“Today presents a really important moment to learn from one another,” CEA President Kate Dias told the 150 attendees gathered for CEA’s Early Career Educator Conference at the Mystic Marriott in Groton last Saturday. “I find it amazing how, after decades of teaching, I walk into spaces and go, ‘Huh! I never thought of that!’ The idea that we are perpetually learning is so powerful, and I love that we get together and affirm that. This event is a real invitation to think about our profession and how to be not just great educators, but also great advocates for this incredible profession.”
Dias added, “My hope for all of you is that you have the opportunity to connect with people you haven’t before. In the lunch line, in your workshops—exchange phone numbers, learn from each other. We have incredible, interesting diversity in Connecticut that allows us to see how different things happen in different places. Our membership goes from a local association of seven members to one with over 1,600, and that level of diversity of experience is so rich with information, so make sure that you connect with somebody new today.”
Andrea Caspari, a Kansas City, Missouri teacher and stand-up comedian who is part of the Bored Teachers Comedy Tour gave the keynote address.
The early career educators in attendance took Dias’ advice to heart, meeting colleagues from across the state and taking advantage of the opportunity to choose from among 11 different workshops on topics ranging from Exploring and Experimenting with AI to Building Routines and Relationships Within the First Six Weeks to Designing Classrooms That Inspire. They also were able to hear from keynote speaker Andrea Caspari, a Kansas City, Missouri teacher and stand-up comedian who is part of the Bored Teachers Comedy Tour.
“You are somebody’s future favorite teacher. Have you ever thought about that?” Caspari asked attendees. “You’re very humble, and you’re not in this for accolades and kudos—and you may not get those, you may not get the crystal apple award, you may not get that public recognition—but you are someone’s favorite teacher. Teaching isn’t just a job. It’s showing up every day for students who don’t even realize how much they need you. Hunter doesn’t know, but he will, he will. So, even on the hardest days, the weirdest days, the funky days, the days where you are driving to the airport and you don’t tell anyone, you’ll be okay.”
Wallingford special education teacher Marissa Daly is in her fifth year in the classroom and came out to the CEA conference because she’s been feeling some frustration in recent months.
“I wanted to come today to see if I can do something to help better myself as an early career educator and to find some tools that I haven’t been using or haven’t had in my toolbox to hopefully prevent some of that burnout,” she said. “March is probably one of the hardest months between prepping the third graders for the Smarter Balanced Assessment and feeling like we’ve been in school for a long stretch without a break. Today I’m refreshing myself as an educator and seeing what I can learn to gain new perspective.”
East Hampton teachers Samantha LaBonte and Kristen Keska led a session titled Coffee, Calm, and Classroom Confidence: Real-Talk Strategies for Early Career Educators.
Monique Silva taught in Brazil last year and this is her first year teaching at Stamford High School.
“My department lead said, ‘I used to go to this conference, it was very helpful, and I was wondering if you wanted to go,'” Silva shares. “I thought it’d be cool to get to talk to other newer educators and learn how to be a better teacher.”
Region 16 third-grade teacher Amber Harrison came to the Early Career Educator Conference last year and enjoyed it so much that she made sure to register again this year.
“There are always more things to learn, and collaborating with different people and being in community with other teachers is so valuable,” she said. “I’m taking the sessions Managing Your Professional Salary: A Teacher’s Guide to Financial Empowerment and Decreasing Stress and Increasing Tranquility. Last year I took sessions on classroom management, and now I’m trying to take sessions that are more for me, personally.”
Read more about CEA’s Early Career Educator Conference in the next issue of the CEA Advisor.
