We are drawing near the end of announcing out winners in the Contest of Epic. Just two more entries to go, and today we’ve got our second place winner! That honor goes to the lovely Mrs. DeRaps:
As a high school English teacher, youth literacy is at the forefront of my everyday life. Some adults who work with teens are content to read only those books and magazines that are in their comfort zone. Maybe they don’t remember what it’s like to be a teen. I do.
I remember wanting an adult to ask me about what music I was listening to, what I was reading in my spare time. I remember wishing that my English teachers (or any teachers for that matter) would ask me to explain why I dressed the way I did or what I thought about important issues. No one did. I was fed facts and classics and their thoughts. School wasn’t about me or my generation. It was about a system.
Now that I am a teacher, I want to ask my teen students where they are and try to meet them there. As I learned in Developmental Psychology, teenagers are completely self-focused. Rather than use this to mock them, why not use it to engage them, to entice them into a world filled with books and music and thoughts and concerns and activism that is targeted at their age group?
Novel Novice is an amazing online resource for teachers and for teens. Here, we can connect over a simple love for reading and for teens. My students love and care most about their peers and the characters in YA books are just like the people they care about. Why wouldn’t I want to find the best YA lit that will help my teen students through some of the most difficult decisions and times of their lives?
In this way, Novel Novice is a bit of a cutting-edge rarity. There are resources for teachers and for book lovers. On this site, teachers can find lesson plans and ideas to help incorporate the latest YA books into their teaching. It sounds crazy, but professional development in this area is lacking. Seriously lacking. It is great that your site allows me to get information, stay updated, and think about teaching. After all, reading and teaching are the great loves of my life. (Apologies to Mr. DeRaps. He’s in there too!)
Thank you for your support and encouragement and your willingness to be more than just a book review blog. You are a hub of interesting, applicable ideas and thoughts. And, thank you for asking me about my thoughts. Unlike my high school teachers, you have earned my trust and followership because you care what I think.
Novel Novice 
And it’s all true! Thanks Novel Novice!
Congrats Mrs. DeRaps. Your students are lucky to have you.