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.
