November in Review: A Photo Blog!

        As stated in my previous blog post, A Season of Thanks, November has been very busy, and I will not be able to meet my goal of four blog posts this month.  However, this edition of my monthly photo blog will serve as two blogs in one: my "On the Road" travel update and my photo blog! 

       November has been a month of inspiring educators, errant doors on the road, exciting educational programs, engaging community leaders, and exceptional North Carolinians.

Inspiring Educators:

     As I travel the state, I continue to be impressed by the outstanding teaching that I see from the mountains to the sea.  I have been so blessed to be able to meet educators--retired, current, and future--who are passionate about teaching and working with students. 

      One of these groups of inspiring educators includes the 2013-2014 North Carolina Regional Teacher of the Year Team.  Meeting these phenomenal teachers and individuals has been one of the highlights of my year as North Carolina Teacher of the Year.  I am so honored to represent each one of them and their regions.  North Carolina is truly in good hands.  Here we are at the NC Awards:

Julian Wilson, Me, Carrie Morris, Pam Mills, Shannon Godfrey, Jill Francis, Thomas McGeachy
(not pictured: Christopher Petree and Jan Adams)

       In addition to speaking at school districts, I have also given some speeches at teacher organizations like Alpha Delta Kappa Teacher Sorority.  When I traveled to Madison, North Carolina, I spoke with an enthusiastic group at Rio Grande.  One of the educators, Frankie Case, is a true teaching rockstar.  Recently diagnosed with breast cancer, she is undergoing treatment.  She told me that after working in education for over fifty years as a teacher and now as a subsitute, as soon as she "beats cancer," she will be back in the classroom as a subsitute teacher.  Thank you, Frankie Case, and all the other inspirational life-long educators in North Carolina!

With Martha Webb, President of the Madison Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa

The Madison Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa (Frankie Case is standing up in the back right)

     As a teacher you often establish strong friendships with other teachers at your school.  These friendships serve an important professional function in establishing collaborative groups to meet the needs of students, but they also serve a personal function as your school community becomes a second family.  I have missed seeing my coworkers, students, and their parents this year, but November was a treat because I was able to spend a little time at Grimsley High School and I went on two trips with some of my coworkers.  I traveled to Savannah, Georgia to run the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon with one of my coworkers, and I later spent my birthday weekend in Boone with an awesome group of educators from Grimsley High School.  

With a Great English Teacher and Friend, Athena Mobley, in Savannah, Georgia

Celebrating Post Race Success!

A Chilly Morning in Boone, NC

     I also met inspiring educators across the state and the country when I attended a Common Core Conference in Chicago in November.  I loved learning more about the standards and spending time with educators who are passionate about content and teaching critical thinking skills to our students.

Waiting for the "L" to Get Deep Dish Pizza with Educators from NC and Colorado

Errant Doors on the Road and Other Travel Tales:

     I spent so much time on the road during the month of November, both in the state and out of the state, that I could tell many tales about kind, funny people and trips that had their struggles, but I'm going to limit myself to three tales of the road.

     My first tale is one of the reasons why I am so proud to live in a state where the people are so friendly.  While stopping in restaurants while I travel, I have had some truly hilarious conversations with North Carolinians.  The people I have met have gone out of their way to make me feel at home when I am miles away from my real home.  One of my favorite moments occurred outside of Clinton, NC at a Wendy's.  When I ordered a chicken salad without any chicken, the lady kindly gave me extra apples and pecans to make up for the fact that I was "a poor thing that didn't eat no meat."  She also chatted with me for a while and made me smile in a moment when I was feeling lonely.  I am so thankful for little moments like these as I travel.

     My next tale concerns the reason why I currently do not have a state car to drive.  While waiting at a stoplight to turn into a parking garage at Appalachian State University, my car was hit by an errant door that flew open on a construction vehicle as it approached my car in the oncoming traffic.  Luckily the door was only big enough to break my driver mirror and scratch the side of my car, but it was a slightly nerve-wracking experience right before giving a speech to college students!  Here is a picture of my mirror-less car and the scratch on the door:

My State Car

     My last tale of the road occurred in the Chicago Airport.  I had to leave Chicago on the same day that the tornadoes swept through the town.  After numerous delays and getting on a standby flight, I was able to fly out late Sunday night and arrive in Greensboro very early Monday morning.  While at the Chicago airport, I observed that people deal with stress in two ways: they laugh about it or they get mad.  Sometimes when things are out of your control, it is better just to laugh than to get angry.  I laughed away the hours at the airport with Kelly Hines, a great Guilford County elementary educator.  When we finally got in the air, I was able to see this beautiful sight as we said goodbye to Chicago:

Look Closely in the Center and You Can See Downtown Chicago!

Exciting Educational Programs and Engaging Community Leaders:

     There are some exciting partnerships occurring across our state right now between businesses, community organizations, and schools.  Early in the month, I followed up with the Douglas Byrd 3D-GREES girls in Fayetteville, NC.  They had just received their first 3D printer and were so excited to put their developing engineering skills into practice!

I love the joy on their faces!

     I also spoke to three different groups about establishing and maintaining these partnerships.  While in Wilmington at the first NC Foreign Trade Promotion Conference, I spoke about the importance of business partnerships with education.  While at the conference, I also had the opportunity to get a "sneak peek" of a new technology called URcast that will download online content to devices that students can take home even if they do not have Internet access in their homes.  There are some exciting opportunities for flipped classrooms and 1:1 initiatives with this technology!

A Tour of the Wilmington Port with the NC Foreign Trade Conference

     I later spoke with parents and community members at Grimsley High School on the State of Education in North Carolina.  I was so encouraged by the overwhelming support for education and teachers that I saw from the attendees at my speech.

     Finally, I spoke at the Guilford Education Alliance Moving Forward Summit.  The Education Alliance consists of business and community leaders who support education initiatives in our public schools.  My speech on Moving Forward with our educational practices and business partnerships was well-received and left me optimistic about the ways that we can all work together to make public education a priority in North Carolina.

Speaking at the Summit

Exceptional North Carolinians:

     One of the most exciting events in November was being invited to be recognized along with the Regional Teachers of the Year at the North Carolina Awards.  We were so honored to be recognized at the same event where North Carolina leaders in AIDS research, the arts movement, literature, linguistics, politics, and the NCAE were given the prestigious NC Award.  It was a great evening and a reminder of the impact a strong education had on each of the award recipients.

Governor McCrory on the Stage at the NC Awards

Miss North Carolina (whose platform is literacy)

With the Inspirational John Lucas, an Education Pioneer in NC