LiveBlogging ELA - No Substitute for Networking ... I'm Talking to You Students

Got to talk to a lot of students at ELA today. Writing "students" and talking to them really gives me a weird feeling because just a year or two ago I was one of them. Now firmly and comfortably on the other side, I can admit that I was feeling a lot of the same feelings and asking myself a lot of the same questions (as in, what in the hell compelled me to come to this embarrassing thing?). 

But, like them, I came. I didn't know anyone (but my professor or two) and for the most part I sat quietly in rooms in the corner hoping that no one would really notice me or that I was not getting in any of these "more important" people's way. I did it. I been there. I've sat in my hotel room (not the conference hotel but some cheap Days Inn down the street) some nights with pizza and the TV instead of going out with all the "cooler" people. I watched conversations happen from a distance wondering if anyone would bother to include me. It's frustrating. It's embarrassing. It's humbling. I could think of about a million other things I would rather do than attend an academic conference as a student.

But, students, you are learning and that learning cannot be replaced in any other fashion. It's one thing to know the name Martha McCarthy or Kern Alexander or Charlie Russo or so many others. You can even see their pictures, right? You can read their papers. But, you can't get a sense of the person until you see them. Not just when they are presenting. But, watch them interact in the hallways. Or chair a session. Or at a different table in the restaurant. Their lives were and are no different than yours. You are on that same trajectory - you just haven't had the time to let the line rise from the axis. And, sure, they are doing more important things than you right now, but it's the "right now" clause in that sentence that really matters, not the "important things" clause.

In the academic world, everyone lives in small communities. I don't care if you are Diane Ravitch, every academic lives in a small world. On the entire planet, there are certainly less than 500 people teaching educational law as a career. And, 500 is not that many, especially because there are only about 200 that are really active members of the community at any given time. And, the really crazy thing, the thing I think it takes some students a while to realize, is that we really, really, really care about that community. Think about it. I'm devoting the best years of my working life to educational law. If you don't think I care about that at a deep, fundamental level, your missing the boat. If you have something to offer that community, even a little thing, I will bend over backwards to help you help us.

So, students, as you are sitting the corner of the presentation rooms don't think I didn't notice you. I did. You being at this conference tells me that you have something to offer. And, sure, I probably didn't read your name tag. I might not know your name yet. But, I saw you. I saw your face. I saw you learning. I saw you caring about this community. I thought to myself that person might have something to offer. And, next year, when I see you again, I am going to remember that I saw you last year. I'll wonder to myself which university your at. What your studying. But, our paths may or may not cross. I still may not know your name, but now I am in interested in you. I'm curious what you have to offer. I may ask a friend about you. And, next year (these things take time so you must be persistent), I'm going to make it a point to introduce myself. Ask if you are finishing up or what your dissertation topic is. You have shown me on multiple occasions that you care about this community - and, now, I want to make you part of it as quickly as possible. We'll help you find jobs. We'll help you get pubs. We'll take you out with us to have drinks at the bar - and, now, you'll have a network connected to the broader network, which is connected to the broader community, which is making an impact in changing our world for the better.

That's how it works. You need to be bold, but more importantly you need to be persistent. Inclusion in the network is earned through sustained humility and random flashes of brilliance. There is simply no substitute for networking of this capacity if you want to join the community. So, while you may be on your flight back wondering what it was worth, rest assured you were noticed and you were networked.  

Comments

[Dani]

Thank you for the time you took to talk to me - I really enjoyed getting to know you and this post has encouraged me tremendously. Thank you for your talk today and for the extra education about KY. I will look forward to following you on your blog - I even bookmarked it and I hope that by the conference next year I will know more about technology and the use of all these awesome tools for teaching!! ?