Glades County TOY Celebration

Thursday I drove down US 27 through the heart of Florida for a three hour drive to Moore Haven. I was speaking at the Glades County celebration for past and present Teachers of the Year. My trip to the south-central part of our state was shared with lots of trucks. This part of Florida is home to orange groves, cattle and sugar cane - lots of sugar cane.

It was a wonderful banquet and I was happy to help recognize Glades County teachers. A special congratulations to Sherri Fleming, Glades County District 2009 Teacher of the Year from West Glades School. One of the things which made this evening so special were presentations and words from students from each of the finalist's schools. Speaking in front of a large audience is never easy and each of these students acted like seasoned orators. Each was a credit to the teacher being honored.

Jellybean Landscape Club

Between the workshops and meetings it was my pleasure to spend part of my day at Wekiva Elementary in the kindergarten classroom of Allison Prose. I taught kindergarten for ten years and it was great to share a finger play, listen to letters read to me and visit gardens create by this class. At Wekiva these kindergartners are know as the Jellybean Landscape Club and they have create butterfly habitats, taken a rotting pumpkin and started a new pumpkin patch with the seeds, made creative scarecrows and tend a wonderful vegetable garden. All of the produce harvested from this garden is donated to the homeless. What great examples these young gardeners are to us all.
Thank you Mrs. Prose and the Jellybean Landscape Club for such a wonderful gift today. Such a wonderful kindergarten!

Council for Educational Change

Thursday I left Jacksonville and headed for Tampa. On the way I took a quick stop in Gainesville to have lunch with my youngest son and enjoy the beautiful day. Friday morning I participate in the Wachovia Foundation Teachers and Teaching Initiative Workshop. This program matches new teachers with mentors for training. Participating schools are identified as at risk and partner with businesses for additional mentoring. I visited with the group last September and was excited to get back and find out what kind of progress was made this year.

This great group of teachers gave up their last Saturday of Spring Break to attend and I heard great stories of success. There are incredible challenges before these teachers because this is not easy teaching, but I didn't hear anyone giving up! A great day to share in teaching.

Florida Association of Partners in Education

I drove Wednesday to Jacksonville to the Hyatt Riverfront Hotel, overlooking the St. Johns River, to attend the annual conference of FAPE - the Florida Association of Partners in Education. It was an eventful trip. The drive was nice, the hotel was great and I loved meeting these wonderful people. Thursday morning I was to first introduce the keynote speaker for the morning and later give a workshop. About fifteen minutes before everything was to begin I was asked to replace the keynote speaker. She was grounded and unable to make the meeting due to airline problems reported across the country! I was asked if I could give an impromptu 30-45 minute speech. Wow! No notes, no Power Point, no props - just get up and do it. I also couldn't steal from the workshop I would be giving right after this speech. I love it! For the kid who has never been able to shut up, the adult who has always loved telling stories and the teacher who has relished every crazy classroom misadventure I loved this challenge. I hope it went well, I enjoyed myself and appreciated the patience of my audience. However, I don't want to make a habit of this.

My morning adventures were followed with a wonderful meeting with our new Commissioner of Education, Dr. Eric Smith. I like Dr. Smith a lot and believe he can help Florida continue to make great strides in education. He is an incredibly articulate, intelligent person who leaves you with no doubt that he has never forgotten his classroom roots. he is the perfect person to lead us through the hard financial times that are upon our state.

Thursday evening I attended the Commissioner's Dinner honoring Florida's outstanding Partners in Education. I was amazed and ovewhelmed by the partnerships being honored. I learned about ncredible sums of money, volunteer hours and support for classrooms and schools across our state and it was a privilege to help honor our wonderful business partners.

On the Road: A Perspective

I've spent the last couple of days writing new speeches, creating a couple of new Power Points and getting caught up on my paper work. While getting everything ready I created a tally of how my time has been spent. It looks like this:
As of today ...
I have visited 25 schools
I have attended 15 conferences
I have given 13 media interviews
I have presented 20 workshops
I have given 38 speeches
I have spent 46 nights in hotel rooms
I have driven over 37,000 miles

And in 93 days (July 10th) we will announce the 2009 Florida Department of Education/Macy's Teacher of the Year.

UCF Breakfast

Today I was a guest of the University of Central Florida College of Education as they continue to celebrate 40 years and honor staff and students. It was an honor to share the podium with former Florida Lt. Governor Toni Jennings; UCF President John Hitt and Dean Sandra Robinson. Everyone knows how proud I am to be a UCF Knight and today I got to say thank you to the College and those wonderful people who helped to shape my career.
Thank you Dr. Mike Hynes, Dr. Chuck Dzubian, Dr. Pat Manning, Dr. Mary Palmer, Coach Torchy Clark, Dr. Cal Miller and Dr. Bob Martin. Thanks to all of the wonderful instructors who were not able to attend, to the great ones who have passed on and to an exceptional College for shaping this elementary teacher. GO KNIGHTS!!!

The Sandwich Generation

Actually I'm not talking about ham and cheese! I'm talking about a part of my year that many my age experience. As many of you know, my mother-in-law, Gertrude (94 years old) has lived with us for the past fifteen years. A part of my TOY year is being away from home and leaving my wife to care for her Mom alone. We have a wonderful person who stays with Gert during the day, but this year on the road has required sacrifice from a lot of people. Thank you Susan and Gert! During the last month, my Dad had a pacemaker installed and also stayed with us for a while. Thankfully Dad is better and has returned home with some supervision.

Those of us that are reaching middle age with senior parents are now referred to as the Sandwich Generation. Many of us have children at home or away at school while we are also taking care of elderly parents. We are "sandwiched" between these two groups. There is nothing empty about our nests! I share this not to complain - we have chosen our path; but to share with many of you out there in a similar position. I took on State TOY this year because my wife took this on. I'm looking forward to returning to my lab and students, and also to being home to help out more.

National Science Teachers Association Conference

I flew to Boston on March 26th to attend the annual NSTA Conference. This is the largest national conference of educators found in the country and I've been attending and presenting at NSTA for most of my career. This year's conference was another great chance to learn what's new in science education, make new friends and pick up some great ideas for my classroom. Everywhere I went I was running into Florida science teachers! Boston is a great city with a rich history and great museums! Thanks to Pearson for inviting us all to the Boston Aquarium and Museum of Natural History - incredible events.
For a Florida boy Boston was pretty cold, but lots of fun - I'm ready to go back soon! The top picture was taken from my room looking out at the bay, the bottom picture was the opening ceremonies at the start of the convention.