The week spent at NCCAT was amazing! I had so many mixed emotions going in. I didn’t know any of the teachers who had been selected for Kenan Fellows, nor had I ever driven that far from home by myself. I am so glad that I was able to experience NCCAT. There are 2 experiences that will always be the highlight of my week: 1. White-water rafting down the Nantahala River and 2. Making S’mores. Both are things that I have never done before. I am so proud that I overcame my fear of water by getting on that raft. That’s an experience that I will be able to share with my son and my students. I did something that I was terrified to do. I prayed about it and just went with it! The toll bridge will forever be the most exhilarating thing that I have ever done. I felt some empowered running across the rafts and jumping in. I didn’t think about it, I just did it. I almost drowned but I am so glad that I took the plunge. Making s’mores was so amazing. My marshmallow roasting queen Beth was so helpful in giving me tips on how to roast the marshmallow just right.
NCCAT provided so many learning opportunities throughout the five days that we were there. One thing that I will definitely implement in my classroom during the first few weeks of school are the Ice-Breaker activities that involved physical education. I think it is an awesome idea to get students up and moving and learning about each other at the same time. I still don’t quite understand the helium sticks but I think that would be great to do with the kids. I was able to take many things out of each professional development opportunity, but struggled with the World View presentation. I don’t think that it was clear on how to make sure that we are embracing the cultural diversity of our students in our classroom. I loved the activity of Country A and Country B and noticing the differences…just wish there would have been more in the presentation towards that concept.
Edcamp at Kenan was sooooo different from anything that I had ever experienced before. This was the first professional development where I was able to give suggestions for the professional development and then attend the ones that I felt I could benefit from. Most schools offer professional development based on what the county or principal is focusing on for the school. It felt nice to attend professional development that was tailored to my needs. I truly enjoyed the Marketing Yourself as an Educator session. I had never thought of myself as having a “brand.” That was eye-opening and I believe it will continue to guide me in become the educator that I always wanted to be.
Until next time…
