EARCOS Teachers’ Conference 2016
Over 700 delegates attended the first day of conference opening keynote of Mike Kuczala. Manila is a place filled with wonderful people and a city on the move. From the moment I got into the taxi and headed to the hotel it was clear that the people of Manila were inviting. Upon arrival at the International School of Manila campus, I found it beautiful and the staff again very inviting. It is rare to attend a conference where from the start an attendee gains a sense of community, learning and value. Opening the conference Christopher Bill dazzled the audience with his own brand of music. Speaking for myself (and for the very excited band teacher sitting next to me) this was a treat. His fashion and style of music set the stage for a conference that would ask attendees to go beyond a typical classroom. Christopher Bill spurred us to tap our toes and shake our bodies. It would be movement and learning that would follow as Mike Kuczala started us off with a rousing display of how even a library and tech guy like myself could better understand Math through movement. He went on to explain the means and manners which would ensure students brains would be engaged and actively learning. Further, he had an entire auditorium on their feet laughing and stimulating fresh thinking.
While I attended some amazing sessions on the first day it was the last session that really got me locked in on learning. There were Joba-Like sessions for every strand. In mine we discussed things that are happening everyday and how everyone is working these issues. It was great networking as well as listening to unique approaches. We ended that first day with a celebration in the middle of campus where we were able to network and share. Walking around the celebration, it was clear participants, rather than tired were electrified by the day’s sessions. Everyone was talking and mingling. All that stopped the conversation was an amazing cultural performance provided by The Bayanihan the National Folk Dance Company of the Philippines. It was the perfect cap to end the day.
It was off to the sessions then. There were tons of choices on the first day. The session spanned everything from counseling to create great peer programs from Scott Lassey to Brain Dance by Terry Goetz. The rooms were full. I attended a great session by Jefferson Lipsky that detailed the ‘nuts and bolts’ of film in schools. Keynote speaker Mike Kuczala. Keynote Title: The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement. 2 EARCOS Triannual Journal
