I’m in San Antonio, Texas, this week to attend  the National Science Teachers Association conference. I might help during a presentation or 2, but other than that I get to be a conference attendee without many commitments to be anywhere specific, so I’m planning right now which sessions to participate in.

I used to attend NSTA conferences regularly, and have presented at a few. But something happened 10 or so years ago that made attending science conferences, or even science trainings rather moot. The good news is that, at least right now, there appears to be a realization that narrowing the curriculum had some disadvantages. School districts I work with that block anything that is “social” – are now taking a second look in light of the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards that were released the day before this conference began – and that is good as well. The collaboration and communication pieces that the CCSS and NGSS both tout are the main reasons behind this epiphany, so I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and am riding it as hard as I can before the powers-that-be change their minds.

Well I’d better get going or I’ll miss my next session.

Learning is messy!