Keynote Speakers

Dinosaur O'Dell (a.k.a. Kevin Dolan)
Dino has worked as a professional actor, a professional musician and for twenty years has taught music, drama, language arts and improvisation at preschools, elementary schools, theaters, churches and libraries. Dino was a finalist in Telluride's Troubadour Song writing Competition and is a recipient of the Gold World Medal from the New York Festivals Association in Radio Programming. Kansas City's Pitch magazine awarded Dino the 2010 "Best Kid's Music" award. His first CD "Dino O'Dell & the Veloci-Rappers" was a Booklist critic's choice CD for children and both of Dino's CDs are NAPPA Honors Award winners. Dino lives in Kansas City with his wife and two year old and tours the Midwest with his children's band "The T-Rex All-Stars". The integration of education through problem solving, personal expression and creativity is the focus of his work with children.

 

 

Thursday, March 8 – 9:30am – 10:45am – Pre-Conference Opening General Session Keynote Address: The Magic of Music Thursday, March 8 – Featured Presentations #1000 & #2000: Motivation, Interaction and Space Aliens: How to Trick Earthlings into Learning
Friday, March 9 – Featured Presentation #1: Motivation, Interaction and Space Aliens: How to Trick Earthlings into Learning

Larry Griffin, a National Education Consultant and an Assessment Specialist, is one of Kaplan’s most dynamic and requested national trainers. Early in his education career, Larry taught elementary school in North Carolina’s largest school district—Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. During this time, Mr. Griffin was selected as the North Mecklenburg Teacher of the Year and received two education awards from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. In 1991, Larry was honored by Davidson College with the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award—in recognition for his outstanding contributions in the field of education.

Larry left North Carolina and moved to Frankfurt, Germany. During his three years there, he managed early childhood programs for the military. He overhauled the early childhood curriculum for the German campus of the City Colleges of Chicago, and was the lead instructor for the program. Larry also served as an advisor and representative for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credentialing program sponsored by the Council for Professional Recognition and facilitated the attainment of credentials for both center-based and family child care providers stationed in Frankfurt and surrounding cities.

Mr. Griffin returned to North Carolina where he was employed for five years as an Education, Disabilities, and Mental Health Program Manager for Blue Ridge Community Action Head Start. He also served on a number of boards and committees overseeing early education programs and initiatives. He represented Head Start on two county consortia that qualified children for Part C services and the child abuse/child mortality committee of Social Services. Additionally, Larry taught early childhood courses for two community colleges: Western Piedmont Community College and Caldwell Community College.

Larry joined Kaplan in December 2000 and his enthusiasm and experience have been a tremendous asset to Kaplan. He is an eloquent speaker and draws from his vast experience in early education to make his presentations, keynotes, and trainings entertaining and relevant. He has trained thousands of teachers, administrators, and parents across this country and in Europe.

Larry has a B.A. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). Additionally, he holds a M.Ed. in Education Administration with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction, also from the UNCC.

Thursday, March 8 – Featured Presentations #1001 & #2001: The Flower that Shattered the Stone: Nurturing the Nature of Children with Challenging Behaviors
Thursday, March 8 – 7:30pm – 8:30pm – Pre-Conference Evening General Session Keynote Address: Teaching Boys and Girls With Their Brains in Mind

Steve Metzger grew up in Queens, NY in the 1950s with his “baby” sister, Lois. He recalls a simpler time: “Six TV stations, no computers, and lots of free time to play with my friends.” After graduating from Baruch College (a business school), Steve bounced around, doing various jobs -- taxi driver (two of his passengers were Robert Redford and Andy Warhol), dishwasher, importer of shirts and sweaters from Italy, and hotel desk clerk. One day, while unemployed, he saw a group of children from a local daycare center playing in Central Park. He volunteered to help out. Ever since, one way or another, he’s been involved, in the lives of young children.

Steve’s volunteering work led him to Bank Street College of Education, where he received his Masters degree. He taught for fifteen years, mostly with preschoolers. He then spent a few years as a school administrator. During that period, he was recruited to work at Scholastic, where he has been ever since. At Scholastic, Steve was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to write children’s books. The first book that he wrote was The Dinofours: I’m Super Dino! Twenty-seven other Dinofours’ adventures, based on his classroom experiences, followed. In addition to the Dinofours, he has written over forty other books. Among these are Detective Blue, The Way I Act, The Mixed-Up Alphabet, and the forthcoming Pluto Visits Earth! Steve hopes that his respect and appreciation for young children and early childhood teachers shine through in his stories. Steve currently lives in New York City with his wife and teenage daughter.

Saturday, March 10 – 11:30am – 12:30pm – Closing General Session Keynote Address: Picture Books and the Early Childhood Classroom

Vivian Gussin Paley writes and teaches about the world of young children. She examines their stories and play, their logic and their thinking, searching for meaning in the social and moral landscapes of classroom life.

In 1997, her book, The Girl With the Brown Crayon, was given the Harvard University Press Virginia and Warren Stone Prize as the outstanding book about education and society. In 1999 the same book brought her the NCTE David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English. Other books include: The Boy Who Would be a Helicopter, You Can’t Say You Can’t Play, The Kindness of Children, A Child’s Work, and The Boy on the Beach, to name a few.

Mrs. Paley received the John Dewey Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award for the year 2000, and more recently, in 2004 was named “Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts” by the National Council of Teachers of English.

A kindergarten teacher for 37 years, Mrs. Paley brings her storytelling/story acting and discussion techniques to children, teachers, and parents throughout the world.

Friday, March 9 – 8:45am – 10:15am – Opening General Session Keynote Address: The Importance of Fantasy Play: A Nurturing Ground for All
Friday, March 9 – Featured Presentation #16: Doing Stories: The Art of Story Dictation and Story Acting as Classroom Theater