After months of planning it happened. Edcampto Toronto.
Planning began in July thanks to the remarkable Stephen Hurley who used twitter to draw us in.
I am forever grateful for this because it gave me the opportunity to connect with exceptional people committed to building a better system.
When the day arrived, there was no keynote speaker, no experts, no workshops, no make and take, no silly get to know you activities. No one was mandated to be there. There were just conversations. Exceptional conversations ... about education.
The event was free thanks to generous sponsors and anyone with an interest in education was welcome. Already that was different. When you have teachers, administrators, consultants, parents, entrepreneurs, business people all at the same table a much broader perspective emerges.
The structure was quite simple. At the beginning of the day attendees posed questions that they had about education on a wall. The questions were fantastic. Each worth discussing; however, attendees voted by placing a sticky on a question they felt they really wanted to discuss and from the 30 or 40 questions posted, they were narrowed down to eight and assigned to breakout rooms. Whoever had posted the question facilitated the session. Attendees were free to stay in one session or wander between breakout rooms. This happened 4 times over the course of the day.
Slideshow from the day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aforgrave/sets/72157627907386658/
These were, bar none the best conversations I have ever had about teaching and learning. Rather than sitting in an auditorium listening to an expert we had the opportunity to hear from everyone. They shared their insights, knowledge, vision, expertise and more questions. Discussion was forthright, honest and rich.
As I that there listening and talking I wondered, why on earth are we wasting so much time in education not talking about what is truly important, not drawing upon the extensive knowledge of educators and parents?
At Edcampto all knowledge and contributions were valued. There was no hierarchy. No judgement. No, "we're doing this because the higher ups have told us to.. even though we don't really get what the point is".
It was quite remarkable and many people left the day changed and wanting more.
For me the the greatest impact of the day was recognizing the importance and power of voice, and not just the voices of teachers but of learners. I realized that just as we often feel unlistened to by decision makers we do not listen enough to our students. We plan for them, but we don't plan with them. Until we make it a priority to allow students to ask their questions and to then listen carefully to what they have to say, all we will ever be in our classrooms is good enough. We'll continue to cheat our students, ourselves and ultimately our culture because we will not have allowed the greatness to emerge.
How sad is that?
Planning began in July thanks to the remarkable Stephen Hurley who used twitter to draw us in.
I am forever grateful for this because it gave me the opportunity to connect with exceptional people committed to building a better system.
When the day arrived, there was no keynote speaker, no experts, no workshops, no make and take, no silly get to know you activities. No one was mandated to be there. There were just conversations. Exceptional conversations ... about education.
The event was free thanks to generous sponsors and anyone with an interest in education was welcome. Already that was different. When you have teachers, administrators, consultants, parents, entrepreneurs, business people all at the same table a much broader perspective emerges.
The structure was quite simple. At the beginning of the day attendees posed questions that they had about education on a wall. The questions were fantastic. Each worth discussing; however, attendees voted by placing a sticky on a question they felt they really wanted to discuss and from the 30 or 40 questions posted, they were narrowed down to eight and assigned to breakout rooms. Whoever had posted the question facilitated the session. Attendees were free to stay in one session or wander between breakout rooms. This happened 4 times over the course of the day.
Slideshow from the day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aforgrave/sets/72157627907386658/
These were, bar none the best conversations I have ever had about teaching and learning. Rather than sitting in an auditorium listening to an expert we had the opportunity to hear from everyone. They shared their insights, knowledge, vision, expertise and more questions. Discussion was forthright, honest and rich.
As I that there listening and talking I wondered, why on earth are we wasting so much time in education not talking about what is truly important, not drawing upon the extensive knowledge of educators and parents?
At Edcampto all knowledge and contributions were valued. There was no hierarchy. No judgement. No, "we're doing this because the higher ups have told us to.. even though we don't really get what the point is".
It was quite remarkable and many people left the day changed and wanting more.
For me the the greatest impact of the day was recognizing the importance and power of voice, and not just the voices of teachers but of learners. I realized that just as we often feel unlistened to by decision makers we do not listen enough to our students. We plan for them, but we don't plan with them. Until we make it a priority to allow students to ask their questions and to then listen carefully to what they have to say, all we will ever be in our classrooms is good enough. We'll continue to cheat our students, ourselves and ultimately our culture because we will not have allowed the greatness to emerge.
How sad is that?
Sounds like an amazing day! Your students are lucky to have a teacher who cares so much about their learning and about perfecting her craft..
ReplyDeleteIt was an amazing day. Thanks Jamie for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteI'm still sifting through the layers of what happened. It was so complex to actually be not only involved, but collaborating in the truest sense during a PD opportunity. Previously PD has been done to me (often like a botched surgery).
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of collaboration, have you ever seen this? http://youtu.be/E7ZI50QXtSU
A Finnish teacher tweeted it. The tech is nice and the furniture shows just how habitual our traditional classroom habits are, but what it really presents for me is a fluently collaborative space - through tech and the physical environment... truly a future school.
I'm still processing and wishing we had a follow up because I have more that I wish to discuss now that I've had a chance to think. Loved the surgery line. Thanks for the link. A definite share!
ReplyDelete