This One Time...at nErDcamp... by Katie Sluiter

One of my good friends and an occasional blog contributor, Katie Sluiter, managed to do something that I am still dreaming about--she attend nErDcamp!! I love the work of this group and the opportunities they provide for teachers and students. To make one thing perfectly clear, I think I have quite few friends at there this year--authors, academic, and teachers, but I picked on Katie. Thanks Katie for giving all of us who haven't attended an quick inside view.

This One Time...at nErDcamp...

The last time I went to camp was when I was in middle school. I hated 95% of it. I don’t like to ride horses or run relays or sleep in buggy cabins. One of the only outdoor activities I really like to do is read in a comfy chair with a cold beverage. When I first heard about nErDcamp, I was wary. How much “camp” is involved anyway? Would I be asked to stuff marshmallows in my mouth?
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Since its inception seven years ago, nErDcamp has spread to other states (Washington, Kansas, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Maine), however the original nErDcamp in Parma, Michigan is by far the largest. This year rumor had it that there were 1500 attendees plus another thousand kids attending nErDcamp Jr. Tickets--which are 100% FREE--were gone in 50 minutes due to limited space.

Since I live only two hours away from Parma, I decided to attend. Since I was a first timer, I was what someone referred to as a “nirgen:” a nErDcamp virgin. I wasn’t alone. Nearly half the attendees raised their hands as newbies as well as many of the authors. I’ve been to some pretty large conferences, so I thought I was pretty prepared. But nErDcamp is an “UNconference,” which I would soon realize means it’s more laid back and definitely less overwhelming.

First, nErDcamp is hosted by Parrma’s Western School District, so the venue is a high school (and part of a middle school). Fifteen hundred attendees plus a thousand kids plus a bunch of authors and illustrators means sitting shoulder to shoulder on bleachers in a gym. But it was great! Everyone wore their “nerd gear.” I had almost as much fun reading everyone’s t-shirts as I did taking in the book talks and speakers! 
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On Day 1, we were welcomed by nErDcamp founder and organizer, Colby Sharp. This was followed by a panel on Feminism for All moderated by Jen Vincent featuring authors Dr. Patricia Valdez, Laura Shovan, Supriya Kelkar, Alicia D Williams, and Pernille Ripp. This panel was followed by Nerd Talks, brief 5-7 minute talks that are on various subjects. This year’s Nerd Talks were given by Minh Lê, Cece Bell, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Donalyn Miller. 

The speakers were followed by three sessions formated much like a typical conference: choose the ones you want to attend. I ate lunch during the first session (food trucks in the parking lot! Yum!) and shopped the nErDcamp merch as well as in the popup bookstore (independently owned Bookbug).

During the second session, I attended a discussion with Alan Gratz, Deborah Wiles, and Daniel Jose Older about truth in fiction. Not only was it interesting to hear about their processes for writing historical fiction, but their discussion on Own Voices and doing research to tell a story gave me some ideas for teaching students how to write informational narratives.

The last session of the day I chose to attend was about advocating for reading joy with Donalyn Miller and Dr. Teri Lesesne. While my 8th grade ELA classroom is already centered around Reading Workshop, I always appreciate anything new I can absorb from this power duo. When they share their knowledge, I increase my ability to justify all the independent reading during class time that my own students do.

The culminating speaker of the day was Jason Reynolds. Before he came on stage, however, a Western School District student did a live portrait of Reynolds while the audience cheered. During his brief keynote, Jason Reynolds shared with us the richness of Washington D.C.’s go go music scene and effortlessly weaved into an inspirational message about how teachers can be the ones to make kids feel seen and heard.

The last part of Day 1 was the book signing. Authors and illustrators were set up around the perimeter of the gym and in the auditorium to sign their books. Many had some of their books to give away that their publishers sent along. Everyone’s books were available for purchase from the onsite bookstore. Usually I am collecting books for my classroom library (ok, I did manage to nab a few for my students), but because my own children have to share me so often with my students, my school, my PhD program, and conferences, I made sure to get them each at least one book signed by the author. ​

Day 2 of nErDcamp puts the “un” in “unconference”. First thing in the morning, everyone gathers in the gym and does an “Idea Board.” Educators, authors, illustrators, anyone can go to the front and add their session idea to the schedule. The only rule is if you put it on there, you have to go and facilitate your own idea. There were enough ideas to give attendees more than twenty choices for two sessions. I chose to go to one about getting more #ownvoices titles in classroom libraries and one about fun with formative assessments mostly using tech tools.
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There was a break for lunch and then another Idea Board session for the two afternoon sessions. Like the morning, each session time ended up with about twenty choices each. Attendees are encouraged to “vote with your feet” by leaving sessions that aren’t what you need, and finding something else. For the two afternoon sessions, I went with a session to talk about ProjectLit (my school started a chapter last school year), and then one led by Deborah Wiles about writing personal narratives.

The experience was phenomenal. I will definitely be setting my alarm next year to try to get a ticket before they sell out. Not only is it terrific professional development (Michigan people, SCECHs are available for each day), but it’s incredibly affirming and inspirational. 
I would encourage anyone in the reading “business” whether that be as an educator, librarian, creator, or otherwise, to find the nearest nErDcamp in 2020 and get there...or better yet, ask how you can help! The volunteers are the ones who made it possible, after all. 

Until next week.