California Teachers Association: Equity and Human Rights Conference

By Mauricio Patino

The California Teachers Association is a group of over 310,000 passionate educators advocating for students and the teaching profession. With that comes conferences, which in this case was Equity and Human Rights Conference on March 17 to March 19, 2023 in San Jose, California. The conference consisted of many useful resources such as member benefits, workshops, social networking and much more.

Attendees gather at tables to discuss new ideas

From Insurance, Travel, Shopping, Professional Resources and much more the member benefits were a big part of the conference because it showcased many valuable resources for educators. Michael, a 2nd grade teacher was excited to know that as a member he was able to get help paying back his student loans thanks to the student debt navigator program. Ironically for many attendees, their favorite member benefits was the $26 discount on Disneyland tickets! You can’t beat that kind of deal! Who doesn’t love Disneyland?

The workshops were led by passionate and determined individuals making national reforms to our educational system. Each workshop was very engaging and rewarding because they all focused on three key things which were Awareness, Navigating the Journey and Action. The most impactful workshop to many was called Empowering Student Activists.

Two workshops that were the most meaningful for attendees were using children’s literature and navigating journeys toward empowering student activists. By attending these workshops we were able to have children see themselves reflected in what they read, instead of sticking to the same curriculum that has been taught for decades. Moreover, the goal was to help teachers form a class of empathy that requires listening to all voices, including students from different backgrounds. This is vital since we are all diverse in many ways when it comes to the current society in which we live. For the most part, many attendees left feeling energized with the scope and understanding of helping accomplish equity and human rights for all while in the classroom.

The Equity and Human Rights Conference ended with a dinner and social networking event. Yet, it was a different kind of closure that involved board games, dancing and karaoke which helped everyone come together as a more equitable society for all, reminding us the power and joy of teaching.

Attendees sign up for raffles to win goodies