AASL2019 - Part Four - Saturday Doings

Okay. I am officially running out of steam; but if I don't get this post written right now, I will never get back to it. My flight leaves tomorrow at 6AM, which means I need to be at the airport at 4, which means I'm rising between 3 and 3:30AM. 

I have bagged the closing session because I am on overload right now. AASL2019 was not the most memorable or successful one for me - partly my fault but also AASL's.

Three cancelled programs with no signage on the rooms to let folks know. Really? Was it that hard?

I ended with a totally incoherent session, which might color the tone of the rest of this post. I turned to a row-mate and asked, "Is it me or is this totally incoherent?" She agreed it was. Folks were leaving throughout. I was too darn tired to leave and, like the 26 disc disaster I am reading with my ears at present, I kept hoping that I could walk away with something to take back. Reader, I did not.

Exhibits seemed pretty small compared to other years. Perhaps the proximity in date to NCTE? I didn't grab as many arcs as in the past either. That's fine, my tbr pile is enormous. Just noticing. 

The morning kicked off beautifully with Jarrett Krosoczka's keynote. He's funny. He's humble and he writes and illustrates books that are damn good.

My first session was "Inclusive LGBTQIA+ Education: why it's important and how to be an advocate." Interesting. Lots of preaching to the choir. I took pictures of all her slides and will review them. I am happy that I have always tried to be inclusive in my collection. I am happy that I am now backed up by state law in NJ to have an inclusive collection and that LGBTQIA+ history and existence should be taught across the curriculum. Lots of notes, but one that pops out as a mantra: be prepared, not scared. 

I chose to attend "Best Websites for Teaching and Learning" even though I had the sneaking suspicion that I attended it at ALA Annual in DC. Once it got underway, I realized that I did. No matter. School was already out and I didn't review my conference notes once school started. My bad. Lots here to share with my colleagues. Good reminder.

The next session was another NO SHOW! 

So I jumped into another session, which I will not name because... see above. Incoherent. 

I suppose I should've done my due diligence and attended the closing session. I assume that's where feedback was requested, but I am conferenced-out and didn't want to finish in the dark for the third day in a row. 

All-in-all, glad I came. The next conference is in Salt Lake City in 2021. It's in October next time. Perhaps I will go once more. I do realize that an incredible amount of volunteer work goes into these conferences, but they are incredibly expensive. My district does not pay. I get the days as PD but use personal days if I have more than two conferences to attend in a school year. (And I always do!) I used to be able to deduct them, but no longer. So I guess I'm becoming a bit more demanding and less forgiving.

AASL2019 - Part Three

Yesterday (Friday) was the first full conference day. I woke early as usual, read in my room and lost track of the time. Scrambled to grab breakfast before the Morning Keynote. I went to the hotel restaurant and had so-o many delicious options, I had trouble choosing. Ended up with shrimp and grits and my, it was heavenly! And filling!

I had no idea what to expect from Dr. Adolph Brown but boy did he stir things up. After listening to a lengthy, adulatory introduction, a young man dressed in black received the mic. He barely said hello before music began blasting and he donned a sparkly jacket and danced his heart out.

Then another young man with dreads, an oversized hoodie and baggie pants and a backpack joined him. Turns out the man in black was Dr. Brown's godson. Dr. Brown turned up as his younger, needy self. 

He spoke about arriving at a superintendent's conference to speak dressed the way he was and the police were called within minutes. He commented that upon arrival at our conference, he received welcoming smiles. Yay librarians!

We all have implicit bias. We cannot deny this. Brown urged the audience to "Stop believing everything you think." This leads to confirmation bias, as the events at the super's conference confirm. Confirmation bias leads to micro-aggressions. 

He attended a Title I school, where he received a good education. "Title I describes how I eat, not how I learn." He had a school library with a librarian who helped him choose books. His favorite from childhood was John Henry.

He spoke for a long, long time. Yes, he was inspiring and provocative as well as entertaining as hell, but he did go overtime. Were it not for the spicy breakfast dish working on my insides, I probably wouldn't have minded. And, yes, he also had potty jokes in his presentation.

Exclusive Exhibit Hall time was next and I hopped on the line to receive Cassie Beasley's newest, Bootstrap Magician, a sequel to her beautiful debut, Circus Mirandus. 

Then, it was session time! My first session time started out with a bit of a dud. There were three sessions that I was interested in. The room was empty for one. No signage saying that it was cancelled or moved. I lost a bit of time finding the second room and missed the beginning of the session. It was interesting, not fascinating. But I did find a few new ideas to take away. 

There were seven sessions that I checked off for the second session. The one I ended up choosing was interesting but not something I would be able to implement at my library. 

Lunch was included but not a drink. Luckily, I only drink water and carry my own refillable water bottle, so I was fine, but there were quite a few grumbling about $4 sodas. Yikes! I strolled the exhibit aisles and sat and blogged. 

I had three things checked off for the post-lunch session but lost track of time and ended up arriving in the area late. ALL THE ROOMS WERE FULL TO CAPACITY! Gah! So I headed back to the exhibit hall. 

I checked off four possible sessions for the second afternoon slot and ended up choosing one called "Using Literature as a Spark for Social Justice." It was an author panel. I didn't notice the little red book logo next to the entry. The authors were all interesting. I had one of the books in my library already and noted the other titles to look up later. But, I was expecting a nitty-gritty, how-to session with ideas. Instead, it was a thoughtful conversation, which I appreciated and I took plenty of notes, but not what I was shopping for.

The afternoon session ended just in time to return to my hotel and attend SLJ's Evening of Dialog. That consisted of three panels: Graphically Speaking with Meg Cabot and Ridley Pearson: 

Tween Time: Must-Have Middle Grade Reads with Cassie Beasley, Rob Harrell and Jasmine Warga: 

Informed & Empowered: Notable Nonfiction with Chris Barton Holly Brochmann, Rafael Lopez and Jennifer Swanson:

Of course there was a signing afterward. I was glad I got Beasley's book at a morning signing because her line was long. I really wanted Chris Barton's newest picture book, All of a Sudden and Forever: help and healing after the Oklahoma City bombing. So I got on that line first. Then, I picked up Ridley Pearson's Super Sons: the Foxglove Mission and Meg Cabot's Black Canary: ignite. I was glad that I asked for Rob Harrell's book Wink at the booth because he ran out of books. 

All in all a fine day. Just as I was ready to curl up with the arc I'm reading to review in SLJ, I heard fireworks. I was only on the fourth floor, but I was able to catch the higher reaching fire works and the waning gibbous moon. I have no idea what the occasion was. Those girders are on the roof of the convention center. 

AASL2019 Continued

Well. my last post didn't include anything about the actual conference now, did it? Of course there were pre-conference workshops to attend for extra $$, but the conference itself began unofficially at 1PM with an idea lab in one of the ballrooms. Twenty or thirty tables were arrayed around the perimeter with a variety of displays. It was a lot to take in, but I was most taken with a portable, iPad-based studio. Our tricaster is a monster, difficult to learn and getting buggy, so it's good to know there are some more portable, user-friendly options out there for broadcasting.

The opening keynote was delivered by Ellen Oh, author, and one of the founders of WNDB - We Need Diverse Books. I have heard her speak before and never tire of listening to her patiently explain why everyone needs to see themselves in literature. She encouraged librarians to use their role as gatekeepers not to keep books out but to let them flow in. I have always been bothered by the term gatekeeper. It seemed negative to me. I like the idea of letting books flow in.

The exhibit hall opened at 5 and vendors were swarmed by school librarians eager for arcs, totes, food and other swag. I picked up a few arcs and said hi to a few reps I know. Then returned to my hotel to put my feet up and read. 

AASL2019 - Louisville, Kentucky

I only started attending AASL conferences in 2015. I would've in 2013, when it was in Connecticut, but I was undergoing chemotherapy at the time. Though I managed to work full-time and only miss a half day for my treatments, my energy level was definitely low and wouldn't have been able to support going to a conference. So 2015 in Columbus was my first. It happened to coincide with NJ's Teacher Convention weekend, which made going easier. It is VERY hard to get PD time in November in NJ! I went to 2017 in Phoenix as well thanks to the timing. When the dates came out last May with early bird registration, I didn't look at the calendar carefully enough. It didn't coincide with Teacher's Convention. That was last week. Oops. I thankfully got the days to attend and, here I am!

I flew in on Wednesday evening. I kind of white-knuckled it because I chose to book a 6PM flight as opposed to an 8PM flight. I thought I would leave school early as the last period is my prep; only I forgot the kids had a half day for parent-teacher conferences! Yikes!

The 8PM flight would've gotten me in a bit after ten if there were no delays. By the time I got a ride to the hotel and checked in, who knows what time it would be? So I opted for the earlier flight. As it was, I got to the airport with time to spare and then, my flight was delayed - in fifteen minute increments until we left over an hour late. Sigh. It was also a small plane with very little room for carry-on bags. I didn't bring any for this leg because I packed it inside of my checked bag. I have taken to doing that for these larger conferences to save on shipping boxes home. The cost of checking a bag is the same or less than shipping books home and I don't have to wait for the book mail. I just have to lug the bag. 

Thank goodness for rolling luggage!

I may not be able to stow my carry-on bag even though I paid extra to bring it on. The gate agent explained that I will be able to check it at the gate and pick it up at the gate in Newark.

Oh! I nearly forgot. I chose to drive myself and parked in the Economy Lot. I had a bit of anxiety about this since it wasn't on the monorail and I had to take a shuttle bus. I just missed one as I found a space. Luckily, there was another in ten minutes. While I waited, I noticed this:

That red is my coat reflecting off the metal. I picked up the receiver but there was no dial tone. So, there's that. Funnily enough, I spied another pay phone, this one a booth at the restaurant where I ate breakfast on Thursday.

 

Hilarious!

Flying in Wednesday saved me from waking extra early for a flight out on Thursday and allowed me to take in a few Louisville sights before the conference began in the afternoon. 

I visited the Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum and then took the Evan Williams Bourbon Tour, which was very interesting and informative. Louisville has a fascinating history!