NCTE: the English teacher’s Disneyworld. Truly. My non-teaching friends are always amazed that 8,000 teachers of English gather yearly to discuss practices, learn from each other, and be inspired, but this happens yearly the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. After sitting out last year, I was eager to return and was fortunate enough to have a couple of sessions approved. My goals this year were three fold:
1 – Learn from others (the “professional development” I attend in no way helps me be a better teacher; that’s a completely separate post)
2 – Connect with like-minded educators (y’all are my people)
3 – Note trends in classroom and English education (FYI – this post was not written by AI)
So let’s get into this. I attended the following sessions:
Opening the Worlds of Black Poetry: Teaching Jericho Brown, DaMaris B. Hill, Nikki Giovanni, Safia Elhillo, and Darrel Alejandro Holnes to High School Students (Furious Flowers) – This poetry program was developed through James Madison University as a way of supporting teacher education candidates. Four JMU former students who are now in their first year teaching shared a lesson they developed in the program and how it played out in their classrooms. This is what we need more of in teacher ed – pedagogy balanced with practical lessons. Learn more about Furious Flowers here.
Dreaming Together: Grading and Feedback Strategies for Student Growth and Teacher Well-Being by Matthew Johnson and Sarah Zerwin
I love when you feel like you’ve been dreaming up ideas in isolation only to find out there are other educators (rockstar teachers in this case) doing the same thing. This is how I felt when I first learned of Sarah and Matthew and their books Pointless and Flash Feedback. The session picked up where their books left off and what they have learned since. The main takeaways: further confirmation that students should be setting their own learning goals, a new acronym and ideas for revision, and the idea of being an interested reader rather than a detached authority..
Daring to Dream with Ta Nehisi Coates’s The Message by Scott Bayer and Chanea Bond
Using The Message as a guide, this session addressed socially conscious teaching and the importance of framing texts in truth. I love Chanea Bond and find her work thought provoking and practical and have known Scott for ages (back to #TheBookTalk days) and never cease to be inspired by their work. This session was no exception.
The American Sonnet: An Evolution Revolution by Robin Aufses, Natalie Dastillo, and Kate Cordes
This early morning session ended up being a master class for English teachers where a group of about 20 participants explored what makes a sonnet versus how sonnets are being disrupted. The main part of this session was analyzing a few sonnets that were new to me. I was introduced to “American Sonnet” by Billy Collins, “my dreams, my works, must wait till after hell” by Gwendolyn Brooks, “How I Discovered Poetry” by Marilyn Nelson (this is the poem we spend the most time on and I LOVED this discussion), “Sonnet for Chickens” by Tom Healy, “Peril Sonnet” by David Baker, and “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost. I loved being in the student seat for a while – especially since I was there with coworkers – and walked away with some ideas to freshen up my sonnet unit.
Improving Reading Comprehension through AI-Supported Visualization
I attended this Classroom Matters round table after meeting fellow AP Lit teacher Stephen Ferguson the day before. While I have drawn a hard line in the sand for now with AI in the classroom, I was so intrigued by his idea of using AI to generate images based on selected reading. Stephen had students generate images of the cyclops based on descriptions in Book 9 of The Odyssey. He developed a graphic organizer for close reading that students use to generate their prompts; send him an email (sferguson@gehrhsd.net) if you’d like more information! I loved this idea so much and am thinking it will pair great with Frankenstein.
Monsters as Metaphors in American Literature by Stephanie Brooks
After Stephen’s session I popped over to the next table and was thoroughly surprised to find myself learning from Stephanie Brooks, a high school teacher from Rockbridge County High School. Her session on monsters and gothic literature was simply amazing and could be an entire unit or broken down and used as supplemental lessons to a larger text. Well done, Stephanie! Here’s a link to her shared unit.
Teaching in Troubled Times: How to Understand and Navigate the Cultural Conflicts of the Times by Jim Burke
To say we’re teaching in troubled times is an understatement. I consider myself fortunate in many ways because my curriculum choices are not under constant surveillance, but I am in touch with enough teachers to know that censorship is a huge issue in schools. Jim carved out time for us to hold empathy interviews with each other and encouraged educators to keep constant check on our well being.
In addition to these sessions, I was a part of two presentations.
Dreaming Through Verse: Pairing Contemporary, Socially Engaged Poetry with Canonical Texts to Enrich Student Learning and Foster Equity with Brian Hannon and Beth Bynarowicz
Dreaming Boldy: Protecting Teacher and Student Bandwidth in AP Literature with Beth Bynarowicz
I also attended the opening session with Percival Everett and the closing session with Robin Wall Kimmerer.
“Go to a movie; the work will get done.” – Percival Everett
“I choose joy over despair.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer
2 – Connecting with fellow educators
Trends in English Education
The role of AI in student learning – too many sessions to count (wait – is this an em dash – is this part of the post written by ChatGPT???). I am teacher who embraces technology, and in spite of my age, I’ve managed to stay current. AI in the classroom gives me the ick though. I find myself now digressing into my thoughts versus trends I noted, so I’ll without any further opinions for another time. During the closing session Emily Kirkpatrick, executive director of NCTE, announced that NCTE will specifically researching AI and its implications in today’s classroom.
Comics and Gaming – again – too many sessions to count. I love that teachers are finding inspiration everywhere especially in mediums that are so engaging for students.
Emphasis on Teacher Well Being – Are we finally collectively putting an end to the teacher-martyr syndrome?
Positivity – The overall tone of this conference was focused on joy and positivity which is so interesting since society as a whole is leaning in other directions. Do we have problems in education – for sure – and these issues are not being ignored. At the same time, I gather that more and more teachers are not letting the negativity define us as professionals (even though we were declared not professionals last week) and we are showing up, doing what we can do with joy, and not giving as much emotional energy to the parts of our job that aren’t meaningful. This was much more noticeable this year than past years, and I hope that’s a trend to stay.
Susan Barber teaches AP® English Literature at Midtown High School in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves as co-chair of the AP® Literature Development Committee. She is the coauthor of The Norton Guide to AP® Literature: Writing & Skills (2022) and 100% Engagement: 33 Lessons to Promote Participation, Beat Boredom, and Deepen Learning in the ELA Classroom (2025). Susan is most proud of the work she does on a daily basis in E216 and never tires of the beauty and chaos of the classroom.
