ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota students are on fall break and for many families that means traveling for vacation or touring colleges. There are also some special events for those who stay in town.
Meanwhile, teachers are learning from a variety of workshops at Education Minnesota's annual MEA Conference. It was held at the St. Paul RiverCentre as well as online and was open to both educators and aspiring educators like Glazell Toledo and Emma Shope.
"We are all lifelong learners," said Toledo, a math teacher with about 22 years of experience.
While Toledo teaches at one of the state's four intermediate school districts, Intermediate District 287, Shope is a student teacher in Edina set to graduate from the University of Minnesota next May.
"I've been taking diligent notes," Shope said. "This might help prepare me as an early childhood educator and give me some tools that I haven't had before."
Many of the workshops count as "relicensure credits," which teachers are required to get to retain their licenses every five years.
"We have sessions around how to be a better reading teacher, math teacher, science teacher," Specht said. "The most popular session this year is actually something that's really a concern for educators and student alike and that is the mental health crisis."
Other topics included "The Secret World of Autism" and "Degrees, Not Debt." Shope and Toledo attended "Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Race?"
"I learned that talking about race is uncomfortable and it is okay to say, 'I'm so sorry, I didn't know,'" Shope said.
"Even though I feel confident in those topics, it's always important to continue to see what others are perceiving and to be part of the dialogue," Toledo added.
In the exhibition area, vendors offered freebies from candy to classroom materials and field trip ideas.
"Because let's face it, educators are always digging in to their own pocketbooks," Education Minnesota president Denise Specht said.
Some of the products were for sale.
"By the time we hit MEA, I am exhausted mentally, emotionally," Toledo said. "So much has happened in the first six weeks of school so I come here to be recharged."
Friday at the Heritage Center, Education Minnesota has a separate conference on racial and social justice with its members of color.
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