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…