Promising Practices Conference

 The 18th annual Promising Practices Multicultural Conference took place at the Donovan Dining Center at Rhode Island College on Saturday, November 7, 2015. When I woke up that day I was exhausted, especially when I had to wake up very early on Saturday, I was nervous about what to expect on that day. I got ready early so that I could look presentable for the day's activities. I have never been to something like this before and I wondered if it would be boring or not. 

First, when I arrived I checked in, and I found my name tag on the table, which had the name of the workshops that I will attend, the process was quick and easy. After that I found some of my classmates, were we sat together on the same table and have some breakfast.

The Conference officially started at 8:30 a.m. when Dr. Nancy Carriuolo the president of Rhode Island College address her Welcome Remarks. Then it was the Keynote Address by Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the Director of Rhode Island Department of Health. The Keynote was about the purpose and importance ofintegrating public health and social work. Dr. Scott discussed that how the public health can be different from district to another, which explains why the districts with the low income families has more issues  like abortion, drugs, and diseases because they are not aware of the importance of public health. 

While Dr. Scott was discussing the importance of the public health, especially in the districts with the low income families, I got a Kozol moment, which reminds me of the people of Mott Haven, and how they suffered from many issues like drugs and diseases, because they live in one of the district which has a low income families. 

My first workshop was called "Hearing Empathy", I was there with Taylor, Sydney, and many more from the FNED class. We kept looking at each other because the presenter was very confusing and he was so fast. I think the reason is he had a lot information that he wanted us to know in a short period of time. When I first walked in to the room, I got a Delpit moment, when I see that he had all the points that he wanted to discuss with us, and how he has the rules and codes of power written on the board.  

My second workshop was really interesting, It called "Worldviews EducationLecture Series". The presenters described how the Rhode Island College's Feinstein School of Education and Human Development's Diversity Committee Launched a project to enhance teacher candidates' and helping professionals' interactive learning with culturally and linguistically diverse professionals around the world and nation. what was very interesting, when we saw a live lecture on Skype with a student from Japan. I got an August moment, because this project is creating a safe spaces for many students all over the world to by encouraging them to learn.

At the end, I was happy I went to the conference . It was a great experience. I can't wait to go again next year. Hopefully It's not going to be as early as this year!!!