Meet Dave Stuart Jr.

May 21, 2022
 
Hello Teacher Friends,

I hope these words find you well as this school year wraps up. This summer, the North Dakota Council of Teachers of English is hosting their annual summer conference July 19-20 in Mandan, North Dakota. One of the keynote speakers is Dave Stuart Jr., and you really should meet him.

Dave Stuart Jr. is the author of the book These 6 Things: How to Focus Your Teaching on What Matters Most (Corwin, 2019) and co-author--with Matthew Johnson and Matthew R. Kay--of a quite new book Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and High School ELA  (Corwin, 2022). 

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Go to his website and his  bio reads: 

DAVE STUART JR. is a husband, father, and high school teacher who writes about education. He reads extensively across the disciplines so that he can create uniquely satisfying professional development experiences for his colleagues around the world. His mission is to encourage and equip educators on the journey to long-term flourishing and professional excellence.

Did you catch that term "long-term flourishing"? It is truly the heartbeat behind who Dave Stuart Jr. is and his work. 

Terri Egan, a North Dakota English teacher and fine arts coach, shares how Dave Stuart Jr. has assisted her on her teacher journey:   ​

I have been following Dave’s postings and blogs and YouTube videos (all available at www.davestuartjr.com/archives) and integrating his ideas into my classroom for over eight years.  I have used his book These Six Things as a foundation for best-practice teaching, and I had the privilege of attending a summer on-line seminar in 2020 that helped me successfully navigate that year.  Dave Stuart provides meaningful, applicable methods of student engagement and motivation with lessons and ideas that you can easily adapt for any classroom.  Dave’s methods are rooted in solid pedagogy and science; his on-going classroom experience lends additional credibility to his suggestions.  He is an instructional coach who will help you wherever you are at as a teacher right now because he is teaching as a colleague.  I hope every pre-service and current educator in ND can join this session - you will leave with something to use! ​

Terri's invitation is a meaningful one, and I join her in inviting you.

Dave Stuart Jr. will be keynoting the second day (July 20) of the conference and also speaking at two breakout sessions. His titles alone help to guide the way to long-term flourishing:

• "The Will to Learn: How to Cultivate Student Motivation without Driving Anyone Crazy" (keynote)
•  "Doing More Isn't Doing Better: How to be an English Teacher and Have a Life" (breakout session)
• "We Teach from Who We Are: Practical Methods for Reducing Pressure Inside Ourselves so that We Teach from a Fuller Self" (breakout session)

This summer, I hope you can meet Dave--whether through his writings or in person at the conference. If you haven't already registered for the conference,  follow this link to do so. Let's journey together to grow and to flourish.

Hope to see you soon,
​
Erika
​NDCTE President
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