The MEEA Annual Conference is several months away, but planning has already begun. In an effort to involve teachers in their planning, the conference committee has requested that our Teacher Advisory Committee respond to the following questions:
- Do they have any suggestions for themes or speakers for the 2012 MEEA Annual Conference? Any particular subjects, topics or issues related to environmental education they think should be addressed?
- How familiar are they with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)? Is STEM something that teachers at their school are talking about and referring to?
For my part, I went to a conference where one of the main speakers was Olivia Bouler. In response to the Deep Water Horizon Spill, the then 11 year old Olivia wrote and sold drawings of birds and eventually a book to raise funds to recover from the spill. She has since raised over $150,000 in her efforts. In addition, Dan Spranger, from Washington Academy in East Machias, has done some amazing things with his class. I believe he and his teaching team have won the teacher award from MEEA in the past. You can check out an article about one of his recent exploits here. Either of these speakers would be a great addition to the spring conference docket, and both embody what I think would make a great theme: the power of kids.
As for STEM, it is certainly a buzz word that I hear repeatedly. For the most part its mention comes from people outside of the classroom. I've heard it from principals, grant administrators and in the news, but the teachers at my school (Gray-New Gloucester High School) rarely talk about it as a whole, being more likely to discuss their own discipline (Science, Math or Technology). The way schools are structured, we tend to address STEM using its parts rather than as a whole.
Contributors, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please sign in and add a New Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment