Kenan Fellows Cohort 2013-3014

After completing all three Kenan Fellows Professional Development Institutes, I can say that each one provided a specific purpose and met different personal and professional needs.  My time at NCCAT gave me focus and purpose as I began spending time with my mentor.  The speakers provided quality instruction and tools that would guide future lesson plans.  Time spent with other Kenan Fellows was awesome and inspiring.

The second PD at NC State provided support while I was in the thick of my fellowship.  Again, the speakers provided quality instruction while time spent with fellows working on lesson plans for grade alike topics provided inspiration and guidance.   As the Kenan Fellows gathered this past week for PD, it was comforting to see that I was not the only teacher extremely stressed and sadly disappointed with the current state of education in North Carolina.  Speakers Will Cross and J.B. Buxton provided stress relief! Cross with his knowledge of copyright and Buxton with his encouraging words that perhaps teachers can make a difference.

After spending time over the past few months with my Kenan Fellows, I was not completely surprised by each persons leadership style.  I have truly enjoyed my time with each fellow,  I realized during the CCL session, as we grouped ourselves by style, that we really do complement each other.

I feel strongly that one more PD is necessary.   This PD would bring together Kenan Fellows (past and current) for the purpose of discussing and providing solutions to our current educational issues. The Kenan Fellows Program provides a platform of quality teachers and administrators, I know collaboratively we could be the voice of reason.

As I reflect on this issue of social media in the classroom, I believe that the safety of students must be first priority in all learning activities provided.  We are in an age where the goal in education is to provide technology to every student. Our students have become “addicted” to communication through the use of social media and much of what is being communicated amongst students is mean, hurtful and unproductive. Although social media can be a great tool for teaching, I don’t believe it is the best use of our student’s time while learning.   As teachers and administrators, the goal should remain to give students the best education possible and to spark student interest in many areas. In the future, I believe the question in education might be addressing the need to engage students outside of technology.