Education

The End of the Big Ed Conference?

February 17, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Jim Burke, the English teacher, author, mentor, and celebrity or sorts among his peers, is now a blogger. And one of his first blog items makes quite a claim. He’s been to more than his share of big education conferences, from the niche English-teacher meetings to the more all-encompassing type events.

But he thinks that they are on the demise.

He points to his own observations, and the fact that several of his own speaking engagements this year were canceled for lack of attendance. The cost and time away from the classroom are too much to ask anymore, he argues. Burke hopes that teachers and administrators will find other ways to share their ideas, discuss their challenges, and to network with their colleagues.

Burke is mostly talking about teacher-focused conferences, though. I imagine that the economy is having an impact on many, if not all, education conferences. You won’t see many educators taking the kinds of executive retreats that have caused a backlash against Wall Street bankers this year. Do you agree with Burke, though, that the big state or national convention will become “a memory of a distant time”?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read