Spring CUE 2023 was the first large conference I've attended after covid and it was wonderful being back in a room full of educators! It was interesting to see how topics have shifted since the pandemic began and I definitely noticed a lot of sessions focusing on DEI. The sessions I attended mainly focused on those topic areas as did the keynotes. AI was also a big topic but those rooms filled up so fast that I missed out on the opportunity to learn more.
Thursday's keynote features Dee Lanier who made connections to hip-hop through his teaching style. He literally got people off their feet to various lyrics he uses as callbacks in the classroom. Dee was such an engaging speaker I could only imagine what a wonderful teacher he was. On Friday I also went to his session, Demarginalizing Design which focused on remixing design thinking as well as how schools and institutions don't utilize the voices who can actually make institutional changes. While in the session, I purchased his book which he made available for only $5 on Amazon (amazing!), and love the DEI messaging he writes upon. Excited to start really delving into the book!
The final keynote on Friday was with Dr. Sonal Patel whose main theme was Educate to Eradicate. It was a heartwarming talk on how as teachers we need to connect with our students from different backgrounds to help affirm their identities. Her messaging was beautifully direct and spot on. Makes me proud to be a teacher at Burke's because we already do such a strong job of seeing every student.