Stander 08

So on Wednesday April 9th, I attended the Sander presentations in KU ballroom. This was def. something I was not interested in going to (as i am sure others felt the same way too) but once I got there and started walking around and looking at all of the different topics, it turned into a great experience actually. The first presentation that caught my attention was one titled, "Determination and Down Syndrome; The Story of Karen Gaffney." Having worked with special needs children my whole life and also possibly becoming an intervention specialist, this presentation caught my attention as soon as I walked by. The presentation along with the facts was very interesting. I have never heard the story of Karen Gaffney, but I must say that it was a very heartwarming story. In summary Karen is a 29 year old woman with down syndrome with one leg complety crippled and also hearing and sight problems. However she has overcame these obstacles and has become one of the greatest swimmers of all time, accomplishing the Columbia River Swim, and a relay across the English Channel. I loved this presentation, it was something that touched my heart and has stuck with me since.

I was also impressed with the presentation done by Kelly McNichols and Patricia M. Hart, titled, "Standardized Tests: Helping or Hurting?" This presentation caught my attention due to the fact that we have been talking about standardized testing in my education class. The purpose if this study was to present recent research on standarized testing in the school system. These girls presented their audience with many facts such as the postive benefits and disadvantges of standardized testing, and a short talk on the No Child Left Behind. I found this presentation to be very intresting and packed full of helpful facts.

Stander 08' was very intresting, it was packed full of so many topics and you could see by just walking around and observing that each person there had done such a great amount of research on their topic and were ready to help and answer any questions.