The second day of the conference didn’t disappoint.
I heard a testimonial from a California educator
who grew up with English as his second language. He must be about my age because he described
events that had a familiar ring (remember “blue light specials” at Kmart).
The gentleman recounted how his elementary principal
made a big difference in his life. Being
a very young boy his first contact with his principal was as he walked from his
classroom to an ESL class. His large and overpowering principal knelt and tied his worn shoes. That afternoon he ended up with a new pair of shoes to wear.
He described how other teachers and
principals encouraged him and got him involved in track and extracurricular activities. All of these experiences made it possible for him to attend college.
Educators changed his life, and it was so inspirational.
I learned more about “bring your own technology” or BYOT and some of
the difficulties faced by other districts with implementation.
I learned a little more about what schools are doing to have a virtual
presence with online courses. I also
participated in a roundtable in which we shared problems and solutions.
The summit ended with some interactive group work to get
us thinking. I know most of the
folks walked away with a seed planted on how they might improve instructional programs in their home district.
The mission in school espionage was a success and worth my
time and effort to attend.
