Promising Practices 2011.

When I register for the Promising Practices conference I had no idea what I needed to do or what it was about.  I arrived at the Donovan Dinning Center around 8:00 clock am or maybe a little later because people where already walking to the designated area when I got there. The next step was to tell them my name so they could locate my package, collect my $20.00 dollars and let me sign my name. After that someone told me and guided me to where I was suppose to go . I went to Workshop G on room 212.  To be honest with you I didn't know what I was registering for , so I register for what I though was in relation with our class.  The name of the workshop was WORKING WITH SPECIAL POPULATIONS which I believe now that I know is for teachers and people who work in the school system, but anyways it was too late for me to change it.


The workshop WORKING WITH SPECIAL POPULATIONS had two presenters.  The first one was Ellen Bensusan. Who talked about how people or students with disabilities needed to advocate for themselves. She also talk about the school system and how people like her are trying to improve it for kids with special disabilities.  She also said that kids that can advocate for themselves tend to succeed more than the ones that stay quiet and don't speak up in their lives.  She also mention some universities that have special or are just for students with disabilities.  I believed this was somewhat related to our class because to me it was refer to not let anyone oppress you just because you have a learning disability, speak up , let your teachers know when you have a problem, don't be afraid of society, don't be afraid of letting your teachers know if you are struggling.

The second speaker was Dr. Amanda K. Sox.  She talked about people that come from another country and they are trying to learn English as a second language or ESL.  How to teach those people and all the different ways and models there are to help them learn the language.

   At 10:45 we left the rooms and everyone went to the Donovan Dinning Center. While in the dinning room you could walk around to all the different tables that were set up with a variety of information . They were giving water, tea, coffee, and granola bars.


    We left approximately at 11:45 to the auditorium where while in there we heard the Teen Empowerment and Heang Ly talking and playing games with whoever was brave enough to stand in front of everyone.  They played two games. First they played a game called Wind Blows with words.  Which was conform of seven people.  And the other game was Bag Toss,which also had seven people to play.  Both games were interesting, and it helped some people come out of their shell, because they were force to talk while playing the games.

  After that was finish at 1:00 pm everyone went back to the cafeteria , where everyone had lunch .  They were serving pasta with salad and bread for everyone that assisted the conference.

  Finally while in the cafeteria important people were called to give a little speech, like the vice president of RI college.  And for the ending Dr. Leslie spoke and presented the person who represents the A.L.L.I.E.D.  They spoke to all of us about who impacted them in their lives and their experiences as part of the team empowerment and the A.L.L.I.E.D organization.

  After all the conference was really inspiring for me.   After seen and hearing young kids talk about their lives experiences and how someone inspired them in life was great. It made me think about who inspired me in my younger days and how I could make a change in someone's life at some point.  It could be my own kids like Juanita's mother had an impact in her live or like Dr. Leslie had an impact in Chris life.

  I am so so sorry about the pictures , I took some with my cell phone , I downloaded to my computer and it doesn't wanna cut and paste.