How Educon Changed My Thinking

Back at school for a teacher workday this morning several folks have asked how Educon was. After a brief chat with one, she asked me, "How has your thinking changed?" I had to admit I couldn't answer yet. I needed to carve out some reflection time. So, here goes.

The first session I attended was on policy. Whether or not the four who presented that session are typical of those involved in making policy I can't say. I appreciate their presence at this conference and I'm grateful to them for sharing their perspective and inside information with us. I left that session with a sense of empowerment, an idea that I could get involved. They've got a great google doc with information and ideas. We'll see what happens, but I'm hopeful this session was the kick I needed to stretch myself in a new direction. I'd like to invite people in to see our classroom and my students, to help give them a sense of the realities and possibilities. Through those invitations (accepted or not) I hope to build some relationships and work to make my voice heard. Stating this publicly will be one way to keep me accountable in this goal.

The last session I was able to attend asked the question, Is the Internet Making Us Stupid? I enjoyed the structure of this session - they had collected interesting, provocative quotes from the book The Shallows and we moved to points in the room to indicate our agreement or disagreement with each statement. This led to some really fabulous discussion. I don't think there was anything from this session that has changed my thinking right at this moment. What it did was raise a lot of questions for me about how what we do affects how our brains work. It brought new ideas into the forefront of my thinking and I will continue to be pondering them. That may be all that happens or it may lead to something more. I have no idea.

I have just skimmed the surface of Educon and my experience there in this post. Writing it, however, helped me synthesize my thinking and reflect. I need to keep doing that.

Educon 2.3

I'm giving an Encienda* presentation at lunch today at Educon. My message (that I hope comes through) is that we need the focus in education today to be on students, not on content.

I realized this morning that it hits on one of the reasons I love coming to Educon. I've spent the last two days with people who are focused on students, who are passionate about learning, who see the important pieces of education. That's easy to lose sight of in educational discussions in our country.

There is some frustration with Educon in that folks are frustrated by the lack of change. There seems to be a sense that after Educon everyone should go home and change the world. While I get the frustration, the more I think about it the more absurd it seems.

First of all, while I learn at Educon, it's not mind-blowing. I'm learning from most of these people on a regular basis already. There are things I will do as a result of this conference, but nothing will be earth-shattering.

Secondly, change takes time. Nothing is going to make our educational system change overnight. Not even Educon.

Finally, what on earth are people expecting from a few hundred human beings spending three days together? A whole new world?

The fact that Educon doesn't cause massive uproar in our educational system doesn't diminish its value.

*This is a 5 minute presentation with 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds.

Image from WOScholar's flickr stream in the Educon 2.3 group.

Educon 2.2 Reflections

As always I've gotten completely caught up in life and not taken time to reflect on the wonder that was Educon (it's really pathetic because we're on our fourth snow day in a row, so I have no good excuse).

For me the overwhelming take-away from Educon was passion. The importance and value of that word and idea started for me at the panel on Friday night at The Franklin Institute. The panelists, a fabulous, diverse group, were asked to answer the question, "What is smart?"

Initially the answer that struck me least was the one from Loren Brichter. He spoke about helping students get motivated to find their passion. The more I thought about the different responses the more this struck me as critically important. However, I think students find their passion just fine. We need to figure out how, as educators, to get out of their way.

The idea of passion continued to resonate with me throughout the sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Even if the word was never mentioned, the idea was there. These presenters were there, leading discussion, because of their passion around education and a specific question or issue (the value of play, technology and teacher education, leadership, etc.).

I think that is the power of Educon. Everyone is there because of their shared passion for improving education. There has been much talk since the conference about action. Many folks are concerned that we are doing a lot of talking but not making any change. Those concerns are valid. But I'm grateful for the conversations and for the opportunity to see so many passionate educators gathered together. It gives me hope.

If you are interested in others' thoughts post-Educon, Shelley has collected many here.