2011 Summer Workshop Review

As I have the past two summers, I attended as many FACS summer workshops as I could get to. This summer I attended the following workshops; Culinary Techniques, Fitness Anywhere, ICAP, and FACS Update. I also was a part of the CCCS Focus Group for the new interactive Standards website.

The first workshop I attended during the summer workshop series was probably one of the best ones I have been to in my short time as a FACS teacher. I think I enjoyed this workshop so much because it was almost entirely hands on and it was put on by an experienced teacher who seemed to have an unlimited amount of tips and advice. She gave so many examples of things she does in her very own classroom on a daily basis from how she manages her students, to how she stretches a very small budget to get all the supplies she needs for a foods class. Her passion and dedication for her kids were apparent, and it is those kind of teachers that I look up to. She gave us so much to take back in the classroom, that I almost wished the class could have been a whole day.

The Fitness Anywhere workshop was also extremely beneficial to me, not only personally but professionally as well. I am a strong believer in being an advocate for your own personal health and well being. And I also believe in setting a positive example for students, as someone who takes care of their physical well being. I know that the more fit my body is the more fit my mind will be, and thus the better I will be as a teacher in my classroom. I really liked how all the exercises Robyn taught us can be done using simple objects in the classroom. Even if I am not teaching a Nutrition and Wellness course, where the activity is required, these exercises could easily be implemented into the daily routine of class to get students up and moving around.

The ICAP workshop reinforced the importance of introducing the idea of having students plan for their future and explore many options from a young age. It is never too early to start thinking about the path you may want to take in life, and I think that is very important for students to understand. They are growing up in a time where they need to be flexible and adaptable in order to succeed in the real world. The world is changing and ICAP is a great new tool we can use to stress the importance of our students preparing themselves to be successful in the postsecondary world and equip them with workforce readiness skills.

And as always the FACS update workshop gives me a good picture of what is going on in the FACS /CTE world outside of my little classroom bubble. It is always exciting to hear how new ideas and processes are coming down the pipeline and will be entering our profession. No matter how often I sit in on one of the update sessions I always walk away better understanding the ever changing world of career and technical education.