For three days in March, close to 11,000 participants from 40 countries convened in Anaheim, Calif., for ASCD's 2007 Annual Conference and Exhibit Show, "Valuing the Whole Child: Embracing a Global Vision."
Framing professional development around a commitment to the whole child is a priority without borders.
ASCD's Conference provided an opportunity for education professionals to reconnect with their passions. It was a time to take stock of the current education situation and a chance to chart the future course of the Association.
A significant part of the conference was the unveiling of the report of ASCD's Whole Child Commission, The Learning Compact Redefined: A Call to Action, and its accompanying Web site, www.wholechildeducation.org.
Throughout the conference, attendees were asked to focus on becoming whole educators who endeavor to create a world that values and nurtures whole children.
Thinking Minds Shape the World
"How we engage the minds of our children shapes their thinking, and their thinking shapes the world," Whole Child Commission Cochair Stephanie Pace Marshall reminded attendees at her session, The New Story and Landscape of Learning and Schooling.
"Our minds can change our brains," said Pace Marshall, "and our children must understand their remarkable capacity for mind and world shaping."
Will Power to Youth, a project of the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival that hires groups of 25 to 30 students to work with mentor artists to create their own adaptations of Shakespearean plays, performed a pastiche of scenes and sonnets specially designed for the ASCD audience. The ensemble brought the Conference theme to life and touched the education leadership world by mingling students' words with the words of Shakespeare. These student voices literally took center stage at the conference during the Second General Session.
Central to the teenage troupe's message was a call for educators: "Ask me how I am. I may not always answer you, but it will make a difference."
The young thespians conveyed the power of Shakespeare's sentiment, "And what love can do that dares love attempt," as it applies to staying passionate about teaching young people.
ASCD needs the dedication of whole educators, Pace Marshall reminded everyone, to move the Whole Child Commission report "from publication to possibility to promise."
ASCD's Annual Conference was all about engaging educators toward this promise. In a panel discussion based on the Whole Child Commission report, audience members worked in small groups to identify the key concerns and next steps. Three major themes arose:
- Educators need awareness of what is working in accordance with the whole child agenda.
- Educators need ways to collaborate on local and global initiatives to shape policy that supports the whole child.
- Educators need measurements for the qualities of the whole child so they can frame criteria in a language policymakers will understand.
Celebrating Good Times
At the opening night Books Bash, educators came out to party with a cause—with some help from sponsors Pearson Education, NOVA Southeastern University, and the Parents' Choice Foundation. When it was over, attendees had donated nearly 4,000 books to Title I schools in Anaheim City School District.
There was also time to celebrate the work of the Massachusetts ASCD, the 2006 Outstanding Affiliate. ASCD also honored Joris Ray, recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA). Ray coordinates Memphis City Schools' alternative education program; he manages to ignite sparks of achievement in kids who are labeled at-risk.
Putting Policy into Play
Jonah Edelman, CEO for the grassroots advocacy organization Stand for Children, rallied the crowd at the Closing General Session. "Change starts with educators—it starts with you," he declared. "Stand up strategically and consistently, and a lot will change."
In fact, Edelman believes we need to fundamentally change NCLB by investing more resources and involving teachers in creating assessments. He also calls for universal preschool and sees an opportunity to greatly improve Head Start in its current reauthorization. Edelman added that educators can advocate for children by using ASCD as a platform to stand for change.
The Association can harness the collective political power of 178,000 members in 135 countries, Edelman stated, by getting "every member of ASCD to be an Educator Advocate." (Sign up for weekly e-mails on education policy and related action campaigns at www.ascd.org/actioncenter.)
ASCD President Nancy DeFord echoed the advocacy theme: "We can combine the power of what we know about the whole child and advocacy, and change the education situation for all children."
Doing Good Works
"Although ASCD remains successful as an association competing in the non- and for-profit markets," ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter said during the Annual Meeting session, "it's our success that allows us to devote resources to the work that tugs at our heartstrings. Doing well permits us to do good."
The conference showcased the range and scope of several ASCD initiatives, and it was also a great time to get to know some new programs. Attendees witnessed the debut of the partnership between ASCD and Northrop Grumman to provide formative assessment tools; and they got a full taste of Inservice, the redesigned ASCD blog.
During the month preceding the conference, and throughout the event, Inservice was the go-to spot for audio clips from conference speakers, session reports, photos from the event, and even up-to-the-minute schedule changes. Anyone who missed a session, or just wants to recapture some of the glory, can find all the Annual Conference posts at http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/annual_conference.
Looking ahead, ASCD continues to be the destination for professional development for educators in the service of whole children. In October, ASCD will host the first-ever ASCD International Conference in Sydney, Australia. In 2008, New Orleans, La., will host the Annual Conference and Exhibit Show March 15–17.
ASCD President DeFord challenges every ASCD educator to attend at least one of these world-shaping events: "Let's put the whole child back together, and perhaps the rest of the world will fall into place."