NAGC Convention... and All That Jazz

An impressed Bill Nye offered to take me
to the moon after seeing my presentation.*

Recently, I had the privilege of presenting the curriculum material of my new book, Teaching Technology through Interest Projects to colleagues at the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.  In April, when I accepted the invitation to speak, I had no idea I would be so nervous come November!  Thanks to the support of my husband, family and friends, I survived many people's worst fear: public speaking.

My presentation room was packed (A special thank you to those attending!) and my audience was extremely receptive and engaged in my material.  I had teachers and administrators asking pertinent questions during my slideshow and giving positive feedback afterwards.  Of course, I made each attendee sign an affidavit that they promised to by my book as soon as it is released by The Critical Thinking Company.  (Hey, a girl on sabbatical has got to eat.)

At the end of my hour, I had one administrator approach me to ask if I would be available to teach my Interest Projects' curriculum to her staff.  I answered with a resounding, YES!  Suddenly, a new career path appeared before me:  I could teach the teachers and travel, presenting/promoting my material around the country.

That one magical hour at NAGC in New Orleans cured my public speaking fear.  Funny, how successful experiences do that, isn't it?   So if anyone out there needs a speaker for your faculty, I'm available.



*Bill Nye did not see my presentation.