Each of the three professional development institutes was different, but great.  The first one really felt like a great pick-me-up after a long year of teaching.  I left NCCAT feeling valued, empowered, and encouraged.  I remember thinking “yes, this is why I chose this profession!  Teaching is fun, and it’s about making learning fun for kids.”  The second PDI really helped me make the transition from our awesome summer experience back into the classroom.  We were asked to think realistically about our experiences and the things we had learned this summer and how we were going to take them into the classroom in the fall.  At the third we were really challenged to think of ourselves as leaders, not just in our classrooms and schools but our local communities and beyond.  Leading up to it, I was not very excited about the third Professional Development Institute.  I didn’t think I was interested in the speakers or the theme of the weekend.  Leaving, though, I understood exactly why were presented with these things and how we can use our positions to influence change.

Looking back, I fully appreciate the way the PDI’s were laid out.  The order and timing of them makes sense for cultivating teacher leaders.  You built us up with the first, challenged us to make change in our classrooms with the second, and then challenged us to make change in our communities and state with the third.  The current state of education in NC is pretty bad.  There is a teacher shortage and with the demands and expectations growing each day, more teachers are leaving.  It is going to take some strong, passionate teacher leaders to make positive change happen.  Kenan Fellows are just the passionate, strong bunch to do that.  I loved learning about the opportunities to make my voice heard.

The KF experience as a whole has shown me that being a teacher is not only about what happens in my classroom.  It is about what I do to better my students lives, and to better my profession.  Creating quality lessons to be shared across the state, becoming a leader in my school for other science educators and using my voice to reach out to law makers to make positive changes are all things that I have learned how to do through this experience.  I am so sad that the Professional Development Institutes are over! 🙁