Educator professional development is at the core of education. Teachers need to continue to develop as professionals throughout their careers as educators so that they can best serve the students and community in which they have chosen to teach. However, far too often teachers don’t make it an individual priority and they don’t often take PD into their own hands. Too often teachers wait for the “flavor of the year” that a school district prioritizes that year, until something new and shiny takes its place.
The EdCamp model allows teachers to take initiative and ownership of their own learning and development as educators. The EdCamp model also relies on real classroom experiences to drive the learning done, not a “Sage on the Stage” approach that most PD is modeled after. The concept of “experience not expertise” as well as “the answer is in the room” drives EdCamp. Relying on the experience of other classroom teachers additionally allows for great networking and authentic professional learning communities to be created.
My goal is to give Bloomer and the surrounding area an opportunity to experience an EdCamp for themselves since I have participated in a couple myself previously. Knowing the information I learned, as well as the connections I made with other professionals have been invaluable to me, it is my hope that others get that same experience and a true sense of meaningful professional conversations.