Do you attend conferences?

I have a new blogging buddy, right over there, top of the list, Beth Holmes.  She had an interesting post about education conferences and I contributed this piece:

So much of what I hear at conferences is what I already know.  Many times I’m doing even more than they are sharing. Or, the people who are presenting do not work with the same student as I do.  The conferences are always far away, at expensive hotels, and I keep thinking about how I could be using this money in my classroom with my students.

Preparing to be away from the classroom is also difficult.  For a number of years my team was on the speaking circuit and we realized we were gone more than we were in the classroom.  That’s when I said, “if they want to hear what we have to say, they have to come see us.”  We had a few years of visitations, but as more people started doing what we were doing, that trailed off.  We get about one visitation a year now.

Stopping at the mission

Today we headed for San Diego as I must attend a conference here for the next 3 days.  And yes, it is MUST.  I did not come willingly as it is a 6 hour drive from my house to the hotel on the water’s edge.  I am not fond of southern California, and going through LA makes my head hurt (all the stinky air).  The site is pleasant, and the conference is not bad, it’s just that after a week’s vacation, I would really prefer to go back to school with my kids rather than prepare for a sub.   On our way to San Diego, we stopped at San Juan Capistrano and walked around the mission for awhile.  It was a wonderful afternoon–high 70s, sunny, light breeze, and with it being Easter, many families dressed in their finery were touring the mission. These were blooming along a path.