity to mentor others. This page represents my time in Odessa, and it captures the essence of what it is like to attend a state level literacy conference.

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I got to spend four days waaaaay out in West Texas (Odessa) learning, and supporting TALE @txliteracyed —an organization that has helped me grow tremendously as an educator. My duties this weekend included a presentation, introducing a new special interest committee that I helped to found, and capturing the moments of the conference via photo, video, and social media. (Hence why there weren’t many pics of me). Before I joined, I knew no one in the state of Texas outside of my former school district, and I really craved more in the area of collaboration and leadership. For the past three years, I have been on the Board of Directors for TALE, and had the pleasure of representing the organization as the Social Media Coordinator. I have had an outlet to share my philosophies of teaching, mentorship, and this experience has given me connections to others with the same passion for literacy education that I might not have ever encountered. I have truly learned that we don’t encounter the people we meet by coincidence, and I am grateful for my TALE encounters over the past couple of years! #TALE2020

A post shared by Dr. K. Childs (@doctorkchilds) on Mar 2, 2020 at 7:25am PST

What I Presented

Write Away: Writing Across the Curriculum and Beyond: https://drkchilds.com/2020/02/writeaway/

Description: Writing is necessary and relevant to everyone! Attend this session to learn how to integrate writing activities in any subject area within your educational setting (including P.E. and Fine Arts) with creative, culturally relevant, and engaging prompts. Participants will also leave the session with a wealth of resources and ideas to motivate students to write outside of the school setting.

I also helped to found and debut the newest Special Interest Committee for TALE. Matt Panozzo and I have been working towards getting this established for almost a year. The information on the new committee was presented in a round-table. Unfortunately I was not able to sit in on the round-table, as I was already scheduled for another session. The details from the session are below:

R.E.A.D. @ TALE (Special Interest Committee of TALE)

Description: Participants should attend to learn about a new Special Interest Committee whose mission is to engage in understanding and supporting the needs of all students and teachers in Texas no matter their backgrounds. Beyond understanding the characteristics that make us unique, R.E.A.D.@TALE accepts and affirms the diversity, showcasing it as the quality that makes us stronger. Come join us to discuss what our work will include, and how we can impact your unique literacy spaces and environments.

Dr. Kamshia Childs, Texas A&M University-Commerce; Pearl Garden, Texas A&M University-Commerce; Rachel Collins, Hereford ISD; Ileana Jennings, Amarillo ISD