On March 19, education majors and professionals will be celebrating March’s reading month by attending “Literacy by the Zillions,” a conference focused on the subject of literacy and the roles it can play in a child’s education.
Hosted by The Martha Gesling Weber Reading Center, the conference will last from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 101 Olscamp Hall. The event will host two keynote speakers, writer Patrick Finn and children’s author Jerry Pollotta.
Lindsay Luidhardt, the graduate assistant overseeing the conference, views student literacy as an important tool which can be used to improve upon all areas of a student’s education. She intends for the seminar to help further that message.
“One goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for K–12 teachers and librarians to learn engaging strategies and ideas for using children’s literacy across content areas,” Luidhardt said.
Luidhart also hopes that those who attend the conference will come away with a greater understanding of the unique opinions and ideas presented by the two speakers.
Finn is the author of “Literacy With an Attitude: Educating Working Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest.” In his writing, Finn makes the observation that children of working families are managed rather than educated.
“Schools have learned how to educate the children of the gentry and how to ‘handle’ the children of the working class,” Finn says.
At the conference, Finn will address how parents, teachers and community members can get involved in helping to ensure that all children receive the education they deserve, as well as offer a question and answer session after his presentation.
Pallotta is an award-winning author of children’s books such as “The Underwater Alphabet Book,” “The Crayon Counting Book” and “Dory Story.” In his speech, he will illustrate different methods for supporting children in their reading and writing.
A selection of books provided by Pallotta and Nanna’s Bookstore will be available for purchase following the conference.
The conference will have 20 sessions for the participants to split into in order to discuss the variety of topics being considered.
The cost for students to attend is $25, while for $85 educators gain professional development credit hours in addition to the knowledge being presented.
