Newbie Report: NCTE⁄ALAN 2011

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Dodie Ownes December 21, 2011

Chicago was the site of the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English Conference (NCTE) and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) in late November, and the energy level and networking potential were off the charts. Maybe it was because 2011 marked NCTE's centennial, but I've heard colleagues talking about these conferences for years, and I'd never had the opportunity to attend. Wow, now I know what I've been missing! Every session I attended was terrific, and I didn't even mind dashing between the Hilton and the Palmer House to hit as many workshops as possible. Two of NCTE's programs really blew me away: "What's Crank Got to Do With It" (five in-service teachers, all students at Denver's Metropolitan State College, spoke about infusing YA poetic novels into mini-lessons as a way to teach literary devices) and "Video Gaming and Sustainable Learning for the Future," which was geared toward secondary school educators, featuring three university professors demonstrating ways to capitalize on students' affinity for pop culture, including the use of gaming walkthroughs, and machinima, which is filmmaking within a real-time, 3D virtual environment, often using 3D video-game technologies.

ALAN, which is an independent assembly of NCTE, runs two days of workshops following NCTE's conference, and it's all about the authors. Many of the superstars of young adult literature were there-John Green, Sharon Draper, Walter Dean Myers, and M. T. Anderson, to name just a few—and they were working side-by-side with teachers and librarians, providing inspiration and resources to keep teens engaged in the art of reading and reflection. In the Chicago Hilton's Versailles-like ballroom, Lauren Myracle (Shine), Cheryl Rainfield (Scars), Andrew Smith (Marbury Lens), and Paul Yee (Money Boy) talked about having their books banned and their reaction to the Wall Street Journal's recent assessment of YA literature. ("You're looking at the axis of evil up here," quipped Andrew Smith.) Author A. S. King (Everybody Sees the Ants) chaired a panel entitled "How Bad Things Can Make Good Things Happen," which featured Heather Brewer ("Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" series) and Jackie Morse Kessler ("Horsemen of the Apocalypse" series). The dynamic trio shared how their personal experiences shape their writing and its themes, and how teen fiction that presents real-life situations, such as bullying and eating disorders, can act as a springboard to discussion, peer-to-peer or child-to-caretaker.

I know I want to be an NCTE⁄ALAN groupie. I signed up on the spot for a three-year membership in ALAN, and I'm casting about on a workshop proposal for NCTE 2012, which will take place in Las Vegas, November 15-18. I took a gamble on it this year-and really want to bring some chips to the table next year. I was struck by how many English teachers told me they no longer had librarians in their buildings, or how the media center staff was more concerned with checking out laptop carts than with doing reader's advisory. But I'm still convinced that there are lots of school librarians creating and collaborating on innovative programming with their English teachers. If you're one of them, you have until January 19, 2012, to get your program proposal in—and maybe I'll see you in Vegas...

This article originally appeared in School Library Journal's enewsletter SLJTeen. Subscribe here.

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