This summer session I am teaching a graduate seminar on “Children’s Literature Award Winners.” Most of students in the seminar are teachers, and they often share their classroom experiences during our discussions. It has been a pleasure for me to discuss children’s literature with these teachers, for they are often able to talk about how their students would likely respond to the books that we are studying. As their comments reveal, these teachers have a tremendous dedication to their students and to their profession despite the general lack of support that our teachers face on a daily basis. This lack of support, however, does not extend to the English Department.
Over and over again this summer I have been impressed with the efforts of our faculty to serve area teachers. Here are just a few examples. For the first summer session, JuliAnna Ávila developed and taught a special online graduate course for teachers on Children’s Literature and Childhood Trauma. This summer Paula Connolly and Alan Rauch have already started working with the teachers who are participating in their Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) seminars, and Alan represented CTI at the July Intensive Session of the Yale National Initiative to Strengthen Teaching in the Public Schools. For the past few weeks, Ron Lunsford has been working with area teachers who teach AP English courses. This second summer session, Lil Brannon is working with area teachers as part of her work with the UNC Charlotte Writing Project, which is now housed in the English Department. Through such efforts, English faculty members have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to our area teachers. I am hoping that our political leaders will follow suit.
Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Balaka Basu recently presented a paper titled “Anne’s Grandchildren: WWII and the Continuing Story of the Anne Universe” at the L. M. Montgomery 11th Biennial Conference, which took place in Canada. Also, she served as the editorial advisor for a recently published volume of Short Story Criticism.
Aaron Gwyn’s Wynne’s War just received a glowing review from The Wall Street Journal.
Meg Morgan published a chapter titled “Leaders Becoming Transformed” in an edited volume called Sharing Our Intellectual Traces: Narrative Reflections from Administrators of Professional and Scientific Communication Programs.
Quirky Quiz Question — Balaka Basu’s recent conference paper (see above) relates to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. In what province in Canada is this classic novel set?