My time as a Kenan Fellow began on Monday morning on a drive to NCCAT (North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching) in beautiful Cullowhee, NC. I tagged along with Amy Kennedy, a colleague from Duplin County, who is also a 2015-16 Fellow. This road-trip allowed us a lot of time to talk about our respective schools and teaching positions. Ironically, even though we are in the same district, both teach middle school math AND live in the same town, we didn’t really know each other at all until our time on the road as Kenan Fellows. As we drove through the morning rush hour traffic on I40 and wondered at the plethora of law enforcement vehicles that zoomed past us, we discussed curriculum, students, administration, and family lives. It struck me that we get so wrapped up in the daily requirements of our lives and professions that we miss so many opportunities to network with others and that is what I hope to gain from my experience as a KF this year.
I look forward to the upcoming year as a Kenan Fellow with great excitement and anticipation simply because of all the great teachers who are also Kenan Fellows. As we sat through our first day of professional development, it occurred to me what an awesome school we could build if we had all of these teachers in one building. On the other hand, there were a lot of what I call “alpha teachers” in that room, but that’s ok! Teacher leadership is in short supply these days, so I found it very refreshing to be around so many enthusiastic educators who don’t mind rolling up their shirt sleeves and getting to the nitty-gritty of education. Refreshing in the sense that it was like a tall drink of cool water on a hot day. (Not as cold as the water of the Nantahala, but I’m getting ahead of myself.)
My project is eMammal Camera Trap Stakeout and I am on a team of 3 Kenan Fellows. Jordan Hohm and Cathy Belair will be my partners in crime this summer. We have spent some time together these last few days, including some harrowing moments in a raft, and based on just these few short experiences, I’m certain we are gonna rock the world of camera traps. I hope Stephanie is ready for us!
As for how I hope the Kenan Fellows experience will improve my effectiveness as a teacher, I am excited about writing curriculum and hopefully planning some community outreach as part of this project. I want others to be as excited about it as I am. Stay tuned….