Darcy Grimes: National Teacher of the Year Conference Day 5

Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Last Day...

Although today is the last day we were all still very excited for what was to come. Today was filled with information, excitement, and emotions. During our first session of the day we heard Scott Palmer from the Education Counsel discuss what is to come in the future. He spoke about upcoming topics and changes in education that could be happening in the future. The information at times was scary, but real. It made us realize what could be on the horizon as far as public education.


Jon Quam and Scott Palmer

Our lunch today was sponsored by People to People. A wonderful program that helps students and teachers take their classroom outside of the four walls of the building. They help students to take field trips abroad. When we walked in the room for lunch, we immediately stopped. They had changed the room into many different countries!


They gave the teachers a quiz about different facts from different countries.

After lunch the teachers worked with the past National Teachers of the Year. It was really neat to hear all of their stories on how they became a teacher and the course they took. They then gave all of us the opportunity to share our stories with small groups. It was really interesting hearing that we all took drastically different paths to get to the same place. The National TOYs also had us practice our "elevator speech". The "elevator speech" is what you would say to someone about education if you only have enough time to speak to them before they got off on their floor in an elevator. It was a very thought proving exercise that I will always remember. It made me realize I need to use my voice to share what is happening in education.

After our Working Session with the National Teachers we were given a couple of hours to explore Scottsdale before our dinner. I walked with a couple of teachers to the "canal". The "canal" is in quotes because it was being drained and only had a couple of puddles. Pictures below:

Camelback Mountain

Me and Iose from American Samoa. Notice the puddle in the background.

Artists came in and added art to the canal since there is no water.

These birds were so loud we thought they were monkeys!

The Pony Express Statues

After our walk it was time to get ready for our Concluding Dinner. This is the dinner where the Four Finalists were announced and the 2012 National Teacher of the Year Rebecca Mielwocki spoke. The food was delicious and there was even someone playing a harp! Pictures below: