Personal Reflections on the 2015 JoLLE Conference by

Donna Alvermann An invitation to reflect on what stood out for me at the 2015 JoLLE Conference came at a busy time of the semester, but then, what time isn’t busy? Besides, how often do I have an opportunity to stand back and marvel at the know-how and dedicated work of an all student run conference! One of the things I most like about the JoLLE Conference is anticipating it. Months before people from all over the world converge on Athens, the JoLLE team, aided by members of the Language and Literacy Education Graduate Organization (LLEGO}, start buzzing about “next” year’s conference. Departmental listservs, social media sites, and hallways that connect us to the rest of the College of Education remind me to get my proposal in. Peer review is rigorous, which leads to a strong program and satisfied participants. Once engaged in the sessions—keynotes, papers, and roundtables—I sample widely from those on topics that interest me personally and also from those that are tangentially related to my work. Of course the inevitable happens: I add a new interest to my repertoire. Both familiar and unfamiliar work convinces me that I’m privy to something rarely available at the larger conferences I attend each year, and that something is “enthusiastic listeners.” JoLLE could be characterized, and not tritely so, as the conference that cares about others—especially their thinking and doing. The generosity of inquirers who are not too busy and caught up in themselves to offer a word of encouragement to others is the conference’s trademark. And this, I might add, takes me full circle to the spirit, leadership, and hard work that the student organizers exhibit not just at conference time, but year ‘round. Onward to 2016’s JoLLE Conference! It will be as unique as all those that preceded or will follow.

“The JoLLE conference reminded me to watch my students with glittering eyes and remember to always expect wonderful things from them. These images represent what I found at the conference: that at the center of everything, there must be a desire.”

—Emily Williams

There   is   something   incredibly   powerful   when   educators   come  together   to   learn,   share,   and   celebrate   their   research   and   teaching  prac8ces.   I   a;ended   the   JoLLE   conference   for   the   first   8me   in   2015  ready  to  be  engaged  and  inspired,  and  that  is  exactly  what  happened.  As  a  moderator,  I  was  moved  by  fellow  graduate  students  from  various  parts  of  the  United  States  who  are  embarking  themselves  on  research  projects   that   aim   at   empowering   educa8onal   communi8es   through  par8cipatory   approaches.   I   was   engaged   in   the   numerous   art-­‐based  projects   being   developed   to   create   holis8c   opportuni8es   of   literacy  learning   for  all   students—our  students.  There   is  definitely   something  inspiring   when   you   leave   a   conference   with   renewed   energy,  comforted   passion,   and   transformed   mo8va8on.   Because,   when   we  understand   how   powerful   we   are   when   we   come   together,   we   are  able   to   reignite   our   personal   and   professional   fire!   The   JoLLE  conference  made  us  feel  educa8onally  alive  and  empowered!      

 -­‐-­‐Lou  Cardozo-­‐Gaibisso      

12  bar  blues        First  conference  as  a  grad  student,  I  don’t  know  what  to  expect.  First  conference  as  a  grad  student,  I  don’t  know  what  to  expect.  Been  driving  since  3:30  am,  hope  these  direc8ons  are  correct.        I’m  a  li;le  nervous  and  unsure,  I  don’t  see  anyone  I  know.  I’m  a  li;le  nervous  and  unsure,  I  don’t  see  anyone  I  know.  I’m  only  in  my  first  year,  I’m  not  sure  how  these  things  go.      I’m  taking  it  all  in,  looking  on  in  fascina8on  I’m  taking  it  all  in,  looking  on  in  fascina8on  You  call  it  embodied  learning,  I  call  it  arts  integra8on.      I’m  a  master  Teaching  Ar8st,  I  do  this  for  a  living  I’m  a  master  Teaching  Ar8st,  I  do  this  for  a  living  Separate  bodies  of  knowledge,  connected  by  our  heartstrings.      So  much  to  take  in,  I  don’t  know  just  where  to  start  So  much  to  take  in,  I  don’t  know  just  where  to  start  There’s  so  much  to  learn,  can  I  take  it  all  when  I  depart?      My  session  was  small,  but  a  great  discussion  ensued  My  session  was  small,  but  a  great  discussion  ensued  In  my  mind,  that  balanced  out  not  having  a  mul8tude.      Thank  you  JoLLE  for  making  the  waters  nice  and  warm  Thank  you  JoLLE  for  making  the  waters  nice  and  warm  Next  year  I  can  jump  right  in  I  know  there’s  no  cause  for  alarm.      

 -­‐-­‐JoLLE  2015  Reflec8ons  by  Allison  Upshaw    

The  JoLLE  Conference  had  many  amazing  moments  for  me,  yet  my  favorite  one  was  when  this  picture  of  Kamala  Khan  showed  up  on  Hillary  Hughes’s  slide  during  her  closing  plenary  talk.  I  was  lucky  enough  to  do  a  presenta8on  with  Jennifer  Whitley  about  women  of  color  in  comics  and  YA  literature,  and  how  to  make  meaning  of  their  increasing  presence  through  “remixing”  ac8vi8es.  To  me,  Kamala  embodies  so  many  elements  of  today’s  teenagers.  She’s  strong,  as  shown  by  her  superhero  aare,  yet  she’s  also  young  and  innocent,  as  shown  by  her  bubble  gum  and  the  school  bus  in  the  background.  She’s  in  the  sky,  yet  her  feet  are  grounded  on  the  roof.  As  a  scholar,  I  want  to  encourage  people  to  look  up  for  new  possibili8es  in  literature,  wri8ng,  and  pedagogy,  yet  I  need  to  remain  grounded  enough  to  be  realis8c.    

-­‐-­‐Margaret  Robbins    

Play. Outside, my muddy fingers grasp pies of make-believe chocolate; my faux angel wings spread leaves, imprinting my figure into the ground until the rain comes, washing away my childhood. Grow. My Murtaugh List flows like waves of my past—too old for fun; too old to create, inspire, engage, transform—I’m grown. Awake, work, live, sleep is what I now breathe. As I grow, play removes itself from my comfort zone. What do I now know? Reach. My hands toward the sun, I see a glimmer of my past in the mud peeking from under my nails. I break free using embodied literacies; participating in the life that’s in front of me. It’s funny how it takes play to learn that you’re never too old for fun.

-- Jenn Whitley