Reclaiming Our Stories: Insights from the 2024 VATE Conference

In November, the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English (VATE) held their state conference at Deakin University to the theme of ‘English at the Intersection: Reclaiming Our Stories’.

Fremantle Press sponsored a teacher to attend the conference to hear from a variety of education and literary experts on connection and language in the classroom. Here’s what they had to say about their experience:

‘The VATE State Conference was a fantastic opportunity to connect with English teachers and learn from professionals across a range of contexts. The workshops I attended provided valuable insights into various focus areas, including working with mentor texts, literacy intervention and theories of reading. Each session offered key learnings and applicable strategies that I can adapt to my own classroom. A highlight of each day was the keynote speakers. Larissa McLean Davies and Melitta Hogarth emphasised the importance of language and how we can work as a community to share our stories, while Billi FitzSimons provided valuable insight into connecting with young people through the media. These speakers set a tone of high expectations, honesty and positivity that resonated throughout the conference. The enthusiasm and willingness to learn displayed by all presenters and attendees were both inspirational and motivating, and I am very grateful to have been a part of this conference.’