Educators are
better together and it was most apparent on July 31, 2015. When about 15,000
teachers came together across 33 locations across the state of California to
participate in one event to bring educators together to collaborate ideas,
share stories, and engage in meaningful talk about hindrances, tribulations,
and triumphs in the implementation of Common Core.
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| My colleague, Angelica Paz and I |
I was so excited
when I first heard this event was happening and more delighted to
actually be part of it! I gave the “EdTalk” at Cal State, Los Angeles. I was
impressed how prepared the campus was for the influx of educators
participating! It was evident that they had a stellar team putting it together,
Agustin Cervantes; Director of Student Services, and Diane Fazzi; Associate
Dean of the Charter College of Education, did an extraordinary job. We were hosted
with a wonderful breakfast as we entered the main conference room. I was
energized by the enthusiasm in the room and by the immediate conversations I
was hearing at the tables. Everyone knew we were in for a day filled with
information and hopeful that we would have a positive “gem” that we could take
back to our schools.
One of the day's components I was especially interested in was the engagement during the edcamp
sessions. I had only attended one other edcamp in the past, thus my experience
was very limited. I am a professional learning trainer and usually work with an
agenda or around some key targets. It was an unconventional experience and was
hesitant about the process. Our edcamp facilitator, Georgina Tanaka from Downey
Unified, reassured me that the process would be an easy transition that that educators
would easily fall into the activity. She was absolutely right. I was amazed
that about 90% of the participants were not familiar with edcamps, but were
able to put topics of interest on the board and began guiding their own
learning by setting topics of interests into the different rooms available.
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| Our Instagram Moment! |
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| Educators looking at the edcamp topic board and the designated rooms |
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| Conversations during edcamp |
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Educators engaged in edcamp conversations
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When the
participants went into their room of interest, they were engaged and
facilitated their own room. I participated in two different sessions. I went to
one room that was about “How do you make yourself more marketable to the
teaching profession?” which was mostly comprised by educators recently
graduated from their credentialing programs, and some administrators. The room
was filled with questions on how to best present their professional portfolio
and get an interview to turn into a job opportunity. It was wonderful to be
part of the conversation and to share my 15 years experience as an educator and
as a teacher leader. I discussed the importance of bringing artifacts to an
interview, about keeping a blog or a professional online resource, and the lost
art of the “thank you note.
Another session I
attended had an interest in parent and teacher partnerships. This topic
interested me since I am working on developing some parent university sessions
for my district. I wanted to hear what others were doing with community outreach.
Both sessions had real organic conversations about their concerns and opinions
on the topic.
The California Teacher Summit could not have happened at a better time. Professional collaboration is an essential element to the teaching profession. We need opportunities to hear what is happening across the nation when it comes to the implementation of the Common Core standards and how to best support this shift in our instruction.
My “EdTalk” was
titled “Why does teacher leadership matter?”
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| That's me! One of the participants sent me this picture! |
Here are a few of
my slides I used to promote thought:
So
what was my “gem”
for the day? Collect information, share, engage, and continue the conversation!
Click on
the following link to join my online community:
