I am both a teacher and a writer. I am passionate about literacy in and out of the classroom and have committed my twenty years of professional life to it. I just finished the second edition of my book, Painless Reading Comprehension, which was initially published in 2004 and was inspired by my junior high struggling readers. The second edition will be available in May of 2012. I have published several articles on using literature as a bridge for struggling readers and methodology for teaching social justice through young adult literature, as well as presenting at a variety of national teacher education conferences.
As the co-creator and education director of the Memoir Project at the Writers’ Center of Indiana, I spent six years successfully securing funding, creating curriculum, and taking writing out of the center providing a voice to those in the community. I was co-editor of a book that highlighted those voices titled, Sitting at the Feed of our Elders: Flanner House Speaks.
At this time, I am co-editing a book on how to teach memoir. I continue to facilitate and write with the memoir group, the Indianapolis Special Needs Moms. I am the state liaison for the Conference on English Leadership (CEL) for the National Council Teachers of English (NCTE) . And, with a team of researchers at Ball State University, I am working on a narrative based research project which will allow me to tell the stories of the diverse and wonderful population of students with physical disabilities on our campus.
I feel honored to be a teacher and to get to share the good news that the practice and the art of writing are possible for everyone.
Areas of Specialization:
secondary English education, writing methods, reading comprehension, disability and diversity, multiculturalism, and community literacy.
Darolyn Jones' curriculum vitae