Wow, a blog post about #CUE14, original Fadeji. But that’s what we are supposed to do right? As lead learners, aren’t we supposed to give ourselves opportunities to take risks, learn new things, and trust that we will reflect on our learning in order to improve our skill set? Yes, we are! (And yes, I also realize that it is totally dorky how I just worked those four verbs into the intro of this post. #wordsmith #easilyamused)
I probably should have waited to read any #CUE14 blog posts until after I wrote my own, because now all I can think about are the powerful the words from two posts I read earlier this week. (Students Stand Up and Reflections & Goals) I’ve been reflecting on these blogs since Sunday night and thought I may just skip out on my own personal #CUE14 reflections all together. Not so fast.
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| Karl & Diane's Stop Teaching Session |
Favorite sessions:
- Chrome is the New Black with Mark Hammons (@CAshleyWilliams and I even got a shout out!)
- Stop Teaching & Start Learning with Karl LS & Diane Main - what a way to mix it up team! #packedhouse
- Using High-Tech Tools to Create a Culture of Literary Nerds with Megan Ellis (Can’t wait to see it again May 10th at the NBCUE Event in Petaluma, CA! Registration info here!)
- Improve Your Digital Workflow with Google Docs and Drive with Lisa Highfill (I mostly love that Lisa just couldn’t stay on docs and drive. She is beyond measure!)
- Rock the Blogosphere! with Jennifer Kloczko (Finally we met! I have so many new ideas after her sesh!)
People I missed the most:
- My #petk12 crew
- #TeamNorthBay
- Mike Taylor, Jenny Derby, Kenneth Durham
New “ish” friends I can’t wait to see again:
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Special Moments:
- Feeling like I was #16again a million times but certainly when I got to ride in a friend’s mustang in the dessert evening. #sanmiguel
- Being a part of the #EduWin celebration and honoring Isaac Raya from Petaluma! Keep your eye on www.eduwin.org, it’s going to explode this coming year!
- #CAEdChat Meet Up on Friday night @ the pool. So many great educators wanting to connect, to visit, to share. What a group! Felt so lucky to hang with this crew!
- Hanging with Ben and the @ClassDojo crew! I am crossing my fingers they come visit us at Penngrove this spring! @MsONeil7 will go bonkers! #EduCelebrities
- Spending time with the NBCUE Crew. Fireside dinners #imelt, PoolsidePD, staying up LATE night, morning walks, and all with people who I cherish and push me to be a better leader.
- Getting a new nickname “FoDayzG” from Diane Main (which feels like I won the lottery just so you know!)
- Being interviewed by @mhammons and the tweet that followed by @CAshleywilliams
- Goodbye hugs from @MsVictoriaOlson #missyoualready
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How I Fell Head Over Heels For CUE:
It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, I was a total CUE Newbie. Last March when I attended CUE Palm Springs for the first time, I had never even heard of CUE. I was so inspired by the things I learned and the people who were involved in CUE that I quickly found myself plugged into our local affiliate (North Bay CUE). Two months later, I attended the Connect U NBCUE event in Napa with seven teachers from my school where I was able to witness a small group of people supporting local educators to make huge shifts and changes in practice and teaching. Before I knew it, I was presenting at the September NBCUE Marin event and enjoying life as an NBCUE “Member at Large.” October brought FallCUE to Napa, November through February was filled with numerous joint collaborative PDParties, Techie Tuesdays, and planning meetings for upcoming events continued. And now, one year later, I consider it a highlight of my professional career to be a North Bay CUE board member, working with an incredibly talented and generous team to provide exciting PD opportunities to educators across our region.
Last Wednesday, I took advantage of the fact that CUE was scheduled during my spring break and I caught some 90 degree Palm Springs rays. As I lounged by the pool at the Renaissance (everybody loves a little #PoolsidePD right?), munched on a burger, and chatted casually with CUE's Executive Director, Mike Lawrence, I couldn't help but reflect on the past year and all that had occurred. Plenty of fun times, some challenging times, tons of exciting times, and the occasional down right difficult time that shook me to my core. Despite all of these moments, what stood out to me the most is that CUE is a group of inclusive, wonderful people who are doing their best to keep up with the fast-paced changes in education. Poolside chats w/ #EduCelebs, elevator rides with @DigitalRoberto, being able to crack jokes, make new friendships, be myself, and enjoy life without worrying about formalities and rank, are all things that I love about CUE.
If you aren't plugged into your local CUE Affiliate, I encourage you to do so! What are you waiting for? Get on it!
That Mustang is more than just that... Her name is "Dina Soar" (or Dinuh Sore?). I loved reading your reflection of CUE and realizing that so many of us came from all parts of California and beyond to collaborate about how to improve the lives of our students. That weekend will be a highlight of my year for sure, only until the next time we all get to hang out again. Oh, and thanks for blogging :)
ReplyDeleteHonored to be included, and more importantly, honored to know you and call you a friend! You, my dear, are awesome!
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