Educon 2.2 - Now What Are You Going To Do?

by Patrick Larkin, Principal, Burlington High School (MA)

Having just completed the best Professional Development experience of my life at Educon 2.2, I am certain that I will be signing up for Educon 2.3 the same day that registration opens.  I am not going to miss out on the opportunity to converse with other passionate, progressive educators on the topic of transforming our schools.

As I read the dozens of posts from others who attended Educon, it is clear that many share the same sentiments.  So that brings me to two major questions: 

1. What makes Educon the phenomenal experience that it is? 
2. How do we move from conversations about change to actions that will bring change? 

The Setting

Educon is what it is because of the people involved. Start  with a model leader (Science Leadership Academy Principal Chris Lehmann) who works under the premise that schools need leaders who give "top-down support for bottom-up ideas."  Add in passionate teachers, students, and parents who are willing to engage in a conversation with a leader who cherishes feedback and you have an extraordinary setting for learners.  I cannot help but wonder how our national model would for education would change if those in charge of setting policy operated the same way.   

The Educon Experience

When I discuss my weekend at Educon, I am not really sure how to describe it. The word "conference" doesn't seem right, at least not in comparison to dozens of events with a similar name that I have attended in the past.  I know the program describes it as a conversation, but that does not seem adequate due to the high-level discussions that I was able to immerse myself in over the course of my three days in Philadelphia. 

Unlike other "conferences" there is no hierarchy at Educon.  There are no presenters talking at attendees about their expertise on a particular topic or issue.  Instead there are "conversation facilitators" who lead fellow conference attendees in two-way discussions that value the experience and questions of everyone in the room.  Unlike so many other conferences I have attended where the speakers seemed most intent on talking about their accomplishments, at Educon the focus was clearly on students. Despite the fact that many of the conference attendees are well-know leaders in progressive education, there was no hint of pretense. 

Time To Look In The Mirror

My next thought alarms me because it is about school administrators and I say this with both eyes firmly on the mirror.  It surrounds the fact that I learn a great deal more when I spend quality time with passionate classroom teachers.  Most of my time with my administrative colleagues is spent on low-level issues while my time with passionate teachers focuses on engaging students in meaningful learning experiences.  

This really struck me during SLA staff member Diana Laufenberg's  session titled "What if school wasn't like real life, what if it just was real life?" Diana stated that the two things that she tells her students when they present to the class are Don't kill the joy in the room and don't be boring.  I think we all need to make these words to live by in our schools.  We cannot move our schools where we need them to go if we are bogged down with excessive conversations about things that are unrelated to teaching and learning.  School leaders need to stop killing joy and boring the heck out of teachers!  

Moving From Conversation To Action

This theme of moving from conversation to action is a common one in many of the posts I have read since Educon. One of my favorites was a post by Dan Callahan called Blowing it up (or: How I changed my class because of EduCon).  My favorite part is the conversation by the kids about taking responsibility for their learning.  Did I mention Dan teaches sixth graders?  Why don't we all put more faith in our students to help us redesign our schools?

In closing, I returned to my school this past Monday with more clarity on my role than when I left for Philly.  I need to continue to engage my staff, students, and parents in conversations about what we need to do to create a more relevant experience for our students.  Stagnation is failure.  It is time to act. While I am fortunate to be at a school in a supportive community with a great staff, I know others feel differently.

If you find yourself in a school culture that does not support your ideals, please leave. Let's set up an underground list of #Educon schools where like-minded educators can go knowing that they are entering a community that is interested in moving the agenda forward.  Let's create communities that believe Educon Axiom #1 - "our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members." 

At this point, there are only two places we can be as educators, either in the conversation stage or the action stage. If you do not see the need for this, then you need to exit the stage and do something else with your life.  

Thank you to everyone who attended Educon. It is a true honor to be associated with such an inspirational group of educators! 

Comments

[Melinda]

Seriously, I just want to copy and paste all your thoughts into a post an call it my own! You hit the nail in the head when it comes to engaging in more discussion because that is where my learning came from the whole weekend. I need to spend more time in the classroom and engaged in meaningful dialogue with my teachers. I also need to be more confident that my beliefs about student learning are accurate. Aw man! You've really got me thinking!

[Mark Carls]

Patrick,
Great blog post and you hooked me right away, because I keep saying conference and Educon didn't feel like that at all. Being able to see the school and how Chris has built such a solid foundation there on the core values and throughout the student body and staff is amazing to me.
I'm hoping to keep up the momentum to, as you state, "Let's create communities that believe Educon Axiom #1 - "our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members."
Great post, keep up the great work.

[Patrick Larkin]

I agree with your perspective on finding the right place to work. The good news is that we can see clearly the type of school or educators we want to surround ourselves thanks to the power of a PLN. You are correct also in that you are interviewing the school as much as they are interviewing you. I am wondering what questions you will ask? What are the key attributes that our best teachers want in a school? It sounds like an exciting time for you.

[Dan Callahan]

Thanks for the shoutout.

As I prepare to look for a new job this upcoming spring, I know that for me, finding the right place to work is way more important than it was to me eight years ago when I was just trying to find any place to work. More than anything else, recently, I've started thinking about the right questions that I need to ask when in an interview for a job to make sure that a potential placement would be a good fit for me, as I'm increasingly feeling that what I'm doing now is most definitely not it.