CAST 2006, Wichita Falls, TX

Wednesday, 11/08—
I left after school today for Wichita Falls, TX for the CAST: the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching-- sponsored by STAT, the Science Teachers Assoc. of Texas. Everyone else was either in the Suburban with Clardy driving, or in Link's truck. I came in my little Toyota Prius as a backup. (Got 48 mpg, by the way.) I got here first, but I had beenn told the wrong hotel. After a couple of tries, I found the one where we were registered, Hawthorn Suites on Elmwood Ave North. Everyone else was quite a bit later arriving. Some because they left late, some because they stopped too many times. But we're in the rooms now, and that's all that counts. It's very late, and tomorrow comes very early. Let the adventure begin!

Thursday, 11/09--
Our first full day at the conference started off with an adventure. We got up early in order to go to the first-timers breakfast and orientation. We got on the shuttle bus provided by the conference at our hotel. He didn't know where he was going. A passenger got him to make an out of order stop at MSU and that's when the trouble started. He got lost. I had printed out the driving directions and a map leading from our hotel to the MPEC (the main hub of the conference), so I gave it to him. He misread the directions at first, then entered a highway instead of going under it. 10 minutes later, as we LEFT THE COUNTY, we began telling him to turn around, he had gone too far. Then we told him a little louder as he didn't stop. We finally got him turned around and (after a couple more wrong turns) eventually made it to the Conference Center. The eleven minute ride had taken nearly an hour. We missed the breakfast and orientation and were a little late for registration. Like I said, an adventure. It'll make a good story to tell back home.

2-5:30 pm- John (me), Charla, and Stephanie went on a field trip: "Animal Adaptations at Riverbend". The program was aimed at teaching adaptations used for defense in nature in both plants and animals. We also looked at tracks and owl pellets. Lot's of fun and informative. I think I expected more for the classroom, like materials to use. It was good though. When we got back, we looked for the rest of the crewe and spent a few minutes in the Exhibit Hall. I'll need to go back later. There seems to be lots of good stuff in there. We did run into the High School group in th ere. They looked pretty tired.
Some of us went out to "Fat McBride's" steakhouse for dinner. It was good. Not fabulous, just good. In a little we're headed to the ladies' room to confer and coordinate. More tomorrow.

Friday, 11/10
1:31 pm: Today has been pretty interesting day so far. This morning the alarm didn't go off so I slept a little later. We stayed up late last night coordinating who was going to which class in which building. Stephanie and Sonia fell asleep (though Sonia woke up later). We got it so that we cover as many classes as we can. Three of us had sugned up for the short session about learning stations. It was very good, and three hours long.
We met for lunch at the student center cafeteria. We couldn't find Mrs. Smith. Right now I'm sitting waiting for a presentation on Rocks in Layers. While we're waiting, we're exchanging information. This is the best part of the process.
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Well, it's a good thing that it's the best part, because the presenter is a no-show. We talked a little more, exchanging ideas and information, then we all left. I checked with an official; they don't know why the presenter didn't come. Oh well, more time to work on my journaling and make notes on my workshops.

10:45 pm-- The rest of the afternoon went very well. "Energizing Your Classroom" was very good. We played energy bingo among other things. After that I went on over to the exhibition hall since I really hadn't had much time there yet. Found lots of interesting things, most of which I either couldn't use or couldn't afford.

When I left it was nearly 5:30 and almost time for the BBQ. Instead of catching the shuttle, I just walked. It only took about 10-15 minutes. Sonia came about 20 minutes later. But the rest o the group almost didn't get to eat. They came after 7 o'clock- over an hour late! They did get to eat though. It was great BBQ ribs provided by the Wichita Falls Mavericks. They provided it free of charge, not included in the price. They cooked it, served it, and gave great live music. The Mavericks were apparently founded right after WWII as a service group tasked to encourage good feelings about Wichita Falls. After the BBQ, we went and got ice cream at Braum's and acted generally like idiots. Then it's back to the hotel. We have to be checked out when we leave in the morning as we will not be back before check-out time.

Saturday, November 11, 2006
8:45 pm—What a day! As we were heading to MSU for the workshops, the bus stopped by the Fairfield Inn. The teachers getting on there told us that the staff was completely gone. They couldn’t find any staff on the premises at all: no desk people, no housekeeping, no maintenance- nobody. Some of the teachers found the breakfast supplies and made the “complementary breakfast” for themselves and everybody. I heard about it few more times during the day, but never heard an explanation. Weird.

The rest of the morning was spent in workshops as usual. My last one was the TEA elementary science strand presentation. At first I was alone, but eventually 6 more people showed up. After that everybody met up and headed out. Sonia was back at the hotel waiting for us. Then it’s home. What a week! A good one, but I sure am tired.