At Central yesterday I spoke to a group of International Baccalaureate writing students. Talk about a great audience!
The last time I stood on this stage was in 1955. It was a talent assembly and I played a trombone solo called Lassus Trombone.
Now, 68 years later, I’ve traded my horn for the honor of receiving a plaque from NATALIE MURDOCK, Executive Director of the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools and standing beside JEREMY BROWN, principal of Central. The plaque will go on a wall with other past graduates of the school who have been inducted into the SPS Hall of Fame. Today at noon the official induction ceremony will take place.
It’s time to start getting serious about a special upcoming event. This is repeated information but I need to say it again..
The date is set. On the evening of August 11, 2023, Foundation for Springfield Public Schools will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the book, WHAT I’VE LEARNED SO FAR.
This was one of my all-time favorite projects. With the full support of our public school system, I formed a committee of more than fifteen teachers and we asked the district’s 24,000 students Prek-12 and 2,400 staff members to finish the prompt, “What I’ve learned so far is…“
More than 12,000 students and staff responded. My committee and I pared the contributions down to 1,100. After students illustrated the book, I had it printed in Cassville, Missouri, got it copyrighted, registered it with the Library of Congress, obtained an ISBN number, and we started selling our masterpiece. It was by every measurement a runaway success.
Add 30 years to those K-12 kids (and many of their teachers) from 1993, and there will be many fascinating stories to share. Our goal is to fill the hall (location to be named soon) with authors of that well-loved book. The more the better! If you live in the area, plan on attending. If you’ve moved away, plan a trip to Springfield in August so you can join the fun. I just spoke to one your classmates who now lives on the other side of the world. She can’t make the party but wanted me to know that WHAT I’VE LEARNED SO FAR was a project that she remembers fondly from her high school days at Kickapoo.
For more information and updates leading up to the celebration, please send a note to Natalie Murdock at nmurdock@spsmail.org and copy me at davidlharrison1@att.net. This will be an unique kind of reunion. Don’t miss the fun!
I was glad to hear from so many authors and illustrators of WHAT I’VE LEARNED SO FAR yesterday when I announced the party on August 11, 2023 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the book. I want to set up a way to keep track of you and make sure you receive an official invitation to the event when the time comes. I’ll get with NATALIE MURDOCK, Executive Director of The Foundation for Public Schools, and work on a plan.
In the meantime, be sure you mark the date on your calendar and stay in touch with me here for further word. And also, please keep sharing the word with your own social media and/or directly with those you think might be interested!
Children's Author David L. Harrison's Blog 