Empowering the Voices of Others

Over the past year, I've learned that I enjoy speaking/presenting at conferences. But there's a different kind of joy found in empowering and raising the voices of others!

My district hosted its annual Innovate@BVSD conference this week. Rather than leading sessions (for the most part), my work was behind the scenes, making sure everyone else was good to go. And it was awesome! I loved seeing friends and teachers in our district share their learning. They had amazing things to say! I loved seeing the conference attendees engaging in the conversations and soaking in everything they could. I loved the buzz and energy of a group of educators ready to start a new year.

Having fun is an essential part of conferences...right?

I think my favorite part, though, was seeing some teachers who were nervous to present absolutely rock it! As one of the people organizing the event, I fielded many emails & questions in the days leading up to it. Many were from first-time presenters who decided to step out and share, even if they didn't feel 100% ready (newsflash: no one ever feels 100% ready). I remember being there a year ago...heart pounding, wondering if I was good enough or if anybody would want to come to my session or if it would be a total flop. If you feel that way, you are not alone!

Seeing friends step past their nerves and grow in confidence was amazing. As a teacher, I loved seeing my students step up and grow. As a person who works with teachers, now, there's nothing more rewarding than seeing them become leaders in the district and beyond! Their voices are so much more authentic than mine, because they are doing this work every day in the classroom.

Teachers, we need you. We need your voices. We need to hear from you.

And just like that, I've learned another cool facet of my job. Happy August, everyone!