I took the Myers Briggs inventory for the first time during a leadership conference the summer after my freshman year of high school. I was only one of two people there with my type. I remember feeling singled out and like I had the “wrong” personality type because my introverted self felt very uncomfortable watching all of the extroverts across the room who seemed to be having such fun. About thirty years later on the first full day of the KFP Summer Institute, I found many amazing people who share aspects of my personality type. Because of this discovery, I started my adventure as a Kenan Fellow by embracing my strengths as a leader instead of feeling as if I should force myself to be someone I’m not. My week was a refreshing time of self-reflection and deep learning. Being surrounded by positive educators who are passionate about our profession and building friendships with my peer review group were the highlights of my week. I know this was just the beginning of some wonderful relationships and I am certain I will be calling on my new friends and colleagues from now on.
My green notebook is filled with ideas to implement in my classroom. I learned a few new team-building activities that I will be adding into my plans for our first days back from the Covid-19 schedule. I am excited to do the Ant Picnic citizen science project with my Biology students and will plan some GooseChase scavenger hunts for all my classes. I will create my first official PBL lesson this year based on my internship with Biltmore Farms and I’m excited to incorporate some local community connections into it as well.
The Professional Development I experienced during my week at the KFP Summer Institute was more personalized than any other that I have attended. For the first time as a learner, I had so many opportunities to choose my own learning paths. I truly enjoyed the freedom to allow myself alone time for personal reflection and exploration. With my new and improved understanding of my personality type, I felt empowered to learn in my own preferred way without the guilt of “doing it wrong”. I also appreciated the encouragement to push past my comfort zone to interact and learn from a diverse group of excellent educators. Having so much choice of what, when, and how to learn this week was truly refreshing and multiplied the week’s impact on me.
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