Linda Rader Award Acceptance Speech

March 13, 2008, NCAE Annual Awards Banquet, Fayetteville, NC:
They said you would want to know what I am doing with this award.

I teach at Ranson Middle School--a high-needs middle school in the inner-city in Charlotte. North Carolina has a lot of high-needs schools, and I don't have to tell you that they are often hard places to work. I have been involved in the work to bring more highly-accomplished teachers to high-needs schools in North Carolina.

Thanks to Linda Rader and NCAE, I now have an opportunity to fulfill a long-standing dream to travel to South Africa. I want to see how this country is overcoming its apartheid history without civil war. I want to study the role of public education in this unique emerging democracy. And I want to extend my understanding of the challenges facing high-needs students in schools beyond North Carolina and the United States. I will do this by volunteering as a teacher one month this summer in a high-needs school--I hope in a township--in Cape Town, South Africa.

I also want to thank my husband Mark, who after more than 28 years of marriage has many times heard me say, "What if. . . " followed by some far-fetched and often pretty crazy ideas. So when I said to him last summer, "What if I apply for the Linda Rader Award and teach in South Africa next summer," he replied, as usual, "Well Hon, if that is what you really want to do, go for it." Thank you, Mark.

So here I go. You can follow my planning and adventures on my blog, which you can link to from the NCAE homepage. (Thank you, Christy.) And next year I'll tell you all about it at the winter instructional issues conference when I present about my experiences.

And yes, Elic, to answer your question--"I am soooo excited!"

So everybody, please consider teaching in a high-needs school. Better yet, come teach with me at Ranson next year--we have some openings and I know there will be a lot of collaboration going on for a school-wide project on South Africa.

Thank you.