CRAIG BOYKIN: KEYNOTE SPEAKER, FEBRUARY 8th
Wednesday, February 8, the keynote speaker was Craig Boykin. Craig works with educators to help them find innovative ways to teach and understand some of the most troubled children. He shared the difficulties and setbacks he faced and how he turned them into opportunities. He also shared how his teachers could have approached things differently. One of my favorite quotes was, “At Risk youth don’t care about your curriculum and lesson plans, until you start caring about their circumstances.” Craig also had a breakout session on Thursday, “Right Motives, Wrong Methods” where he went more in depth on helpful methods. Specifically, he shared how teachers need to understand where a student comes from, their learned habits, and how they’ve become who they are. By: Beth Ausland YONG ZHAO: KEYNOTE SPEAKER, FEBRUARY 9th The Thursday afternoon keynote was Yong Zhao, a distinguished educator, author, and professor currently working at the University of Kansas. Zhao has spent his career criticizing traditional education practices, the privatization of public education, and standardized testing. During his keynote address at the MAAP Conference, he emphasized the need to nurture learners’ creativity in today’s diverse, consumer based global economy. Students should pursue their passions and drive their own learning so that they can offer their unique talents to the world and be “ready for living outside of their parents’ basement.” PACS staff will continue to support this philosophy as we design curriculum for students who are interested in environmental studies and careers. By: Greg Zimmerman PATTY WETTERLING: KEYNOTE SPEAKER, FEBRUARY 10th On Friday morning, we were lucky enough to listen to Patty Wetterling. As a former educator, she is aware of the importance of knowing students, building relationships, and providing them a safe haven at school. Since her son Jacob’s abduction in 1989, and subsequently learning of his death nearly 27 years later, Patty has become a frontrunner in the support of missing children, even serving on the panel “at the very first White House Conference on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children in October 2002.” She shared her personal story of losing Jacob, searching for him, receiving closure after finding his remains, and the direction this journey took her. She and her family spearheaded the “Eleven Who Care,” sharing these eleven traits:
By: Tracee Colgrove MINDFULNESS AND YOGA FOR STRESS REDUCTION I personally thoroughly enjoyed the session on mindfulness and yoga. It is so easy for us in this day and age to become wrapped up in the fast paced society we live in, and we forget to be fully present in the moment. Learning to slow our minds and be aware of ourselves and our surroundings is so beneficial in stress management and coping skills, as well as overall ability to thrive. I'm excited to practice what I learned in this session not only for myself, but with our students here at PACS as well. By: Shana Crouse
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Staff:Kitra Barros Links
June 2020
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