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BUILD Academy
By: Carlos McClaney
Senior, Technology, Engineering, and Design Education
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BUILD participants and volunteers.
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The BUILD Academy was an event hosted for high school students of color on October 1, 2016. For this particular academy, we focused on getting the participants thinking about teamwork and cooperation. We wanted our participants to think about how their own values and beliefs impact the way they interact with others. During the academy, we had workshops focused on personality types, communication and community building.
We also took the participants on a college-wide scavenger hunt where they had to figure out where to go based on the meanings and services offered by many different places on campus. The participants were given riddles that gave descriptions of each point of interest and a map to see where the building were located. The groups all worked together to figure out which place they needed to go to next and once they were there, the college student leaders would give a description of the resources and meanings each place. The were also short discussions where the participants talked about how they could use different resources when figuring out their future goals, different challenges related to the different meanings of each place, and how teamwork and cooperation are important to the different topics discussed.
Overall, the academy was a success and the participants expressed what they learned throughout the day. The academy also taught me more about working with youth and I look forward to helping out with more academies and summits in the future.
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Academy participants completing a team-building activity with the assistance of group leaders Briana Green and Nicholas Ronczka.
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Just Mercy Symposium
By: Summer Thompson
Freshman, Elementary Education
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On November 16, The Social Justice in Our Communities Symposium brought students together to confront the intense social climate that our country is continuously facing.. The Symposium brought four incredible panelists, Dr. Blair LM Kelly, Mr. William Durham, Ms. Kristy Moore and Mr. Larry Lindsey to discuss several questions in regards to key themes that were prevalent in Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy.
The first topic the panelists discussed was the new issues that are on the rise in the public school system in North Carolina. They discussed the lack of resources and high quality educators in North Carolina due to the low appeal and lack of respect teachers receive while teaching in North Carolina. They also discussed how the biggest concern of the people on the business side of education (i.e. textbook companies, technology companies, etc.) is making money off of children rather than truly providing them with a quality education. The second topic of discussion was how educators play a role in disrupting the injustices that are occurring. Essentially all of the panelists agreed that getting comfortable with uncomfortable situations was key in disrupting the inequalities we come across. Until we can confront inequalities we witness and truly get comfortable with them, social progress will stand still. Finally, a few panelists provided their expertise with how incarceration affects mental health and how a lack of understanding of racial biases, and lack of understanding of mental health in general is the key reasoning for the vicious cycle of incarceration in our country.
The Symposium was a great opportunity to delve further into the social justice issues and injustices that our country faces. The discussions during the Symposium did an incredible job of relating back to many of the key themes in Stevenson’s Just Mercy and provided students with the outlets and means to advocate for the change that we deem as unjust.
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Just Mercy Symposium expert panel.
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Safer Spaces in Educational Settings
By: Nick Ronczka
Senior, Elementary Education
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Creating Safer Spaces expert panel.
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The Creating Safer Spaces Panel was held on October 17th at 6:00 p.m. in Caldwell Lounge. During this panel, four NC State faculty/staff members responded to questions regarding the necessity of creating safer spaces in the K-12 classroom and at the university level. Dr. Joanna Koch (Teaching Assistant Professor and MAT-ESL Program Coordinator for the College of Education), Reggie Barnes (Senior Director, Campus Community Centers), Kevin Neiley (MSW Field Coordinator and Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work for the College of Humanities and Social Science), and Braska Williams (NC MSEN Pre-College Program Coordinator) were the panelists.
Throughout the program, the panelists emphasized the idea of creating classrooms that enable our students to fully express themselves. They explained that when students enter their classrooms every day it is important to remember that they experience real things outside of the classroom. For example, when a student goes to school without their homework completed, citing a lack of help as an excuse, it’s important to remember that this is a reality for some of our students. The reason they didn’t get the help they needed at home may be because their parent or guardian was working a late shift in order to provide for their child’s other needs. The panelists discussed times when they created safe spaces for their students by acknowledging the needs of each individual. They talked about how seeing our students as people and not just as students will enable us as educators to do our jobs and serve our students more effectively. Taking the time to get to know our students on a personal level and understanding their circumstances aids us in developing effective methods of instruction. By meeting our students where they are, we show them that we care about who they are as an individual.
The most influential piece of advice I took away from this panel was that sometimes, as an educator, we have to be willing to talk about situations that no one else wants to talk about. Our students shouldn’t fear entering their schools. They should feel as though they can be themselves no matter what school they go to or what teacher they have. Occasionally, we have to experience discomfort, so that our students can be comforted.
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Teacher Habitat for Humanity Build
By: Cayla Green
Senior, Elementary Education
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This semester for our community service opportunity, Education Council hosted a Teacher Build on October 22nd in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity’s Build-A-Block. This service opportunity took place off of Lake Wheeler Road. The end goal for this project is four affordable town homes.
We began the day by working on the second level of one of the town homes helping to construct walls for the second floor. This experience allowed me to go outside of my comfort zone. Before this opportunity I had no experience with construction. I learned so much about construction work through this experience. We had the opportunity to use different power tools to help us measure and cut wood. We then put the wall together by hammering it using different types of nails. During our day of service we were able to complete and put up two walls on our town home.
Overall, this experience was tough but really rewarding. Teacher build gave me the opportunity to help others in a different way. I learned more about what it takes to construct a home. It was amazing to see how much progress we made in those eight hours of service. If you want more information or want to get involved with habitat for humanity please visit habitatwake.org.
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African Americans in Education: Past, Present, Future
By: Jessica Peacock
Graduate Student, MAT Elementary Education Program
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College of Education graduate students sharing advice on the graduate school process to undergraduates students.
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During Diversity Education Week, I volunteered to serve on a panel to share my experience as a Black graduate student with undergraduate students. The round-robin set up allowed undergraduate students to hear from both master’s and doctoral students in programs that ranged from adult education to elementary education. For me, I was prepared to answer questions about the application process, academic rigor, and finding jobs after graduation.
Discussion questions were provided but many of the undergraduate students were interested in issues of diversity and inclusivity. Honestly, it was a bit disheartening to hear that the racial climate of a University would be a determining factor when choosing where they would continue their education. However, their qualm is understandable and not uncommon. Those who were interested in furthering their education inquired about the support services available to the Black student population and building new friend groups. I was proud to share NC State’s efforts in supporting students of color both academically and socially.
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College of Education graduate students sharing their experiences as graduate students of color to undergraduates students.
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Passport Trip to Cabarrus County Schools
By: Kelsi Harris
Sophomore, Elementary Education
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Scholars exploring the nature trail and outdoor classrooms at Patriots Elementary.
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On November 4, Passport to Success scholars visited Cabarrus County Schools. The trip included stops at Patriots STEM Elementary School, Central Cabarrus High School's STEM Program, lunch with staff from Cabarrus County Schools' Central Office, and JN Fries Middle School STEM Program. While there we met with STEM coordinators, teachers, principals, the superintendent and other officials from the district. The theme of this trip was project based learning and STEM integration. Scholars were able to take tours of the schools to see how project based learning and STEM was manifested in the culture, classrooms, and organization of the schools and how it impacted student and teacher experience and learning. While at Patriots Elementary, we were able to not only visit a few classrooms that were in the middle of Project Based lessons, but also visit an outdoor classroom that teachers, students, and the community were partnering to create. At Central Cabarrus High School, we were able to experience "a school within a school" through their implementation of a STEM academy and receive tours from the products of the program, the students themselves. For a lunch break we were able to meet with some of the county office officials to talk with them about the behind the scenes of the implementation and execution of the programs that we saw throughout the day. Finally, at JN Fries middle school, scholars saw the importance of collaborative spaces and physical school structure in the learning process for students and teachers, specifically in the STEM fields.
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Scholars at JN Fries Middle.
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Teaming with the Tigers
By: Katee Finegan
Freshman, Elementary Education
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Jenni Davis, Kimberly Jones, Katee Finegan, and Chantal Warfield planned and executed a lesson for Teaming with the Tigers.
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Beginning in October, Multicultural Young Educators Network (MYEN) and Passport to Success paired together for a community engagement opportunity called “Team with the Tigers." For this group, 4th and 5th grade students from Creech Road Elementary participated after school in this group to encourage them to become successful, resilient, and empowered young leaders within their schools communities. Teaming with Tigers also helps to prepare these students for the transition from elementary to middle school through hands-on, engaging activities lead by the college student leaders.
The group session I assisted in revolved around becoming a good citizen and how to exhibit good citizenship in the school, home and community. We decided to role play with each other and split the kids into small groups. Each group picked two cards: one explaining the situation they were to act out ,and the other determined whether they would show a good citizen or a bad one. The students were excited to perform for their friends and demonstrate their acting abilities while learning about good citizenship. With nothing but their imaginations, the students illustrated what to do when you find a phone on the playground, find litter in the park, see a new student eating alone, and when someone drops all their papers on the floor. When the group picked the “bad citizen” card and had to show what not to do, we discussed alternative solutions to the problems that would benefit the community instead of hurt it. After our mini theater activity was over, we split the students into slightly larger small groups to draw. With three groups, each one was tasked with drawing either a school, home, or community park and examples of good citizenship you can do in each setting. By the time the session was over, the students seemed happier and were talking with more of the students in the group than just the friends they came in with.
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Native American Heritage Program
By: MacKenzie Hunt
Freshman, Science Education
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On November 21, 2016, the College of Education hosted a program for Native American Heritage Month entitled “K-12 Educators Understanding Native American Culture.” Mrs. Gwen Locklear, VI coordinator for Wake County Public Schools, was our presenter at this event. At the beginning of event I explained the purpose of the program. I was inspired to work with Dr. Gavin Williams to plan this program because Native Americans are the smallest minority here at NC State.
After the introduction, Mrs. Locklear began to give background on the history of Native American public policy and how that effects North Carolina teachers today. Mrs. Locklear explained that Native Americans are the “invisible race,” which means that they cannot always be visually recognized and that as teachers we must be respectful towards the Native American population by teaching correct information. Mrs. Locklear then shared these resources which are factually correct:
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/americanindianed/
http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/learning/educators/distance-learning
Overall, this program was very successful and having Mrs. Locklear to present was a great opportunity. As future educators, we must be mindful of the cultures of all the students in our classrooms. Being culturally aware is the first step in that.
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