5th Triennial IAACS Conference – The School Bus Symposium

In this alternative session, The School Bus Symposium involves riding the bus! We will meet in the Marion Auditorium on May 29th at 1:15PM only briefly before taking the bus. There are only 35 seats available so please RSVP to . We will reserve places on the bus for the first 35 people to reply.

To surface memories of taking the bus to school, in-action poetry readings will take place throughout the 90-minute session to stimulate and simulate childhood recollections. The chartered school bus will journey through several Ottawa neighborhoods reflective of the socioeconomic and cultural diversity in the city (e.g., Sandy Hill, Lowertown, New Edinburgh, Vanier) mimicking the process of collecting children for the school day. The poetry readings will be structured to allow dialogue and participation from conference participants and will provide an opportunity for participants to write their own poetry in a responsive and reflective way. This style of symposium is designed for poet and non-poet participants to be engaged in the memories, and the theorizing of taking the bus to school and its unique “place” in the overall school experience. The session will be ideal for those who infuse creativity into their curriculum work.