Caroline B. Rabalais

Join us Tuesday, February 24th for our next #literacies chat with Dr. Raúl Alberto Mora @elpatronhimself.bsky.social !

I’m definitely stealing that question haha, thank you!

Wow!! I think I’d prefer to be ghosted, lol! 🤣

Thank you!! We’ll see!

Lol same!!! My beautiful spreadsheet I’ve got titled “Job Search” is not so beautiful with all of the blanks for my reply column haha.

True!! I won’t take any rejections or ghosting personally. I keep telling myself that at least I do have a job now teaching high school haha. But! I also love to research and want time for that. So I’m still holding on to hope!

That makes total sense. I’m not someone who likes so much about my future up in the air haha, so waiting like this is uncomfortable. All of the teaching interviews I’ve ever had were very clear on whether they wanted me or not, so applying for jobs in academia is kind of a culture shock for me.

Yes really!! At the HS where I teach, we’re having a “learn from home” day tomorrow (second day in a row, Monday we were just off) because of ice on the roads. This isn’t at all usual for us but it really shows how campus visits during this time can be affected by the weather.

Right! I went to a bunch of job talks last year to prepare, but I guess the reality is that there’s no one way that institutions do all of this.

A faculty member once told me since I want to stay in the Southeast that it would be impossible for me to find a job in academia haha. Which is fine! I think I do want to prioritize family, though I know I’d be an asset to any institution.

A2: Full transparency I’ve only had one interview, & that was for a job I applied for in December. I applied for jobs in Sept, October, & November too, & online my applications still say “in process” or “awaiting committee review” haha. So I have no idea & am looking forward to clarity! #literacies

I love that way of thinking about it!

Proximity to family is really most important to my husband and me too. Both of our sides of the family are in Georgia, so that’s where I’m applying for the majority. A job can be a great job but can’t replace the people important to you!

Hi all! My name is Caroline, and I’m a 5th year PhD candidate in language and literacy education at Georgia state university and a HS ELA teacher. I’m attending NCTEAR soon in Columbia, SC. #literacies

Join us! As someone on the job market, I’d love to hear others’ guidance on this whole process. #literacies

**In 2 short hours!** Join #literacies at 5pm PST/8pm EST tonight as we discuss "Navigating the #literacies Job Market: Sustaining Practices for Academics" with Dr. Hedrick-Shaw!

Just a couple of Christmas pics! Check out two of the gift knits I made this year! A sweater for my husband and a LSU beanie for my father in law

A2: I find joy in my students! They are working so hard in this last bit of time before the break. I was worried about switching to teaching seniors, but they are such a joy. #literacies

A1: I do my best to take care of myself through spending time with the people I love and through my favorite hobbies…knitting & reading! Big projects can become daunting, so I have to take breaks every now and then. Here’s a preview of the sweater I’m knitting my husband for Christmas! #literacies

Thank you!!! Labor of love

Special shoutout to @kpsinedu.bsky.social @carolinebr.bsky.social, @lexikwoodward.bsky.social , @nicolermisra.bsky.social for their work on the W&L SIG Bsky team. Loving facilitating these #literacies chats with you all!

Yesss please start knitting!! It’s really something that keeps me sane. Here’s my current #wip and a recent cast off! (The red top in the second picture)

Join us for our December slow chat! This will be an informal #literacies touchpoint before the start of the holidays. Let's continue the conversation!

Interested to dive deeper into fandoms in the classroom? Check out @karismjones.bsky.social and @scottstorm.bsky.social's book! #literacies

A5: Classrooms can easily feel like “doing school” with a focus on compliance. Instead, support students to follow their intellectual passions! Give choice about what texts to read, work to produce, and questions to pursue. I’ve seen this work in diverse and inclusive public schools! #literacies

A6: If you’re at #NCTE2025, join us to experience some of these ideas live! 💡(we will sign your book!) @scottstorm.bsky.social #literacies

Date and Time: Friday 11/21/2025 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM MST  
Room: Mile High Ballroom 2B

A1: Returning to Q1 real quick, but @srtoliver.bsky.social’s article about the show Luke Cage with JAAL has always stuck with me about such an interesting deep dive into a fandom and how literacy is represented in media, and the fact that she wrote it as a doc student blows my mind! #literacies

A6: Maybe investing in more choice assignments where students pick the text (widely defined) could help. Like, if I’m wanting kids to flex their research skills, I could let them choose a topic and research it related to that text (connected to critical #literacies, like interrogating power, etc.)

A5: As I’ve been teaching We Were Liars, there have been some who weren’t as into it at first as others. It made me worry that some thought they couldn’t catch up to those who had read the book or seen the show. Maybe positioning fandom in really welcoming ways can help offset dead ends? #literacies

It could be so cool!! I’ve got to think about which grade level to do it with…probably sophomores, but they have a County Benchmark Assessment in December, so I need to think about weaving those tested skills into their lessons with this lol. But I think it’ll happen! #literacies