Mautner presents at national conference

Three CA English teachers—Allison Bass-Riccio, Theresa Mautner, and Emily Roller—recently attended the National Council for the Teachers of English annual convention. Held inBaltimore, Maryland, from Nov. 20-24, the conference brought together thousands of educators from across the globe to be inspired, rejuvenated, and introduced to new ideas and strategies to use in their profession.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Spirited Inquiry,” focused on sparking genuine curiosity in the classroom by honoring the role that questioning plays in deepening our understanding of the world around us. The weekend kicked off with a keynote address from George Takei of “Star Trek” fame. Takei recently published a graphic memoir entitled “They Called Us Enemy,” depicting his experience growing up in United States during World War II. Other notable guests included Laurie Halse Anderson, author of “Speak” and “Chains,” and Ibi Zoboi, author and National Book Award finalist.

Mautner, co-chair of CA’s English Department, presented an article she co-published with her graduate school professor, Adam Wolfsdorf, whose research focuses on the intersection between psychology, literature, and student trauma. A graduate of Harvard, Wolfsdorf holds a Ph.D.in English Education from Columbia University, and teaches multiple courses in the English Education departments at New York University and Columbia University. Wolfsdorf is also currently the English Department chair at Bay Ridge Prep in Brooklyn, New York. Mautner and Wolfsdorf were joined by Chrissy Wallace, a clinical social worker.

The inspiration for Mautner and Wolfsdorf ’s article dates back to 2015, when Mautner was a student in Wolfsdorf ’s course on Teaching Drama. Wolfsdorf showed his graduate English Education students a video of a car crash, not knowing that Mautner’s life had been affected by numerous car crashes. During Mautner’s junior year of high school, her father, Michael West, was driving his daily morning commute when a car traveling in the opposite direction crossed the double yellow line, colliding with a car that flipped over and drove on top of West’s car. West was taken by helicopter to the emergency room and made a full recovery, but the experience left Mautner hesitant to drive. In 2006, Mautner sustained a concussion when her father’s car was struck from behind at a red light and, just a year prior to taking Wolfsdorf ’s class, was involved in another serious car accident.

Mautner temporarily left the classroom during the peak of the graphic video. Later, she was asked to be interviewed by Wolfsdorf about her experience in the class. This conversation evolved into a component of Wolfsdorf ’s Ph.D. thesis, part of which was published as a scholarly article that served as the basis for the NCTE presentation. In Wolfsdorf ’s words, “The presentation used multiple lenses and frames of reference as a means for more comprehensively and structurally examining how complex and nuanced the issue of student trauma can be in the English classroom and beyond.” Mautner’s portion of the presentation focused on recounting her experience in the course and techniques she uses in her own classroom to scaffold students’ engagement with sensitive subject matter.

Bass-Riccio, who teaches World Literature and Postgraduate Seminar, had a wonderful experience at the conference. She shared, “Not only did I get to hear authors whom I have admired for years, such as Henry Louis Gates and George Takei, but I also had the opportunity to meet and network with up-and-coming authors.” One session focusing on action-based research for students helped Bass-Riccio think about assignments that focus on analysis beyond the typical research paper.

Roller shared that she appreciated the opportunity to “listen to well-known authors speak about their craft.” Roller hopes to integrate what she learned into her courses: World Literature and English I for International Students. She explained, “Both Tara Westover and George Takei gave me language and anecdotes that I can bring to my classroom when we do our own memoir unit.”

Westover closed out the weekend by discussing her memoir, “Educated.” Westover grew up in a survivalist family that did not believe in formal education or Western medicine. She managed to educate herself by studying for the ACT and then gaining admission to Brigham Young University. She graduated magna cum laude in 2008 and went on to study at Cambridge University, ultimately earning her Ph.D., even though she lacked a GED. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center where she studies the media’s impact on ideological polarization.