Marilyn Bishop Shaw

Approximately 100 teachers and administrators from north Florida met for a half-day conference about all things middle school. The keynote speaker, Dr. Paul George the undisputed guru of middle schools, especially those in Florida, provided an entertaining and inspiring review of the forty year history of the revolutionary educational concept called the middle school. Dr. George didn’t have to research that history; he was part of it from the beginning. He applauded Alachua and surrounding counties for their pioneering spirit, willingness to assume leadership, and openness to providing models for others.
The remainder of the program consisted of two break out sessions on a variety of relevant topics. There were several I wish I’d been able to attend but I was there with my author hat on. The group attending “The Other Side of a Book,” was comprised of a varied group of teachers – and two students – all of whom are writers. I shared what I could of my journey thus far and enjoyed the hour of telling and listening to experiences, questions, and aspirations. We had only begun when our time was up which I hated because I learn so much from such sessions.
The conference organizers did a great job of making things run smoothly while providing hospitality and stimulating content. Dr. George’s talk took me down memory lane as my teaching career began in a middle school in 1973 and the very first professional conference I attended was the Florida League of Middle Schools Conference in 1974! Realizing that I’ve been through almost the entire forty year history of the middle school makes me feel pretty old. Tremendous changes have occurred in education during that time but the spirit and energy that make for good middle schools is alive and well.