TechIntersect

Probably the most profound professional experiences I have had since becoming an educator has been my involvement with Wakonse, the annual conference on college teaching held at Camp Miniwanca, in Shelby Michigan.

An unconference really, there are no paid speakers, no corporate sponsors; simply a group of college educators coming together with one mission in mind– improvement of teaching and student learning at the college level. It is an absolutely amazing experience, no small part of which is the natural beauty afforded by the summer camp setting along Lake Michigan.

That’s right, it’s a summer camp for college professors held in an actual 1920’s era American Youth Foundation summer camp. There is hiking & canoeing; all of the things you would associate with a summer camp, but most of all it is an amazing gathering of people passionate about college teaching.

All of the content, all of the sessions throughout the conference are developed and presented by professionals who are doing the job of educating college students. Everything from instructional techniques to maintaining work/life balance is addressed. There is an amazing mix of multi-decade veterans along with first-year novices, and there is no outward sign of academic rank; everyone simply is.

I am reminded of one of my favorite Matthew Kelly quotes from his book “The Rhythm of Life”

Don’t be a do person, be a be person. You are not a human doing, you are a human being.”

At Wakonse there is plenty to do, but there is also plenty of time to just be. Time to renew spirits, to make friends, to reflect upon doing the business of educating our students, to meditate, to simply be.

However, when I search Google for “Teacher Camp” or “Summer Camp for Teachers” I find little to suggest there is a similar experience available for primary & secondary educators in the USA. In fact, the very first link on my search is for the Teacher Camp in Baguio, Philippines (which incidentally would be ideal for what I have in mind were it not so far away– Baguio is beautiful).

The problem with Wakonse, if you even care to call it a problem, is that it is exclusive to college educators. My experience has been that all great teachers have something worthwhile to share. I have learned a tremendous amount from primary & secondary teachers that I apply in my college classes. When you put thoughtful teachers together in an environment like Wakonse, everyone goes home enriched without regard to what level or subject matter is taught.

So my question to you dear reader is this:

What would you think about forming a Summer Camp for Teachers experience open to educators of all levels, from kindergarten to college?

Eventually, an international experience for teachers would be amazing, and the Teacher Camp in Baguio might be just the venue to host such an event, but for now my sights are set much lower and I’m thinking we could start something like this in the US since travel funds are currently very tight.

We don’t need yet another teaching conference. There are tons of them, and many are amazing. We need an actual teaching retreat, and I think the outdoor component of Wakonse is critical. (My Wakonse photo series is here.) I don’t think the renewing of spirit that happens would be quite the same in a metropolitan convention center. There is something worthwhile, I think, in getting back to nature and living a somewhat rustic lifestyle for a few days. It wears you out, it breaks you down, it allows you to let go of the facade that we all must wear in our normal professional lives. It allows you to become your true essence, your true self you would be if you didn’t have all of the normal worries that go along with being a professional.

I think Wakonse is just fine the way that it is, and I wouldn’t dream of tinkering with the format. In fact, it wouldn’t be possible to extend Wakonse beyond college level because it has grown to maximum size as it is. I just think that non-college teachers and administrators are really missing out because to my knowledge there’s nothing like it for anyone other than college teachers. There is really something to be said for emulating the Wakonse conference and creating something new that allows educators of all grade levels and all walks of life to come together for a sharing of ideas and encouragement.

It is probably too late to organize anything for this year, but perhaps if you are intrigued by the idea, we could come together in a planning event with the notion of kicking this off in the summer of 2010. (northern hemisphere summer, I keep forgetting to think globally in my seasonal descriptions on my blog!)

I am just brainstorming in this post. I’ve thought about this before, but never floated the idea publicly. I very much appreciate your thoughtful comments and constructive feedback on this idea. I really think there’s something to it. Perhaps if the idea caught on, and a series of these teacher camps started taking root, maybe we truly could begin a grass-roots reform of education?

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