I recently attended the 45th Annual TYCA-SW Conference in Laredo, Texas. The Two-Year College English Association is one of the constituent groups of NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English). I've been attending the regional conferences for several years, but this was my first trip to the Southwest's Regional Conference (I formerly taught in the Midwest, so I attended their conferences). Like my past experiences with TYCA regional events, this one proved to be well worth the time and energy. Not only did I get the chance to meet and converse with two-year college English faculty from across the southwest, but I also was inspired by the great work my colleagues are doing.
On the national level, TYCA representatives are advocating for people like me and institutions like CMC. Sandie McGill Barnhouse, the current TYCA National Chair, and David Lydic, TYCA National Regional Chair, shared many great ways for us to get involved. The National Gallery of Writing is one way that we can make our voices heard. Perhaps you are working with a writing project in your classes, and you'd like to have your students' voices resonate outside the classroom walls. You can start your own gallery!
If you are a member of NCTE or want to know what's happening in the English discipline, you may want to check out the newly developed Connected Community. And, having checked it out myself, I can tell you that you don't have to be an English teacher to find valuable teaching resources here. Subscribe to one of the discussion forums, read an article about bullying in schools, share a teaching resource. We're all connected!
One of the other valuable insights from the conference came from Marlea Trevino of Grayson County College, who presented on her research into the composition backgrounds of non-native students. Trevino reminded us that many of our non-native students come into our classes with little to no knowledge of rhetorical concepts we practice in composition, little to no practice in critical thinking, little to no practice in using technology to compose and research. They also may be disconcerted by the level of informality in our classes as well as with discussions that require opinions on issues or peer critiques. Instructors need to be mindful not to make assumptions about what our non-native (and native) students have already learned. We need to have patience and give our students opportunities to share differences rather than demand assimilation. Trevino recommended the works of Jeffra Flaitz, who has written widely on working with non-native students.
Thank you to the CMC College-Wide Professional Development Committee for taking the time to review my application for funds and then granting me the opportunity to participate in this conference.
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