I was thrilled when my presentation proposal, Authentic Representations of Diversity in Children’s Literature, was accepted by the Progressive Education Network and I was invited to present at PEN 2019 in Minneapolis, MN! I am so grateful for the generosity of our Burgundy community that I was able to present on children’s literature with an emphasis on authenticity in diverse representations to educators from across the country while representing Burgundy at the same time! I have included my presentation within the website I created that also includes resources for identifying highly-engaging and diverse children’s literature for a variety of grade levels here to share with you. 

As if the opportunity to present wasn’t enough in itself, I was also able to participate in powerful professional development while I was there. Through my site visit to the Friends School of Minnesota, I was able to gain additional insight into social justice-based learning, Socratic Seminar, and the powerful benefits of D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) that included both students and faculty. From workshops titled: From Water to Woods to the Land of Books at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts to Teaching Through Social Justice Debate on the campus of the University of Minnesota, I gained ideas, strategies, and teaching techniques that I could use immediately with our students in our classroom literature discussions. What I learned allowed me to promote deeper student thought through the lens of debating multiple perspectives. Asking students to defend different sides of characters’ actions, situations and views in this way led to more powerful discussions which led students to build inferencing skills. This was a strategy I had not considered before attending these workshops and collaborating with attendees. 

My words alone cannot do justice for the awesome learning experience that I received by attending this conference. Funding for this opportunity allowed me to share my passion and learn from phenomenal educators. I thank you for your support in allowing me to be a continual learner and to bring back insightful and engaging learning opportunities to our students.