Follow us:
DR. BICKMORE'S YA WEDNESDAY
  • Weekly Posts
  • WEEKEND PICKS 2023
  • Monday Motivators 2023
  • Weekend Picks 2021
  • Contributors
  • Bickmore's Posts
  • Lesley Roessing's Posts
  • Weekend Picks 2020
  • Weekend Picks 2019
  • Weekend Picks old
  • 2021 UNLV online Summit
  • UNLV online Summit 2020
  • 2019 Summit on Teaching YA
  • 2018 Summit
  • Contact
  • About
  • WEEKEND PICKS 2023

Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday has a new Feature-- A YouTube Channel

Don't worry, it is easy to find.  Just go to YouTube and search for Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday.

Check Out the YouTube Channel

LSU Young Adult Literature Conference & Seminar: Day 4 Re-cap

6/5/2014

0 Comments

 

Dr. Alan Brown of Wake Forest University & Local Author Sarah Guillory Deliver Final Keynote Addresses

"When we hand our students that book, we should hope for and foster the amazement that awaits them inside it."
Picture
Assistant professor of English Education at Wake Forest University Dr. Alan Brown's keynote focused on the opportunities for connecting sports and literacy and engaging sports-minded students in reading by promoting a culture of literacy and participation in out-of-school spaces.

Dr. Brown is uniquely qualified in reaching reluctant readers as he confessed to being one himself in his youth. As a result, he takes a special interest in what preoccupies his students and student-athletes outside of the classroom.

"I'm interested in finding out what these kids are doing instead of reading," he said. "That's key in getting them to start reading."

Dr. Brown is particularly devoted to reaching the specific demographic of sports-minded adolescent males. This particular sample of the student population is notorious for lower student literacy rates. Dr. Brown encouraged educators to think outside the box when trying to reach these students. He shared various techniques that have been successful in non-traditional classroom settings.

"We've got to get books out of the library and into the classroom and gym," he urged his audience. "Most athletes don't go to the library at all, or they merely go for the computers to surf ESPN.com."

Dr. Brown shared alternatives such as libraries hosting sports movie nights featuring films based on novels and fantasy sports drafts that create a unique culture of participation and collaboration. He also charged his audience with making not only that initial connection to a student but also working to foster continued reading habits.

"We need to obtain and sustain," he stressed.

In closing, Dr. Brown played a video of late American poet Maya Angelou reciting her poem, "Amazement Awaits."

"When we hand our students that book, we should hope for and foster the amazement that awaits them inside it," he said.

Alan Brown is an assistant professor of English Education at Wake Forest University. He works regularly with middle, high school, and college students as well as secondary teachers/coaches to critically examine the culture of sports in school and society while connecting contemporary literacies with students' extra-curricular interests and out-of-school spaces.

For more information on Dr. Brown's work and his experiences at the conference, follow him on Twitter @Alando1423.
http://sportsliteracy.wordpress.com/


"I adore teens and I love writing for teens."
Picture
High school English teacher and debut author Sarah Guillory packs a ton of personality into a tiny package. She tackles reading, writing, and most importantly, talking about Young Adult Literature with much the same charm and enthusiasm. As the final keynote address of this year's conference, Guillory focused on answering the question, "Why YA?"

Her life-long passion for reading led her to become an educator, although her taste in literature has changed drastically. A self-confessed one-time "literature snob," Guillory's love of the written word began with the classics, which she read voraciously until college when she was forced to enroll in a Young Adult Literature course.

"I read Harry Potter and that was IT," she shared with her audience. "It just changed me as a person and as a reader."

She now reads YA almost exclusively. Guillory also shared her own journey as a teacher and writer. 
 
"I became a teacher because I wanted kids to be as passionate about books as I am. And as a writer that is my hope as well," she said. "YA makes kids feel validated and like their voices are being heard."

Her own love of YA stems from the themes that the genre offers its readers.

"What makes YA so special is the message of hope that is almost exclusive to the genre. Adult lit doesn't always give us hope, but YA delivers every time."

Guillory's love for reading and writing YA is fueled by the audience it reaches.

"Teens are the most passionate group of people. They are amazing," she said. "At this point in life, the highs are the highest highs and the lows are the depths of despair. And there's a beauty in that. I adore teens and I love writing for teens."

Sarah Guillory teaches sophomore English just outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is an avid Young Adult Lit reader and the author of Reclaimed, her debut novel that was published in October 2013. She is currently penning a second novel.


For more info on Sarah Guillory's work and her experiences at the conference, follow her on Twitter @sguillory262.
http://sarahguillory.com/

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Dr. Gretchen Rumohr
    Chief Curator
    Gretchen Rumohr is a professor of English and department chair at Aquinas College, where she teaches writing and language arts methods.   She is also a Co-Director of the UNLV Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature. She lives with her four girls and a five-pound Yorkshire Terrier in west Michigan.

    Dr. Steve Bickmore
    ​Creator and Curator

    Dr. Bickmore is a Professor of English Education at UNLV. He is a scholar of Young Adult Literature and past editor of The ALAN Review and a past president of ALAN. He is a available for speaking engagements at schools, conferences, book festivals, and parent organizations. More information can be found on the Contact page and the About page.

    Co-Edited Books

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Chris-lynch

    Blogs to Follow

    Ethical ELA
    nerdybookclub
    NCTE Blog
    yalsa.ala.org/blog/

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly