When I first applied for a Kenan Fellowship my friend Gail (a former Kenan
Fellow) told me that, although I would enjoy the externship and certainly get a
lot out of my project, the real benefit of the fellowship would be the
professional development and the other fellows that I would spend time with.
Having now gone through the 3 Kenan Institutes I am passing that same advice on
to others who are interested in applying for a fellowship. The sessions offered
through the Kenan Institutes have been some of the best and most meaningful
professional development I have had since moving to North Carolina. Some of the
sessions have forced me to reconsider a few of the entrenched practices in the
classroom, some have made me think about what it means  to be an innovative teacher, and some have
helped me to think outside the box and look for new ways to deliver instruction
and offer my students a rich learning environment. I think what has been most
meaningful for me is the way the topics and activities have pushed me to become
a leader in my school. I often find myself thinking, how am I helping other
teachers in my school and how can I be a positive role model for others as they
navigate the changes that are occurring and the frustrations we are all feeling
in education? I have learned to embrace the leadership role rather than avoid
it, and I have learned strategies to help others navigate change and progress. I
am so grateful for all of the opportunities this fellowship has offered and I am
most appreciative of the time and talents that have been shared through the
Kenan Institutes.

I think the reason some districts ban the use of social media while
others encourage its use comes down to a districts willingness to take
risks.  It appears to me that sometimes
larger districts who are in the spotlight and have so much to lose if they make
a mis-step are much more hesitant to try new ideas and open themselves up for
criticism should they fail.  I guess this
makes sense if you think about it. If a small, rural county makes a decision
and a few students mis-use it, the district can respond to those students and
rework their policy pretty quick.  If a
district like Wake County makes an error and hundreds of kids exploit the
decision you now have a much bigger public perception problem for that
district. I also believe it comes down to trust and control. How much can we
trust out kids to make good decisions and how much control do we have over them
when they make bad decisions?

I am learning so much through my Kenan Fellowship that will directly affect my teaching for years to come. The professional development I am getting through the institutes has been wonderful. I find that it is constantly challenging me to get outside of my comfort zone and try new things, even if I am afraid they might not work. Because of the presentations on technology I find that I am seeking out new ways to use technology to motivate students and offer new opportunities for my students to learn. For example, after a few years of contemplating it I have attempted to flip both my science and math classrooms this year. While I have found great success with flipping the math class, I have been less than happy with flipping the science portion of my instruction. My district created and offered free prerecorded videos for math that included a notes sheet that accompanied each video. I have found the kids use the videos for pre-learning and for remediation before the test. However, in science I found that the flipping took away from the discussion and discourse that occurs when the students are taking notes in class. At this time I am still seeking a balance for note taking in class which fosters questioning and sharing ideas without taking up so much instructional time for students to hand write notes during class time. All of this is a direct result of my Kenan Fellowship.