May the Fourth Be with You: My Reflections, Thank Yous, and the Beginning of a Blogging Blitz

I want to start with an apology.  I have been incredibly absent from my blogging lately.  My last post was in January... when it looked like this outside:

Now it looks like this:

The past few months have been an absolute whirlwind of travels, meetings, speeches, and exciting events (like meeting the President of the United States of America!). 

Selfies in the White House

I have not had much time to breathe, much less catch up on my blog, but what I do have are hundreds of photographs and several half-written blog entries that I never finished.  As my year starts to slow down, I am committed to going back and filling in the gaps.  I want to share my year with others, so I am about to begin a blogging blitz!  Expect a couple of blogs to be posted each week, post-dated to reflect when they occurred during the year. 

Hoping to Find Inspiration for Blogging with Coffee and Shakespeare

I'd like to start with my "farewell letter" that was recently published in the May Superintendent's Bi-Weekly Newsletter.  I actually wrote it at a coffee shop on May 4, and it references Yoda, hence the title "May the Fourth Be with You." 

           As my year of service as North Carolina Teacher of the Year 2013-2014 comes to a close, I find it difficult to put into words this humbling year of conversations, debates, collaboration, introspection, inspiration, and personal growth.  It is the recursive process of teaching, reflecting, listening, learning, and sharing that best describes my year.  Yoda, the sage guide in Star Wars, explains my experience and what I think we as a profession must consider as we move education forward.  As Yoda guides young Luke Skywalker, he tells him, “You must unlearn what you have learned.  Teach yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”



                A few weeks before my official journey as teacher of the year began last summer, I attended the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Seminar “Daring to Lead” with other teacher leaders.  In one of our culminating activities, we wrote our biggest fears and barriers to personal success on a wooden board, and with a great deal of visualization, grit, and determination we broke through the boards and our fears with our bare hands.  I have not shared with many what I wrote on my board. 

 

That day I stood on the precipice of beginning my new adventure out of the classroom as a teacher ambassador.  My biggest fear and personal barrier was the fear of the “unknown.”  I was frightened about the weight of responsibility that the title of North Carolina Teacher of the Year placed on my shoulders and was incredibly cognizant of the need for a voice to represent our 95,000 public school teachers in conversations with all the stakeholders in education.  I knew I needed to be a strong representative, and I needed both to convey what we need in North Carolina to improve education for our 1.5 million students and to share all that is great about public education.  I took my role very seriously, and the “unknown” of how others would react, what it would be like to meet with government representatives to discuss education, and how to best represent our profession was a barrier for me.  In the moment that I thrust my hand toward that board, I thought about my students over the years whom I have constantly encouraged to take risks in their writing and analysis.  When my hand pressed against the hard, wooden surface and pushed through the splintering pieces, I made a commitment to “let go of everything [I feared] to lose.”  I vowed to listen to others so I could unlearn and learn what we most needed in our state.  I found my voice as the North Carolina Teacher of the Year and as your representative.

 

During my travels to North Carolina schools and universities, meetings in Raleigh with legislators, out-of-state conferences on education, and my most recent travels in Washington, DC where other state teachers of the year and I discussed education policy at the United States Department of Education and with the White House staff, I have seen the faces and heard the voices of the teachers and students in North Carolina.  You have all impacted my life so much—the teachers who taught me in Rockingham County, my colleagues in Guilford County, the teachers from the numerous counties I have visited this year, the pre-service teachers who have shared their infectious energy with me, and the students who touch my heart as I dream of the futures they will have.  When I shook President Obama’s hand on Thursday, May 1, I was proud to proclaim that I am from North Carolina.  I took all of you into the White House with me.  You were there when he told me to “continue [our] service to our nation.”

 

Positioned between Presidents Obama and Washington

All of the educators in North Carolina do exactly this every day.  You give so much to our country and to our state by teaching our future.  This year has been frustrating for many, but as my term as your representative comes to a close, I hope that you too will “let go of what you fear,” so we can become a collective voice for what our students need in our state, and we can move education forward.  Thank you for all of your support and for all you do for North Carolina.

Just a Few of Our Great Teachers in NC