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KSDE Commissioner Randy Watson at KSU
February 28, 2017 Before I went to this event, I was only semi-excited. I will be honest and say I was unaware of the KSDE Commissioner and his duties beforehand. I was very curious what he would have to say about education in Kansas. The Woodrow Wilson Elementary Choir did an outstanding job! As hard as it must have been to stand in front of all of us, they belted out two touching tunes and did it well. Once they were done and Randy Watson started to speak, I and the rest of the audience were enraptured. He is a phenomenal speaker, keeping it fun and real and still obviously very prepared. I loved the videos he integrated into his speech, especially the one about how great Kansas is. As a lifelong resident of The Sunflower State I am very proud of our accomplishments. Hearing our Commissioner relate how he conducted a survey of Kansans to find out where we wanted our education system to go in the future was amazing because it was real democracy and representation of the people's wants being the reason behind goals that are set. Seeing that he wants the Kansas school system to change fundamentally, to focus on students and increase the mental health resources of our students, was so relieving as a future teacher. After his talk, I was incredibly relieved about my future teaching in Kansas. I am so glad that I had this opportunity and took it! KSDE Commissioner Randy Watson (apparently a three time KSU alumnus, by the way!) took up an hour of my time, and blew my mind, inspiring me and encouraging me to stay in Kansas when I get my license. |
