ALAN Online

Just wanted to let you know that the Nashville conference was the first ALAN conference that I have attended.  It was outstanding and I learned so much.  I am in my 19th year of teaching in a rural town in Northeast Oklahoma with a population of 1200.  It was quite an honor to get to attend something of this magnitude.  I arranged all the books from the box on a display table in my classroom and on Monday you would have thought it was Christmas for my students.  Lots of parents here have the mentality that spending money on books is ridiculous.  This cycle has to be broken.  I started a high school book club 3 years ago and my obsession with YA Literature is ever increasing.  We now have a book club of 30 members in a high school of 248 students, the majority low - income or Native American.  I have a renewed faith in my English classroom with YA books to provide for my students.  I will also have the honor of attending a Teri Lesesne seminar in Tulsa, OK in February. My administration is totally supportive of my obsession of YA literature and making it available to my students. I want to say thank you for your involvement in this wonderful program.  This has truly made a difference in my career.

Just wanted to let you know that the Nashville conference was the first ALAN conference that I have attended.  It was outstanding and I learned so much.  I am in my 19th year of teaching in a rural town in Northeast Oklahoma with a population of 1200.  It was quite an honor to get to attend something of this magnitude.  I arranged all the books from the box on a display table in my classroom and on Monday you would have thought it was Christmas for my students.  Lots of parents here have the mentality that spending money on books is ridiculous.  This cycle has to be broken.  I started a high school book club 3 years ago and my obsession with YA Literature is ever increasing.  We now have a book club of 30 members in a high school of 248 students, the majority low - income or Native American.  I have a renewed faith in my English classroom with YA books to provide for my students.  I will also have the honor of attending a Teri Lesesne seminar in Tulsa, OK in February. My administration is totally supportive of my obsession of YA literature and making it available to my students. I want to say thank you for your involvement in this wonderful program.  This has truly made a difference in my career.