Inspiration boulders
Expanding Horizons
CONNECTING with EDUCATORS BEYOND JUNEAU
Traveling to a conference such as Project Zero Classroom at Harvard University, or Kennedy Center Partners in Education (and affiliated arts integrated schools) allowed focused time away from regular teaching duties to learn and engage with peers and meet like-minded educators and teaching artists from all over the United States and beyond.
Teachers said having the agency to elect to participate and design their experience allowed them to pursue learning that aligned with their values and envision how they might continue to grow.
SEEING WHAT is POSSIBLE
“I got to go to the Project Zero conference, and it came at that point of learning for me within Artful Teaching when everything just came together. Here are these people that I read about or heard about– you’re real humans! We got to go with the whole teacher facilitators group; we had such a strong connection. We thoughtfully planned out a lot of the workshops that we didn’t do together. Because we had meals together, we had opportunities outside of those workshops to then come together and share what we had done…everything just coalesced.”
“It was really exciting, going to Washington D.C. and seeing a school that was science and arts integrated, and in a lot of ways looked like our school; the population and status was very similar. This group of educators had created this community where you could see the kids felt empowered and positive and the teachers felt empowered and positive about what they were doing. We weren’t there yet, but we were close, and that was validating to go and see. Not only is this what we could look like, this is where we want to be going.”
REFLECTION EDDIES
What insights do Shawna and Jess’s stories offer about the value of investing in expanding teachers’ horizons?
What are the unique benefits of conferences for teachers and conferences for administrators? Do you over emphasize one or the other?