As I have been brainstorming and preparing for this year’s “Transition to College Writing,” I have been getting really excited, as I will be co-hosting two separate workshops. This will be my first time presenting. I attended the symposium last year (which was also my first year at UM), and I just knew that I wanted to be part of it.

One workshop I am co-hosting with a group of instructors at the University of Mississippi who are piloting something called “New York Times in the First Year” for our WRIT100 sections. This is an ongoing pilot and something us instructors first participated in last Spring. I have loved teaching the course because this sort of writing class that ditches the typical textbook and uses a daily newspaper means students are able to work with the most current events and relevant topics and issues with their projects. I am eager to share the experience with others!

I am also co-hosting a workshop with fellow UM instructor (and former high school teacher) Amber Nichols-Buckley about dealing with sensitive and challenging topics in the classroom. Amber and I hosted a similar workshop during this year’s faculty orientation for the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, and the workshop turned into a forum of incredibly rich and eye-opening discussions with our peers about how we all deal with challenges we face in the college classroom. I am looking forward to continuing this discussion and hopefully hearing about the unique challenges (and triumphs in overcoming those challenges) in the high school classroom at TCW. I would love to hear a range of perspectives during this workshop; I am looking forward to learning from others in this discussion as much as I am looking forward to sharing what I can.

Can’t wait to see you all there!

Jenny Jackson, Writing Instructor, University of Mississippi