I am so excited to be a Kenan Fellow!  Most people that I’ve told, however, have reacted with confusion…

But you’re an English teacher, right?

I think many don’t understand why a literature teacher is interested in STEM education, or what genetics could possibly have to do with her subject.  I tell them that I aced biology courses in college, that I find genetics fascinating, that there are absolutely valuable connections to English…

They nod.  They smile.  The imagine, perhaps, me catching my lab coat on fire.

When I decided to become a teacher, I knew I wanted to push kids to take risks with their learning, to get outside their intellectual comfort zones.  How can I expect kids to take risks if I don’t take them myself?