The Literacy Super Bowl

“Learning is not a spectator sport.”
-- Anonymous

#NCTE14 

Brady. Rodgers. Kaepernick. Vick. Brees. Luck.  Manning “squared” as my boys say. You may be like me and only recognize a few of the names of these renowned starting quarterbacks.  Either way, fan of football or not, you would have to live under a rock not to know the level of enthusiasm that surrounds the highly anticipated Super Bowl.  It only comes around once a year, but true fans would beg, borrow and steal for a ticket.  

Ok – so you don't need to know all about football to know the Super Bowl is a huge deal. Parties, food, 4.5 million dollar 30 second spot commercials, we get it.
But in my opinion, the NFL’s  Super Bowl  pales in comparison to the educators’ annual event known as the NCTE conference.  The National Council Teachers of English (NCTE) is THE Literacy Super Bowl.

This week lead learners, literacy rock stars and rock star authors will all convene in DC to be part of a gathering of quarterbacks and coaches that impact teaching and learning all around the world. Take that NFL fans!

Picture this- Tom Brady sitting next to you for a play by play learning from the best.  The equivalent of this for me was when I sat next to Katie Wood Ray in a session led by Patrick Allen one year.  This was a real fan girl moment for me. Or how about sessions packed with lead learners sitting on the floor sharing Power Bars so as not to miss a minute of any one of the amazing sessions happening over the course of the day.   Who needs popcorn or hot dogs ? And what about if instead of instant replays, we had recaps from Twitter friends sharing #pdqd quotes- memorable moments, and or advice? This is all happening live through Twitter feeds and the #NCTE14 hashtag.

Just imagine- lead learners sharing student voices, literacy snapshots- capturing moments, telling stories and making the invisible act of learning visible.

Educators collaborating to learn and grow from one another. There is nothing more powerful.

“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”- Robert John Meehan. 

Nerdybookclub members meeting up to talk books.  Stealing moments in the halls sharing titles, spreading #BookLove, adding to the never-ending TBR lists or saving spots in lines for favorite author signings.  This year even a tweet up/ meet up to swap professional books for a little #PDLove. Now try to envision an exhibit hall filled with books & authors gifting us with their stories.  We have professional “quarterbacks” and authors of amazing  PD playbooks like Beers, Kittle, Miller, Robb, Gallagher, Laminack, Lehman and too many to name.  We have our own “Manning squared” in the Andersons (-brothers from another mother-) Conferring Carl Anderson and Write Guy Jeff Anderson, that is.   We have Rock Star Authors like, Woodson, Nye, Smith, Simon, Mullaly-Hunt and  Moss, just to name a few.  It is all almost too good to be true.
Even Harwayne is coming this year.  The energy in the stands, I mean conference rooms, is palpable and contagious.

One might even say the Literacy Super Bowl of NCTE is a little slice of literacy heaven.  Follow the #NCTE14 hashtag or fellow literacy geeks, fan girls and nerdybookclub friends to see what the fuss is all about. I am thrilled to be part of this event once again.  It is the best ticket around.  

“The more we learn, the better we get.”- Penny Kittle

Thanks for reading and reflecting with me.
Hope to see you at #NCTE14.
Spread the love using #PDQD 
Best,
JoEllen
@JoEllenMcCarthy

My original #nerdybookclub post about #Pdlove- PdBookaday= 

A NerdyBookClub Post about PDLove