I had the great experience this weekend of spending time with teachers at the Celebration of Teaching & Learning!  Throughout the two days I met amazing educators and heard from interesting experts.  Some of which I wanted to share you you.

First, although not in chronological order, is a panel that brought it all back to the kids.  Author Wes Moore interviewed teenagers about how their education is going and asked questions that received amazing answers.  A personal favorite of mine was “What would you change if you were in charge at school?”  The questions ranged from keep your promises to make tutoring mandatory and most memorably, the request that professionals of today come back to their old classrooms.  A young woman on the panel thought that would help students see beyond the classroom and dream big knowing that these successful people were once in their shoes.  I LOVE that idea!  See that and more by watching the replay here.

And while you’re watching replays, our launch of Primary Sources 2012: America’s Teachers on the Teaching Profession is a must see.  Chelsea Clinton, the discussion’s moderator,  knew her stuff and asked our experts the hard questions about what our data from 10,000 teachers mean.  Cate and Naima, our panel’s teachers, were honest and articulate about the real concerns of today’s classrooms.  But overall, the panel was just as much a celebration of teachers as the conference’s name suggests and brought their voices to the stage.  As Scholastic’s Margery Mayer said, “Teachers are the real heroes in our society. Think about 911, Katrina etc.. And how much teachers do beyond the classroom. So many aspects of a teacher’s job can’t be measured.”

Thank you, teachers!  For all that you do.