February 18
I am up at 5 a.m. and ready to go. It seems like just a few hours since I was at Wal-Mart getting some last minute supplies…wait it was just a few hours ago.
The morning session starts with a jolt as Richard Pringle grabs people’s attention with his stories of “Pookie”. He speaks from the heart about reaching children in poverty. He has everyone laughing and thinking. I really enjoy his enthusiasm.
We then head to breakout sessions on topics of Closing the Achievement Gap, PLCs, and School Funding & our state tax system. The sessions were selected to address a few of the current issues facing teachers today. The sessions are broken up by lunch and an opportunity to hear from some of the candidates for SC Superintendant of Education. There are camera crews and news media and the room is packed. It is a very good chance to hear the candidates answer questions from teachers. Unfortunately the video stream did not work but you can hear the audio at <insert link here>.
The day ends with teachers trying to out bid each other on the silent auction items. There are some deals to be had on some outstanding items. There are artful and cutthroat bidders but all is done in jest. I know I wish I had bid a little more aggressively on a few items.
As the day ends and the teachers leave, we begin rearranging and planning for the next day. As sneaky as a cat, midnight is upon us again as I head to my room to prepare for tomorrow’s closing. I was warned that my closing remarks may change as the week moves along and I find it to be true.