Missing the National Conference, But Connecting With My Buddy Via FaceTime and Using Time Away to Make Money for Literacy Programs

I've been attending LRA for the last seven years, but this year I stayed at home. I decided at last year's meeting that I needed to rethink the financing for national conferences and I ran some numbers in my head. My hypothesis was that I could stay in Connecticut, conduct professional development in local school districts, put the money into the CWP-Fairfield account, and as a consequence, fund the third summer of Ubuntu Academy for refugee and immigrant youth in 2016. Last year, I spent almost $1,800 to present on the literacy youth I work with and this year, staying put, I was able to secure enough workshops in school districts that, indeed, helped me to meet my goal (N=$5000). Because of this choice, I know 26 young people will have a two-week summer experience to counter summer literacy loss. I traded in the expense to attend LRA to do more for the world.

The sadness? I missed seeing my friends and mentors, including my LRA buddy, Elizabeth, who FaceTimed me from her hotel room, and my intellectual, comic relief - Stephanie Jones. I also missed many of the intellectual minds that have had a tremendous influence on the ways I think about the world. I received knowledge from the sessions Elizabeth attended and made a promise that I will try to find my way to Nashville next year. I attended NCTE and NWP a few weeks ago and got some of my educational fix, but I am not sure it is quite enough. There is a family feel to LRA, too (albeit, dysfunctional as all families are).

Perhaps it's because I live in a region with some of the most severe socio-economic divides in the nation. Maybe it's because I follow my cousin's lead and look for ways to play intellectual Robin Hood by taking from those who have to give to those who do not. Either way, I know that the cost of attending a national conference doesn't always equate to the ground work I like to do. This year I experimented with alternative uses of the precious time I have, and I am feeling like a winner. On the scale of equity and liberty, it seems that raising $5000 for marginalized young people outweighs the cost of flying across the country to present to a few individuals about the literacy work with marginalized populations.

So, I took a chance. Rather than fund my own travels, I dedicated my December to work in local schools so I can continue the work I love doing with relocated populations of youth. Time is precious and I'm glad I made the decision for this year, but I really do miss seeing my inspirations, guides, and academic friends. If only we could find a better way to disseminate the work we're doing, without having it cost so much.

I know, too, that it has also bought me academic time to analyze data I've collected, to think about new ways to understand what we're learning at CWP, and lightened my typically frantic end-of-Fall semester.

So, for those who are doing as they do, I am wishing them the best.