On February 8th, 2020 I Attended an MEA conference at SMCC.

This conference was

specifically tailored to Young Education Professionals. There were four sessions, each designed

for an education professional to become a better version of themselves. These sessions were

titled: ​Social and Emotional Learning, Integrating Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom

with Self-Care in Mind, The Equitable Classroom, ​and​ An Introduction to Restorative Practices.

The first session focused on what Social and Emotional learning was and how it could

occur in our own classrooms. Most of the session had to do with the research she completed

while studying schools in China. It was very interesting to see how the schools there are focusing

on Social and Emotional learning and seeing the results! The other portion of the session was

resources that we could use to begin implementing it in our own classes.

The second session was geared more towards elementary, but I did enjoy it. The social

and emotional learning came into play for this session because the speaker focused on how we

could implement yoga and breathing techniques into our class time. She did hers during circle

time and was mainly focused on how to implement this with younger students. I was able to

benefit from this session still. She demonstrated how to do a visual reading where students are to

sit and just listen while envisioning what is being read. I feel that this would be easy to

implement in my classrooms. Her other focus was on the importance of taking care of ourselves,

so we do not burn out.

The third session was about the physical set up of your classroom and how to make it as

accessible and equitable as possible. I enjoyed this one because I was able to collaborate and chat

with other educators and hear their thoughts. We spent the time drawing out “ideal classrooms”

and sharing about what would be in each.

 The last session was one that I have attended before, but I always learn something new. I

enjoy the restorative practices sessions because it occurs in a sharing circle just like a restorative

circle would. It is always nice to hear how others are implementing restorative practices within

their schools and classrooms.