Conference Day

Conference Day….not as exciting as it sounds. We rushed to get out of the hotel to travel what was supposed to be a half hour ride in the van. Didn’t work out that way. The site wasn’t one either our instructor or our driver knew, so we drove close to the area and then the driver started canvassing the auto-riskshaw drivers to see if anyone could direct us. Several directions later we arrived at our destination only 1.5 hours later. Apparently they had started late so we were actually only 15 minutes late. The first few talks weren’t really what I’m used to from different conferences I’ve attended around the US. We’ll diplomatically leave it at that, although one gentleman stood out from the crowd. He started life very poor and wanted to make a difference. He went to school and studied medicine. After obtaining his MD he went back to provide health care to those he views as marginalized by the Indian administration.

Lunch was okay, not as good as at LBC but not bad either. The afternoon talks were more interesting and a few presenters managed to present interesting topics and present them well. Unfortunately the majority seemed very impressed by their own importance and the sound of their own voices. Two who stood out were a former CEO of an American Company who, as a youth, had worked with Mother Theresa. After 10+ years of running a company she realized that the only contribution she was making to the world was a paycheck for her employees. She quit and used her life savings to start a school among those marginalized by society. What impressed me most about this lady was not her accomplishments but her ability to take the slings of one of her fellow presenters who was giving an alternative opinion of schooling. He was radical and his ideology flawed. While his philosophy might work in extremely small populations of students, hers applied to the masses. She remarked after one of his slams on her methods that his had validity and that she enjoyed listening to his views. He was less than forthcoming with any type of reciprocation….he pretty much liked his own ideas too much to give any credence to any others to the point of rudeness. So kudos to her and *bleck* to him.