Today was a fantastic day at the conference!
This is my fourth conference and I realized something important. While I do enjoy and gain so much from taking the workshops and master classes, there is something even bigger happening here.
How often is it that we get to spend time with other like minded professionals from our field? There is such an immediate bond that is created when I meet other teachers here. We share many of the same issues, passions, and joys. We discover that other teacher's stories are not unlike our own. In my particular case I am lucky to have eleven other high school theatre programs in my district, but even so, I am the only theatre teacher at my particular school. The friendships and the networking that are created here can not be understated.
It is so wonderful to know that we are not alone. There are others just like us, working hard to inspire and engage students on a daily basis. That in itself is worth the price of admission.