I went to EdCampSTL last year at Affton High School. It was my first experience with an EdCamp and I was blown away by the wisdom, creativity and genius of those around me. I've said for years that no district needs to bring in outside experts to "teach" the district staff. There are always teachers on staff who have amazing expertise in just about any area and those teachers should be highlighted as the experts that they are. Yesterday was another reminder of how much genius is walking the halls of America's schools. After my experience last year, I wanted to be involved in creating this event. By no stretch of the imagination did I contribute as much as other volunteers, but I did contribute some and I learned a great deal about what it takes to put on a first-class education conference. Believe me, there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into an EdCamp. EdCampSTL was no exception.
Last year, my teaching partner and I presented our 20% Time program even though we were in the early stages of the process. We talked, we listened, we shared and we learned. We did two sessions last year and had an overflow crowd both times. It was shocking to us that others would be so interested in this program but it is relatively new and so many were curious. This year, we were both on the EdCampSTL planning committee, the Orange Hoodie Brigade, and again presented two sessions of our 20% Time program, Harmonized Learning. Again, both sessions were full. This time around, we talked with a little more confidence because we had gone through the entire process once and are half-way through the process for a second time. We thought we could answer questions a little better based on our classroom experience with the program.
Our sessions were validating experiences. One teacher came to our session last year and returned this year for more. She told us that she implemented a 20% Time program at her school and it's going beautifully. She had both questions and answers for the others in the room. There was so much sharing among all of us that the sessions took on lives of their own. That is the best learning and the learning that should be taking place in classrooms across the country. We heard so many positive comments about the presentation and have made connections with other teachers who want to collaborate across districts. The EdCamp model allows for these kinds of connections.
The entire EdCamp experience was amazing. I attended sessions by other amazing educators, checked out the Maker Space, had lots of conversations with progressive teachers and tried to help out in making the day run as smoothly as possible. Days like these make me want to do more to spread the word about EdCamps in general and EdCampSTL in particular. After such great experiences, we are now thinking of attending other EdCamps in the area (southern Illinois, Kansas City, Springfield, etc.). EdCamps are completely energizing learning experiences that every educator should experience at least once.
