KFP Summer Institute. Come for the knowledge, stay for the dessert.

I’ve been home almost a week, and I am still in awe that an facility like NCCAT even exists. Add in the amazing knowledge gained and incredible people met while attending the KFP Summer Institute, and it was THE professional development opportunity of a lifetime. Then there is the dessert…

There were so many unique and valuable things to take away from the week, but I am most excited about implementing digital portfolios. I already use portfolios in my classroom, but I hate dealing with the set-up and paperwork that goes into maintaining them. Because they are such a valuable tool in the classroom for reflection and conferencing, I wasn’t ready to abandon the idea. Enter Beth and Digital Portfolios! Boom! Problem solved! Using Google Sites, it is so simple to do this that I have already started planning it as part of the first week activities with my grade level team.

I also procured the Strawberry Shortcake recipe and will be implementing it in my kitchen ASAP.

Expectation is such a heavy word.
(It almost implies disappointment.)

I expected to arrive in Cullowhee and be instantly aware of how insignificant I am in the scope of teaching here in the great state of North Carolina. I expected to be inundated with strategies, programs, and pie-in-the-sky ideas that would be quickly shot down by financial restrictions, population limitations, etc. I expected to be reduced to being “the fun one”, once again, and never taken seriously during academic discussions.

Instead, what I got in Cullowhee was a total realignment of my teaching philosophy…a whole new view of myself as an educator, and tools that I can implement immediately. I saw myself and my values reflected in others. I learned what the word Fellowship really means.

I am still an outlier in the profession, but I am no longer alone…