8th Annual Black Educators Rock Conference 2023
https://www.rockconference.org/
July 13th-16th, 2023
Jacksonville, FL
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20 Things I Learned from Attending
Black Educators Rock Conference 2023
This was our first BER Conference and I’m very
appreciative to be selected to speak and contribute
as a retired teacher of 33 years.
My wife and I had and amazing experience that
will help us grow even more as global educators in the
works we do as Certified VR & STEAM+M Educators.
Here are my experiences from this amazing conference.
1. Black educators need their own conferences to
respect and represent their cultural concerns, issues,
challenges, successes and achievements as Black Educators.
2. Black educators need their own conferences to
give flowers to those educators that are
role models in teaching students of all colors,
cultures, genders and generations.
3. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow Black administrators to encourage each other,
mentor each other, praise each other and even
correct with love each other.
4. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow teachers to talk honestly about the policies,
standards, practices that are in place that make
teaching difficult, challenging, hard and stressful.
To celebrate the policies that work and are helpful.
5. Black educators need their own conferences to
recognize that Black youth, teens and young adults
from Pre-K to High School need to see Black Educators.
6. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow Black women and Black men teacher to see
each other because Representation Matters.
7. Black educators need their own conferences to
exchange professional strategies, professional
resources, professional successes and even the
failures experienced in classroom instruction
and management of classrooms.
8. Black educators need their own conferences to
see that they are not alone and have a support
system to lean on and provide comfort, love,
forgiveness and support.
9. Black educators need their own conferences to
understand that the best professional development
is the “hallway track” of direct teacher to teacher
talking and sharing.
10. Black educators need their own conferences to
purchase awesome T-shirts, jewelries, gadgets,
clothes, and cultural items only found at
Black conferences and provided by Black educators.
11. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow Black women to share their strategies for
outfits, makeup, fashionable choices in clothing
coordination, shoes, hair and other designs.
12. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow Black men to release the pressures of having
to perform to others’ expectations, from family,
friends, administration, community and
even the expectations shared by the media.
13. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow the voices of Black men and women educators
to hear their voices and the voices of their peers.
The human voice has the power of life and death.
Life must be spoken into Black educators every day.
14. Black educators need their own conferences to
pray over each other, for each other, with each other.
Their conferences invite and allow the Holy Spirit to be
exalted, called, spoken, encouraged and sometimes
demanded to be present.
15. Black educators need their own conferences to
show Black youth, teens and young adults that Black
men and women do care about them and love them.
16. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow Black men and women to “have a moment(s),”
that allows for tears to flow, for tears and noses to run,
to bring out the bottled-up frustrations and release the
pressures that resonate from years of sacrifices,
hard work, late nights, illness in the mind, body,
spirit and souls that sometimes happen.
17. Black educators need their own conferences to
encourage the next generations of Black educators.
Sharing that young Black educators are needed to
help encourage, care for, love, guide and yes, even
discipline Black children with love.
18. Black educators need their own conferences to
allow Black educators to break bread together, drink together,
build collaborations, friendships and future cooperations.
19. Black educators need their own conferences to
make sure those that try to stop them, harm them,
distract them, harass them and punish them for being
the great educators they are.
That those people who try “stuff against them” are
placed the hands of the Lord.
20. Black educators need their own conferences to
pray for each other before they depart from each other.
That their prayers and supplications are heard by
the Lord for continued protection, favor, grace and mercy
in the works they do for all children.
“The Education Revolution: Rebuilding, Reimagining,
& Expanding the Village”
Attended by My Quest To Teach and LoveBuilt Life, LLC
William Jackson & Aida Correa Jackson