Notes from the Conference - Part 1

Over the next couple of days, I’m going to post a few entries concerning the 52nd Annual Early Childhood Association of Florida Conference I attended on September 28-29. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the attendance level for the conference was estimated at 3,000, which included only 20 were males, according to one registration official. Of the 3,000 I recognized only one person who was from the area where I lived. The group was friendly although I felt some attendees wondered what I was doing there--one of only two Black male attendees.

The conference opened at about 8:45 a.m. on Sept 28 after professional development sessions the day prior. The dais members were introduced and afterward, Amy Goldin, a teacher-singer-composer-arranger-conductor (http://www.amygoldin.com/), lead the conferees through a high-energy series of kiddy songs. My initial impression was: She has a beautiful voice, but it's w-a-a-a-a-a-y too early for me to participate in "happy-happy" songs without benefit of a cup of coffee! Perhaps only having a few hours of sleep the night before may have accounted for my attitude. I felt guilty not fully participating in the rousting activity and wanted to take a photo with Amy Goldin to reduce my guilt, but when the session ended, I couldn't locate Amy Goldin.