Council conference invites students
Jacob West

Staff Writer

Twelve senior education majors from the International Reading Association will attend the 36th annual Missouri State Council Conference.

This conference is scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at the Lodge of Four Seasons at Lake of the Ozarks.

While there, participants will also be presiders at events, such as introducing guest authors, storytellers, speakers and national headquarters  representatives.

IRA members have volunteered to introduce the speakers and authors. There has been no other university or college in Missouri that has had students take on tasks such as this into their own hands. Southern students will be recognized by wearing green and gold ribbons identifying them as presiders, featured in photographs and biographies in the conference program, and introduced at meetings and the Author Institute luncheon and banquet.

An eight-year faculty member in the teacher education department who is one of the organizers for the conference, is Dr. Jane A. Scholl, associate professor.

 It is so well organized, and having former graduates from Southern on the steering committee helps,  she said.

Opportunities at the conference will include six general sessions of which the past president of the National IRA, Donna Ogle, will speak along with others. In addition to those general sessions, there will be three special sessions and 30 regular sessions. Some of the benefits to the IRA students include taking a leadership role in an established state conference, networking with educators from Missouri and surrounding states, gaining new knowledge about the field of reading, and establishing their commitment to the importance of teaching reading.

The IRA organization at the College has been recognized as the most active by the Missouri State IRA Council for the past seven years. The IRA is an organization  dedicated to improving reading instruction and promoting literacy worldwide. 

Funding for the conference has been requested from the Student Senate, which provided $1,000. The IRA holds two fund-raisers,  Rock  n  Read  in the fall and  Touchdown Alley  in the summer, where money received goes to community service projects, meeting expenses, and the summer leadership retreat.

Scholl was also a member of the IRA while in college, and by working on the committee to help organize the conference, she is helping to  give back to IRA.  Students will also learn about current research and trends in education and reading.

For a first-year conference attendee, Tabitha Glover, senior elementary education/reading major, is hoping to gain leadership abilities. At this conference, Glover can attend specific sessions which relate to her major.

 I really like to read,  she said.

The other 11 students attending are Lisa-Goans Edie, outgoing president; Lashel Crouch, incoming president; Carol Clark, outgoing historian; Emily Drake, treasurer; and Sharla Clack, Nann Robertson, Amy Stemm, Carol Barns, Kerra Kunkel, Rebecca Penning and Kim McIntire.