Echoing everything that has already been said (and thank you Steve K for so eloquently kicking this thread off). The conference was wonderful from the outset - seamless organising, helpful support on campus and with the hotel and transport links. Then in all the sessions, so much to think through, puzzle over and understand. This is an amazing community. Karl Maton you have created a wonder and continue to inspire, Lee, so many thanks for hosting as well as presenting your own incredibly practical insights. Looking forward to all our research, conversations and applications to come.With gratitude,
Sharon
Sharon Arisph 0409 245 005
Be the change you want to see in the world
On 23 Jan 2024, at 10:19 am, Erika Matruglio <erikam@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It was epic
I don’t want to go back to real life!
Can’t wait for the next one!
E
Erika Matruglio
Associate Professor TESOL
School of Education
Building 67, Room 315
University of Wollongong NSW 2522
T + 61 2 4221 4211
F + 61 2 4221 4657
E erikam@xxxxxxxxxx
From: lct-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <lct-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Kukuczka Jo
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2024 10:00 PM
To: lct@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [LCT] Re: LCT 5 - Thanks to Lee, Karl and Community
Hi all
Back home and thinking how extraordinary LCT5 was for me - a proper 'out-of-this-world' (literally!) experience like no other.
With this, a massive thank you to Lee, Dale, the entire Wits Hub team, Karl, and everyone else who made this conference possible and simply delicious (the break time cakes and lunchtime meals were the next level, and so was the music that welcomed us on day 1). Massive thanks to all colleagues who attended and shared their knowledge (and/or a glass of wine or a magic trick 😉) with me, and to wonderful hotel and shuttle staff who made me feel super welcome in Johannesburg. Perhaps I did not see much of the country as LCT kept us sufficiently busy, but I met its amazing people, and, frankly, can't wait to see you and the LCT community again and see what ideas and projects have come to fruition as a result of this conference 🙂.
Hope the Johannesburg team can now take the time to 'recover' :)
BW
Jo
Jo Kukuczka
Sent from Outlook for iOS
From: lct-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <lct-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Kizito Rita <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2024 10:49:22 AM
To: lct@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <lct@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [LCT] Re: LCT 5 - Thanks to Lee, Karl and Community
This could not have been said better!.
I have been floating in and out of LCT and need þo "catch up" - but this conference was a masterpiece!
Kind regards,
Rita K
From: lct-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <lct-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of KIRK, STEVE E. <s.e.kirk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2024 12:17:03 PM
To: lct@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <lct@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [LCT] LCT 5 - Thanks to Lee, Karl and Community
Dear All,
I wanted to say a very public thank you to Lee, the Wits organisation team, Karl and to everyone who was able to attend LCT 5. It was a wonderful week. I learned so much, rekindled old acquaintances, forged new ones, got some much needed validation (and legitimation) for the work I’m doing at the moment and came away with enough inspiration and intellectual glow to carry me through the drudgery of the everyday to LCT 6!
The conference was a masterclass in seemless organisation. The student team were a dream, always on hand to help. Nothing was a hassle. Everything was done with a smile. We barely noticed how smooth it all was and so were able to focus on the sessions and on the conversations and catch-ups at break times and lunch. A huge thanks to Lee. I still cannot quite believe, Lee, that you managed all the organisation AND gave several fabulous talks AND (I heard) helped ready Wits student presentations for the conference. Your energy and drive are boundless - and so many many people benefit. The impact of your LCT-infused teacher education work across South Africa and the extent of your generosity for the development and flourishing of students and fellow colleagues is truly an inspiration - a model for us all. Hearing from your graduated students at the end of the week, listening to them speak LCT with great fluency, passion and educational understanding was one of the top highlights of the conference.
Thanks to Karl for his fabulous Power-Up sessions. We clarified concepts, got some new ones, gained deeper insights into the architecture and ways of thinking in LCT, and were reminded of how much exciting untapped potential still remains to be explored. Karl, your endless energy for community building, intellectual inspiration and individual confidence boosting are also what sits at the heart of the success of LCT 5 and all that leads into and out of it. I certainly would not have been there, had it not been for your words of encouragement and generous time. Your elite code endeavours, fostering the most stimulating and impactful of epistemic relations, while also building and sustaining the richest of social relations are what inspires so many of us to do what we do.
And finally, thanks to all participants with whom I had so many amazing conversations. In something of the Ubuntu tradition, I feel like I am…because you are. I am largely alone and unsupported in my LCT endeavours at home. EAP remains a fractured field and I regularly struggle to see the meaning in what I do. Reconnecting with LCT friends and colleagues with similar mindsets, the same thirst for knowledge and the same drive to make things better through principled practice are truly what keeps me going. Attending LCT 5 felt like a luxury I could’t afford but I have come away remembering that this was me putting my own oxygen mask on. I feel like I’m ready to face 2024 again!
Thank you all,
Steve
