#FETC Recap!

New Orleans grew on me this week! It's amazing what a week of networking with passionate educators, trying amazing food, and sparking ideas to help your school will do for you. FETC 2023 was the best one yet!

​From presenting on and advocating for creativity in schools, to learning new strategies for professional learning, to exploring New Orleans, this past week has been one for the books!

Here are some of my takeaways:

1. Educators need help. The world of education is in dire need of more support from our leaders. Financially, emotionally, with time…It was a common theme in conversations. While we were all so happy to be back together in person and sharing good work leading to collaborative connections, every conversation seemed to include the same worries of not having enough <insert needs here>.
2. Teaching empathy is crucial and we are all needed to do the work. SEL is nothing new to education (it's just the naming of things that have changed). I’ve always believed in the power of teaching these skills directly and embedding them into our curriculum, but I’m so glad to see us all come together with this in the new normal post-pandemic.
3. Stand up and follow through. Be the educator that doesn’t just talk the talk. The world needs walkers and runners. The best conversations I had this week were with fellow educators who did the projects, wrote the grants, put in the work despite being scared of the fallout. We cannot live in fear or in the 'have nots'. I know it's hard. I'm in it too. We need to rely on one another to keep pushing forward because students deserve it. This leads me to...
4. Find your people. Validation is important in a solo position like librarianship, tech coaching, etc. It feels so good to connect in job-alike moments with others who are just as passionate as you. Keep those connections up post-conference. ❤️
5. AI is here. We need to learn how to tap the potential instead of living in fear of students cheating with it. Librarians need to be on this train as it leaves the station! We are in the perfect position to help teachers learn about AI and help students navigate the nuances of using AI for workload.

Did you go to FETC? I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway in the comments! 

Keep scrolling for more resources from the week. 

My Presentations at FETC

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FETC Mega Share (from Eric Curts)

Click here for direct access.