The English Meet idea
We have now had three ‘English Meets’ at my school. They are modified ‘teachmeets’, though not exactly aligned to that format. The idea came out of the first researchED Dublin conference in 2019, when I thought that since we had the premises, and the location, why not a much smaller event based in my own subject? The 2020 event was planned but of course had to be abandoned.
Six or seven practising teachers volunteer to speak about some area of that practice that they think might be of interest to other teachers for about 15 minutes each. When you look at the list below of the topics which have been covered from 2022 to 2024, you can see what a rich mixture this adds up to. The atmosphere is low-key and friendly; there is no keynote in a large hall, but instead 30 to 40 like-minded people listening positively. No money changes hands. Tea and coffee are provided, and some thank-you presents (books and wine) at the end for the presenters.
That’s it. It’s affirming, constructive, practical - as good CPD you can get. Sincere thanks to those who have presented in the three years: Selena Wilkes, Michael Browne, Trevor Connolly, Jean Morley, Holly McIndoe, Edmond Behan, Kate Smith, Dan Stynes, Evan Jameson, Niall Daly, Annie Donnelly, Miriam Barragry, Aoife Fleming and Rebecca Morrin.
And now Sarah Kelly has successfully taken the idea on in County Cork (at Bandon Grammar School). It would be wonderful if this spread further organically.
So if you like the sound of it, consider coming in May 2025, and indeed presenting.
Approaches to Creative Writing in the English Classroom.
Creating a Poetry Anthology (read Michael Browne’s post on this).
Supporting students with dyslexia in the English classroom.
Effective Feedback in Senior Cycle English.
The Comparative: a simple classroom approach to revision.
Literacy Word Builders.
Introducing Poetry Analysis to Weak Junior Cycle Students.
Encouraging reading among Junior pupils.
A quick overview of the problem of creating atmosphere.
The Writing Revolution: Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler.
Swiss Army Knife (exploding) quotations.
Senior Cycle poetry: linking texts.
An introduction to teaching Shakespeare.
Formative feedback in the classroom.
Promoting authentic expression in the Leaving Certificate.
Whole class feedback and live marking.
Perspective and narrative voices in short fiction.
Using quotations to think about texts.