Laura Langley 12/05/2020

Laura Langley teaches English to 11th and 12th graders at an Arts/Music Magnet in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has been teaching for a little over five years. Laura’s mother is also a teacher, however, Laura didn’t expect to become a teacher. She worked in a bakery before deciding to become a teacher. After watching the documentary 'When The Levees Broke' she felt inspired to teach because she knew she needed to do something that would be of service to others. Laura talked about the value of her neighbors during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic because it was a sign of people wanting to make human connections. Laura also doesn’t describe herself as a poet, so when she began one of the Open Writes with Ethical ELA, she didn’t anticipate writing and posting regularly. To her surprise, she felt the community of teacher/writers’ support and wanted to continue making those connections with others. She expressed the enjoyment of the feedback she received as well as the impact of saving space for writing regularly. Laura teaches in a state that was slow to respond to the recommended restrictions for the pandemic. So she’s teaching a hybrid model with about six students in her physical classroom and the remaining students learning remotely. She talked about the need for equitable distribution of devices and how her district was able to provide a device for every student. She also shared that the last nine months have shown everyone what is possible and what needs to happen in order to provide what students and teachers need. One of Laura’s best memories of writing and teaching poetry during the pandemic was in August when she launched the school year with the prompt about weather. This lesson gave her students an opportunity to write and share videos on Flipgrid to learn more about one another.