For years I talked about writing a Fund for Teachers grant. I hemmed and hawed about where I would go and what I would do. Then, in late 2017, I learned about the first annual Space Port Area Conference for Educators (SPACE) to be held at the Kennedy Space Center in the summer of 2018 by the Astronauts Memorial Fund. The stars aligned (pun intended) and I knew I needed to go to this event. And I would write a FFT grant proposal to get me there.
I currently teach at an Expeditionary Learning School and EL has a long history of helping teachers write FFT proposals. So, with the help of an EL educator that is very experienced in helping teachers write successful proposals (THANK YOU a million times Aurora), I wrote my proposal to attend the SPACE conference. In April, while at a NYC STEM workshop, I found out I had been awarded the grant! Fund for Teachers was going to pay for this amazing opportunity. Little did I know then how truly awesome it would be.
Fast forward to July. Giddy like a little kid and the space nerd that I am, I arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). I signed in to the conference in a room filled with space memorabilia and headed over to the Saturn V room for the keynote. I walked into a room filled with educators that loved learning and teaching about space. And when the keynotes began, we were all overwhelmed with joy and excitement. The conference kicked off with talks from current KSC director and former astronaut Bob Cabana and former astronaut Mike Foreman. This was a room filled with 130 excited and dedicated educators and two astronauts, every one passionate about learning and helping students to learn to love space science just as much as we do. I had found my tribe.
Over the years I have gone to many conferences. Some have been for all educators, for science teachers and some for STEM teachers. I have taken something valuable from each and have been able to expand my professional learning community with every conference. I have been fortunate enough to meet educators from all over the country and have learned from each. But at the SPACE conference, I found my people. Every person I talked to loved space and teaching about space as much as I did. As we walked through the exhibits together, we teared up at the awesome achievements of humanity as we have reached for the stars and as we continue to push our exploration further into space (and that's not hyperbole - I had a whole conversation with a new friend about how some of the exhibits made us cry). We talked excitedly about the opportunities for educators (Space Exploration Educators Conference in Houston, Civil Air Patrol and Solar System Ambassador programs are definitely happening in my future), and how we could use all the knowledge we were gaining in our classrooms. We hung out after the conference, toured the KSC and looked at the stars. We went to the Big Bang Ball under the Space Shuttle Atlantis while Star Wars Characters wandered around the room and we danced to space themed music with educators and astronauts (it was like my dream Bat Mitzvah). And when it was all over, we discussed what conferences we were going to attend next and planned to meet again at SPACE 2019.
These are my people. I have found them, connected with them and learned with them. I will grow as a person and an educator with and because of them. They inspire me to try new and exciting things and allow me to share my ideas with them. They help me take good ideas for the classroom and turn them into great ones. And, most importantly, because of them, my students will get opportunities I never thought possible. Thank you SPACE conference for introducing me to my tribe. I can't wait to continue our journey to the stars together.
I currently teach at an Expeditionary Learning School and EL has a long history of helping teachers write FFT proposals. So, with the help of an EL educator that is very experienced in helping teachers write successful proposals (THANK YOU a million times Aurora), I wrote my proposal to attend the SPACE conference. In April, while at a NYC STEM workshop, I found out I had been awarded the grant! Fund for Teachers was going to pay for this amazing opportunity. Little did I know then how truly awesome it would be.
Fast forward to July. Giddy like a little kid and the space nerd that I am, I arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). I signed in to the conference in a room filled with space memorabilia and headed over to the Saturn V room for the keynote. I walked into a room filled with educators that loved learning and teaching about space. And when the keynotes began, we were all overwhelmed with joy and excitement. The conference kicked off with talks from current KSC director and former astronaut Bob Cabana and former astronaut Mike Foreman. This was a room filled with 130 excited and dedicated educators and two astronauts, every one passionate about learning and helping students to learn to love space science just as much as we do. I had found my tribe.
Over the years I have gone to many conferences. Some have been for all educators, for science teachers and some for STEM teachers. I have taken something valuable from each and have been able to expand my professional learning community with every conference. I have been fortunate enough to meet educators from all over the country and have learned from each. But at the SPACE conference, I found my people. Every person I talked to loved space and teaching about space as much as I did. As we walked through the exhibits together, we teared up at the awesome achievements of humanity as we have reached for the stars and as we continue to push our exploration further into space (and that's not hyperbole - I had a whole conversation with a new friend about how some of the exhibits made us cry). We talked excitedly about the opportunities for educators (Space Exploration Educators Conference in Houston, Civil Air Patrol and Solar System Ambassador programs are definitely happening in my future), and how we could use all the knowledge we were gaining in our classrooms. We hung out after the conference, toured the KSC and looked at the stars. We went to the Big Bang Ball under the Space Shuttle Atlantis while Star Wars Characters wandered around the room and we danced to space themed music with educators and astronauts (it was like my dream Bat Mitzvah). And when it was all over, we discussed what conferences we were going to attend next and planned to meet again at SPACE 2019.
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| Fixing the Space Station in simulated zero gravity |
These are my people. I have found them, connected with them and learned with them. I will grow as a person and an educator with and because of them. They inspire me to try new and exciting things and allow me to share my ideas with them. They help me take good ideas for the classroom and turn them into great ones. And, most importantly, because of them, my students will get opportunities I never thought possible. Thank you SPACE conference for introducing me to my tribe. I can't wait to continue our journey to the stars together.
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