Asilomar SIXTY SIX, The Language Arts Conference

Hi everyone,

The co-chairs of The Language Arts Conference, October 6-8, have given us the green light to talk more about the event now that registration is open. I’ve mentioned this one before but here is some additional information for anyone who might be interested it heading to California in October to enjoy the scenery, the ambience, and the conference.

This year the theme is “Excellence Through Equity, From Powerful Vision to Everyday Reality.” Here is the link. https://issuu.com/mccarthy.j/docs/66_brochure_final_draft_ The two keynote speakers are Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA and Carol Jago, Editor of California English and past president of NCTE. There are more than twenty sessions presented by others over a range of subjects that in some way touch on the theme. Mine is a hands-on workshop called “The Equity of Poetry in Teaching Core Subjects.” I’m also giving an “Around the Fire” talk on Saturday night.

This past weekend I read about each of the sessions and their presenters and made an interesting discovery. Out of twenty-seven speakers I found only a couple who aren’t professors, teachers, librarians, or retired teachers. Unless I overlooked someone,Gillian Wegener and I are the only poets. If not enough teachers sign up for my session, I could wind up going to California as a tourist or staying here to gaze at Goose Lake. Might not know until June 10.