Mission Towards Education: Pedagogy and Practice The Florida Association for Childhood Education International Conference

Childhood Education, 2005 by Szecsi, Tunde

The Florida ACEI conference, the theme of which was "Mission Towards Education: Pedagogy and Practice," was held at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) on February 12, 2005. The Florida ACEI, the Eagles Educate/ACEI Student Branch at FGCU, and the SW Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Partnership cosponsored the event. Two hundred participants from the state of Florida attended.

Featured keynote speaker James L. Hoot, former president of ACEI, spoke on "Educating Children in a Global World." The event offered 15 break-out sessions focusing on: Integrated Topics in Special and Childhood Education, Diversity and Literacy, and Environmental Sustainability. Presenters represented various educational institutions from the state of Florida. One presenter, preschool teacher Ekaterina Strekalova, came all the way from the ACEI Branch in Moscow, Russia, giving this event an international element. In addition, students and teachers presented their posters and great classroom ideas at the poster and make take sessions. To make this day even more memorable, we raffled off books and four registrations to the ACEI conference in Washington, D.C.

The Eagles Educate/ACEI student Branch at Florida Gulf Coast University was organized and formally recognized as a Student Branch this year. The conference committee, made up of student members and professors from Florida Gulf Coast University, spent several months diligently working as they collaborated to make this event a huge success. Presenters and conference attendees unanimously agreed that the conference offered not only current, invaluable information about education in a global world, but also many opportunities for networking with national and international colleagues. Students, professionals, and classroom teachers enthusiastically expressed their interest in attending ACEI conferences of this magnitude in the future.

-Tunde Szecsi, Florida Gulf Coast University