Be a part of #BIT19

It hasn't been the most Educator friendly spring in Ontario.  The political climate has changed and that has left a lot of us unsure of where we will be in the fall.  How our schools will look and run this September will absolutely be different.  Professional Development will be...likely a lot different and in some cases, like the OTF webinars and Summer Workshops, gone.  There may be disruptions to how we work and learn in response to these changes in our Province.

But that doesn't have to change our belief in life long learning.  It doesn't have to curtail our learning and sharing.  Maybe now is the time when we lean into the wind a bit more and rely on each other for opportunities to enrich ourselves through our online PLN and through those irl meetings at conferences that make a big difference in our classrooms and in our own need for growth.  In a time when outside forces try to divide and conquer us and beat down our morale, maybe we need these spaces of collegial learning to help build us up and make our bonds even tighter.

The call for proposals for the Bring it Together 2019 Conference is now open.  I know that I have encouraged many to submit their ideas to present.  Some have taken me up on this, many have not.  Some have told me they are worried about a work stoppage or other disruptions this fall.  If that happens, the Conference is prepared to move to a date outside that window of time.  I've had others tell me they are unsure they will be able to get release time to be a part of the Conference.  Perhaps, but it might be easier to get that release time as a Presenter, someone who is eager and willing to share their learning with others.  Some are still unsure of where they will be and what they will be doing in the fall.  There are no easy answers.  But, don't let that stop you from submitting that proposal.  No matter where you are, you will be doing great things, things that you can share and that we all can learn from.

The Bring It Together Conference (#BIT19) is November 6-8 in Niagara Falls. I'm hoping it is a time for us to lean in to the storm that surrounds us, to lean on each other a little, to get together and grow in a season that isn't giving us the best growing conditions.  Maybe it is a bit of a leap of faith, but I hope you will make that leap with us.  Submit your proposal for #BIT19 here.