A virtual program now underway for aspiring educators is just one example of how MTA members have successfully pivoted to online platforms to learn and grow as professionals.
The 2020 Aspiring Educators Virtual Program began Oct. 13. Members of the Student Education Association of Massachusetts, known as SEAM, and other students pursuing education careers around the state are meeting weekly on Tuesday evenings — with the exception of election night, Nov. 3 — until mid-November.
They are participating in professional development sessions on social/emotional learning and trauma, special education, institutional racism and social justice, and technology in the classroom. They will also hear a panel discussion presented by the MTA New Member Committee on what to expect in the early years of their careers.
Last fall, SEAM began planning an aspiring educators conference to be held at Bridgewater State University. But the program quickly went virtual when schools and campuses closed last spring.
All of the sessions are free, and there is no requirement that participants be members of SEAM to register.
Alexandra Riendeau, co-president of the SEAM chapter at BSU, said recently that she was nervous about "how to make our members truly want to participate in an online setting." But her worries proved unfounded.
"So far, so good!" Riendeau said, adding that the chapter is promoting itself "in every outlet that we have as a way to gain members and boost excitement for our events."
The MTA New Member Committee will hold its annual Early Career Educators Conference virtually for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The one-day ECEC conference is popular among teachers, paraprofessionals, tutors and aides in their initial years of working with students — who have the opportunity to meet with fellow educators and MTA leaders to receive tips on everything from classroom management to understanding the role of the union.
Benjamin Just, a social studies teacher at Gateway Regional Middle School in Huntington and the interim chair of the New Member Committee, sees some upsides to a virtual conference.
The committee was pleased with the programming that it was able to put together on short notice for the 2020 Summer Conference, Just said.
"Having a new format really allowed us to put on a very different program than we have in the past," he added.
So rather than presenting the usual "smorgasbord of choice" in the ECEC workshops, Just said, this year’s event "forced us to dial back and focus in." Just said that particularly applied to issues of social and racial justice. "We still would have had social justice workshops, but I don’t think we would have focused on that as much," he said. "So that’s been a good thing."
The conference will include two social justice workshops —"What to Do With Whiteness" and "Regulate to Respond: How to Handle Offensive Comments" — along with "The Science of Educator Burnout," "Using Digital Resources to Promote Durable Gains in Academic Vocabulary," "Enhancing Universal Design for Learning Implementation with Technology" and "Teaching with Light: Self-Care Strategies for Teachers."
The COVID-19 pandemic also forced the MTA Retired Gathering and the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee Conference to go virtual this year.
The Gathering, from Oct. 19 to 23, includes featured workshops that are spread out, with a morning and afternoon session each day and time in between for discussion.
"Some may say that it’s not the same, and they would be right," Retired Members Committee Chair Patrick Patterson wrote in The MTA Reporter. "And yet, this may be an opportunity to enlarge participation since one no longer must travel to attend."
Meanwhile, the upcoming EMAC Conference on Dec. 4 and 5 will retain its traditional structure, with a keynote address on Friday evening and workshops on Saturday, but offerings will be tailored to avoid "Zoom fatigue" among participants.
For more information and to sign up for the Aspiring Educators Virtual Program, the Early Career Educators Conference, the 2020 MTA Retired Gathering and the EMAC Conference, visit massteacher.org/events-and-conferences/tpl.
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