29/5/13 – NY Schools Middle School Association Long Island Conference

I woke up at 6am this morning to a heavy fog, dressed and set off for Penn Station and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in order to attend the NY Schools Middle School Association Long Island Conference at St Joseph’s College, Patchoque. Again I was the guest of Dr David Payton, the organiser Dr John J. Christie was most hospitable and it was good to catch up with the staff from Longwood and Jericho as well as to meet some new people.

 

The conference was well structured and I attended workshops and lectures on ‘The Ultimate Collaborative and Reflective Professional Experience - The EE Schools to Watch Process Staff Development’ with Allison Glickman-Rogers, Principal, Keri Bullis, Dan Art, Krissy Lamparello, Oceanside Middle School.

 

‘Attributes of Quality Test and Assessment Design ELA and SS Common Core’ with data genius Jennifer Borgioli, Consultant, Learner Centred Initiatives (LCI), ‘Management of Mobile Devices’ with Allie Frazier, Regional Sales Manager, Lightspeed Systems and ‘Using Edmodo for an Assessment Tool for Untested Common Core Standards’ with Kristina Holzweiss, School Library Media Specialist, Bay Shore Middle School.

During the day I met number of really nice people who were working really hard for the benefit of the students they teach. It was inspiring to meet these people and being around them reminded me why I love this profession so much. But it also reminded me how vulnerable to exploitation all that good will makes teachers (for instance, did you know that teaching is the only profession where it is common for practitioners to take things from their home to use at work?)

The train ride home from Long Island was uneventful but I did wonder about the lives of all of the people in all those neat little wooden houses I passed along the way. What a diverse and complex society this is. (Did you know that part time workers in this country are not called ‘employees’.

Their employment terms are so casual and their tenure of employment is so uncertain that they are called ‘hourly associates’!  Many workers are employed by the hour just for the peak times only. Most work on commission with little or no regular pay or hours. Which is why, in this country, family and professional connections are everything.)