Volume 71, Number 2 (2022) Summer 2022

Letter from the Editors

Greetings, KEB Readers -

For many educators, the ’21-’22 school year was one of the most challenging yet and record numbers of educators are leaving schools and classrooms. Summer break was a necessary pause from our new normal. Teachers and teacher educators though, have continued to find ways to engage students with literacies despite the challenges of the last two years. In this issue of the Kentucky English Bulletin, we asked English educators to share about their own evolutions and the ways they reimagined their own teaching and learning.

In “Relationship-Rich Service Learning: Developing Writing Skills with Elders,” Bedetti and Horn elevate the social and collaborative elements of writing in their remote partnership with a retirement community. College students collaborated with elders to help them share their stories in writing. In “Smart Home Gym Instruction and What an English Professor Learned from Spinning Her Wheels,” Daoud draws lessons and inspiration from their own pandemic wellness practice on the stationary bike, reminding readers of humanizing practices that we might all strive to include in our teaching through thoughtful metaphor. Wilhoit’s reflective piece “Growing as a University English Teacher: Some Lessons Learned During the Pandemic” offers specific and tangible guidance for how online teaching practices could be incorporated into in-person classes. In “Reading for Change: Teachers Talk About Books, Students, and Inequities During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Anders offers a look at a teacher book club that grew into a larger study and shares what took place in the book club and shares a reading list with readers who might also wish to engage with similar work in their own school or space. The final article, “Emerging From a Pandemic: The Evolution of the Classroom,” written by Legget, Taylor, and Stanley, the authors reflect on individual experiences with pandemic-influenced teaching and learning. They share patterns and trends they noticed as in-person teaching resumed.

It is our hope that the generous reflections and thoughts of each contributor to this issue may serve as a springboard for you to consider what Fall 2022 may look like, or that our contributors’ reflections may serve as inspiration for your own reflective practice as you rest before a new school year.

As we savor this break from the hustle of the school year, we hope that you are able to truly rest and nourish your spirit.

Warmly -

Elizabeth G. Dinkins

Caitlin E. Murphy

Winn C. Wheeler

Co-Editors Kentucky English Bulletin