**This post was intended to be posted in early August, but due to technical difficulties, I’m just now posting it!
Back in April when I received notice that I was going to be a Kenan Fellow, I did not have any idea of how much this experience would change me in a few short months. I am used to being a teacher- I AM a teacher. But what I was neglecting was that I am also a student. I am so used to being the “expert” in the classroom, that I wasn’t taking time to be a student both inside and outside of the school. This Kenan Fellowship has provided me a platform as an expert as I am teaching others at my internship about individuals with intellectual disabilities and how they learn, what supports they may need, and the challenges they face in employment. But this Fellowship has also provided me a platform as a student- a lifelong learner- to immerse myself into content that is so unfamiliar to me that it was (and still is) daunting to face. Before June 25th, I knew close to nothing about manufacturing, recruitment and retention processes, and what ‘ROI’ even stands for. I am guilty of saying “I can’t do this; I don’t know what any of this means!” What I needed to remember was something that I teach my students every day, and that is that having a growth mindset is crucial and necessary for both mental health and academic/vocational success. The statements that I am guilty of saying are valid, as long as the word ‘YET’ added to the end of each phrase. In June, did I know what ROI stood for? Absolutely not- YET. I didn’t know what ROI stood for, yet. I have to practice rewording my phrases so that my students see that someone that they view to be as an “expert,” is using growth-mindset as I navigate the world as a lifelong learner. This was certainly one of my biggest take-aways from this experience.
P.S.- For anyone reading this blog post and, like me, didn’t know what ROI meant, ROI stands for Return on Investment, and hiring individuals with intellectual disabilities has a huge ROI for companies, both large and small. Ask me about it!
Excited for growth,
Caroline
