A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO EDUCATION CONFERENCES
An interest article by Jenny Shannon
A new school year brings a new set of challenges, and the feedback from returning educators is clear: While we’ve made great strides, educators still lack many of the supports they need. Schools continue to navigate persistent stress, anxiety, trauma and other mental health concerns among students and staff. Teachers are faced with issues such as escalating behavior problems in the classroom, achievement gaps, behavior plans for defiant students and a multitude of other interventions for students. The professional landscape includes challenges in teacher recruitment and retention, school safety concerns, and persistent feelings of a lack of agency. There has never been a stronger need for change, both inside and out.
Unlike other professional development conferences or education conferences in 2023 that attempt to address these issues without providing comprehensive solutions, Elevate Conscious Discipline provides practical and evidence-based solutions for a healthier, more fulfilling future for teachers and students alike!
Purposefully scheduled in the month of October, Elevate arrives at the perfect time in the school year when you know your students well enough to identify their needs, and when you still have plenty of time to provide the behavior management strategies, practical skills, meaningful practices and mindset shifts required to assist them in making the school year a success.
THE RELEVANCY PROBLEM
We know you’ve been to plenty of conferences geared toward educators already— You want to grow in your practice and in your field, and your administrator encourages that desire. (Also, your state mandates a certain amount of continuing education.) You research conferences and workshops closest to your home, and ones that might be applicable to the age/grade demographic you instruct. It’s difficult to choose a topic and specification considering the plethora of challenges you faced the year before, but you finally settle on one you feel hopeful about. You show up excited to attend an educational leadership conference, or one of the advertised “best education conferences,” until you discover that none of the keynote speakers have ever taught a class or held a position in education administration.
You’re feeling skeptical and disappointed. How could what they offer be relevant or helpful for what you are facing when they’ve never walked in your shoes? How can someone provide guidance for a behavior intervention plan for tantrums, make suggestions on positive behavioral supports, or inspire lasting change when they have never been in the classroom? How could a conference on one specific issue help you face all of the rest of the challenges waiting for you upon your return?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could hear stories, experiences, applications and effective strategies from someone in your position who has navigated the same challenges you have? What if there was just one conference that covered it all:
- Interactive, inspiring and engaging teaching
- Educator-driven keynotes, breakout sessions and demonstration classrooms
- Evidence-based, relevant content
- An effective system or practice that can be applied to all challenges not just classroom management
- A take-away behavior intervention plan to follow and implement directly upon return
- Time devoted to practicing the skills, strategies and techniques learned
- A safe, connected, inspiring atmosphere that honors and celebrates you as an educator
AN ELEVATED SOLUTION: THE TOP EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2024
At Conscious Discipline, we respect educators for the experts they are and trust that they know their own needs the best. This is why Elevate Conscious Discipline is a conference for educators, by educators, and why it has gained traction as one of the best educational conferences in 2023.
Active teachers, specialists and administrators from across the nation enlighten this conference experience with practical, inspiring sessions spanning eight different tracks to highlight the age and grade that you are most impacted by. But it doesn’t end with the attendance of some powerful speaking engagements and a renewed spirit to return with a shift in perspective.
Conscious Discipline wants to ensure you are prepared with tools to implement our practice, which is why participants at Elevate collaborate with seasoned professionals to develop a comprehensive and personalized plan to meet today’s challenges with compassion, community and lasting educational success. We not only want to renew your passion and inspire you to move forward, but to equip educators with a comprehensive road map for navigating the complexities of the modern world and progress in your transformational journey with Conscious Discipline.
Our pandemic and post-pandemic experiences made a few things very clear:
- Some of the ways we’ve “always done things” creates more problems than it solves.
- If we are going to thrive as educators and administrators, we need to be curious about the long-term outcome of the way we perceive student behavior, systems of reward/punishment, wellness and mental health, and our expectation that children be able to utilize skills we struggle with — and actively seek to change the methods that no longer serve.
To embark on a truly transformational journey that will change your life and the lives of the students you serve, it all comes down to an upgrade in mindset, skills and ability. For 25+ years, Conscious Discipline has been a leader in this space, offering educators, administrators, parents and professionals the fresh perspectives and the proven strategies necessary to address even the deepest challenges effectively. Rather than focusing on behavior modification of the student, Conscious Discipline’s centralized focus is on the adult in the room; knowing that if students are to have any hope of regulation, their educators must first regulate themselves. Elevate Conscious Discipline explores resilience, self-regulation, practical implementation, skill building and more.
In a world where conferences and workshops designed for educators are often absent of educators themselves, Elevate shines as a beacon of hope, relevance and practical application. If you’ve had enough of Band-Aids, quick fixes, mandates and curricula adjustments that never hold, renew your passion and purpose with like-minded educators at Elevate.