FORUM TIME

I second everything my co-fellow Carol wrote below me about the National Forum on Character Education, and I want to supplement her comments with an additional plug for her: Carol played a HUGE role in ensuring that the Forum was a success, and she handled that responsibility with grace and ease! Whenever another staff member was unsure about why, for instance, one of the attendees didn't have any registration details, or where a sign was supposed to be hung, or whether a certain speaker was meant to have a projector in his or her room, Carol was the go-to person to ask. She constantly astounded me with her ability to recall large amounts of detailed information, and I know that had anyone else been in her position, the Forum would not have gone as smoothly as it did. So, a big congratulations to Carol!!!

While Carol deserves much more than that brief tribute, I have to move on to the Forum itself, which took place over three jam-packed days of keynote speakers, educational workshops and sessions, and school site visits. Carol and I flew into San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon so that we could be ready to work hard to prepare the conference bags for every attendee and set up the Exhibit Hall the next day. This "set-up" day was the most exhausting for me, but Thursday, Friday, and Saturday went by a lot more quickly as we worked to put into action everything that we have been planning since Carol and I arrived at CEP and that the other fellows planned before us.

Like Carol, the most rewarding part of the Forum for me was finally meeting all of the individuals I had been communicating with via email and telephone for months and seeing for myself the caliber of people who dedicate their lives to a cause such as character education. It was really wonderful to be able to connect with the exhibitors, educators, and scholars who were there. Everyone was thrilled to be participating, and in one of the discussion-based sessions that I was able to attend on the last day (the topic was how character education can help close the achievement gap), I heard many comments from participants who were so happy to have attended such a worthwhile conference and who hoped their schools could send more representatives next year. I was very proud to have played a role in pulling off the Forum, and I'm looking forward to using what I learned to help make next year's Forum an even bigger success! Planning Day 1 starts tomorrow!