By Phil Giansante, Yau-Jau Ku, Juan Masdeu, Leandro Segura LEC Organizing Team, Asociación Escuelas Lincoln
On September 8 and 9, 2017, Asociación Escuelas Lincoln hosted the 7th Annual Lincoln Educators’ Conference (LEC) held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This year’s theme was “Dream Bigger, Aim Higher” bringing in over 300 educators from 40 educational institutions (35 from Argentina and 5 International) taking part in 70 diverse workshops focusing on strands in language for learning, social emotional, assessment and teaching toolkit.
Julie Smith kicked off with a powerful and eye-opening keynote emphasizing the important role that all educators have in supporting students with media literacy. In addition, conversations took to Twitter using #LEC2017 as another platform where participants celebrated each other, shared resources, and reflected upon their learning experiences.
The heartbeat of LEC 2017 has always been driven by outstanding teacher workshops and their participants resulting into two incredible full days of learning. It truly becomes an opportunity for individuals to hear from new perspectives and begin longlasting professional partnerships.
No conference is complete without highlighting and honoring the host country of Argentina. LEC 2017 offered a traditional Argentine asado for lunch as well as a social hour featuring a live tango show. Our Parents At Lincoln (PAL) helped organized an Artesan’s Fair featuring many talented and crafty parents of the community. Finally, Lynn Kachmarik closed out LEC 2017 with a highly energizing keynote filled with laughter and smiles incorporating the value and importance of character for ourselves as teachers and more importantly, our students.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of AASSA, LEC 2017 took the theme to heart and also featured six presenters offering a deeper dive into each of the strands listed above. Lincoln was honored to host such a dynamic group. Many thanks to each of the featured presenters that you see below, each of whom either facilitated conversations, demonstrated new strategies, or provided thought provoking insight in their respective areas of expertise.
Julie Smith, Media Literacy Professor, Webster University
Larry Gilbert, Follett Destiny
Lynn Kachmarik, True Brand Sports
Margo Gottlieb, WIDA Key Uses
Terri Howard, NWEA MAP
Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, AmplifiEDUcation
We look forward to “dreaming even bigger” and “aiming even higher” next year for the 8th Annual Lincoln Educators Conference. We hope to see you there! If you would like to get on the mailing list for LEC 2018, please contact us at LEC2018@lincoln.edu.ar