Recap: #nErdCampMI

I'm currently sitting at gate A60 in Detroit's airport - only 2.5 more hours to boarding!  And in case you were wondering, yes, nErdCampMI lived up to all the hype - and then some!  For those of you under a rock unaware, Nerd Camp is the event of the summer for teachers, librarians, and all other lovers of kidlit.  It was started by Colby Sharp and you can read all the details here.  

Over the past few days I listened, reflected, shopped, read, and learned.  I heard from Pernille, Donalyn, and Mr. Schu.  I met authors and bought books. I gawked at Jason Reynolds and shouted with Laurie Halse Anderson.  It.was.glorious.

If you've ever been to a really fantastic PD session or conference you know that when it ends you're left with a mixture of inspiration and exhaustion.  Inspired by all the new learning and sharing of ideas but also exhausted thinking about how to transfer it all into your own work and how to share it with others.  

I could never do justice to the incredible mentors I heard from this week if I tried to summarize their work.  So, here's a little of what they gave us, in their own words:

"It's not until a book is read and shared that it's power can be unleashed on the world." 

      -Minh Le

"We need to keep reading books so we can laugh, discover ourselves, and discover others." 

     -CeCe Bell

"If you got into teaching to  'make a difference', when are you going to start?"

"When you signed a teaching contract you contracted to educate ALL children."

    -Donalyn Miller

"It's easy to be peaceful when your peace has never been challenged."

"It's amazing how we allow ourselves to live in certain bubbles."

   -Jason Reynolds

"Speak up, speak loud, and speak your truth."

"If your district can buy Chromebooks, they can have librarians."

"I'm not here to make you love reading, I'm here to make you dislike it a little less."

"Tell me more about that."

 - Pernille Ripp

And so much more.  

Check out #nErDCampMI2019 and #nErDCampMI for more reflections and takeaways from all the attendees.

Through all the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to organize a conference as incredible as this, the Nerd Camp crew never loses sight of what really matters - kids.  Nerd Camp Jr. takes place immediately following Nerd Camp's closing session and connects hundreds of kids with authors and illustrators and puts books in their hands.

Time to board.  See ya next year, Michigan!

Have questions about Nerd Camp?  Comment below, I'd love to connect.