FCTE Professional Development Institute: Teaching With 20/20 Vision

Florida Council of Teachers of English

February 8, 2020 Professional Development Institute

TECO Building, University of South Florida

Teaching with 20/20 Vision

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” ~Jonathan Swift

Teachers have a tough job. We work with the clay, helping to mold it into whatever shape it will one day become, but unlike the sculptor, we rarely see the finished product. In this way, we must have the 20/20 vision to see what is “invisible to others,” to see the adults our students will one day become.

• How do you tap into your students’ potential?

• How do you help grow them as readers and writers, speakers and listeners?

• What strategies do you use to move your students from where they are to where they can be -- or should be?

“True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.” ~Edith Wharton

As teachers of literature, we have the responsibility of helping our students visualize the beauty of the written word and kindle the passion that should last a lifetime.

• How do you encourage your students to see things differently?

• How do you help them develop critical lenses with which to appreciate literature and creative nonfiction?

• What strategies do you use to help your students develop a “new vision” for the texts they encounter in your class -- and beyond the classroom?

• What lessons have you “re-visioned” to fit the changing needs of your students?

“The responsibility of tolerance lies with those who have the wider vision.” ~George Eliot

As  our student population continues to grow more diverse, bringing in young people of many different backgrounds, we have the responsibility of making sure ALL of our students are invited to the table and feel comfortable in our classrooms.

• How do you exercise your “wider vision” to teach tolerance?

• How do you integrate ESE and ESOL students into the conversation?

• How are you bringing in points of view to represent all the voices you may have sitting in your classroom?

• How are you bringing in points of view that represent those who are not sitting in your classroom?

We want to hear your ideas for Teaching with 20/20 Vision.

Don’t miss our proposal deadline!

Log onto www.fcte.org to submit your proposal before 11/30/19.