Yesterday I gave my demonstration lesson for this summer’s Northern Virginia Writing Project’s Invitational Summer Institute. It’s a demo lesson I’ve done quite a few times over the past five years. It’s been tweaked and reconsidered and reorganized during that time.
I typically reflect on presentations I give, but I don’t usually write about those reflections. I’m feeling moved to do so this time for some reason. I don’t now if it’s because it’s the writing project (I’ve done this demo lesson at previous ISIs so that seems unlikely) or if yesterday’s presentation gave me more to consider.
The first two-thirds of the presentation involve all of us doing some writing, talking with partners, and talking all together. The last third is mostly me talking at everyone else. Yeah, that should have been a clue.
The first two-thirds felt really good. We had some interesting conversations and it felt engaging. The final third felt icky. It wasn’t as tied to the first two-thirds as it should have been and I didn’t make connections the way I should have. My excuses are that I felt rushed for time and I’ve been sick so I’m not at my best. But that’s all those are, excuses.
As I reviewed the presentation beforehand and reworked some things I clearly didn’t give it as much time and thought as I should have. That’s on me. This will, hopefully, serve as reminder to myself for the future.
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