Teaching Fellows Weekly Newsletter
Welcome!
The website is being updated and has all of the up-to-date information that you will need! If you have any pictures or information you would like to be included there, please send them to orj@g.cofc.edu
If there is anything you would like to be included in a newsletter such as service or job opportunities, please send me an email at osborned1@g.cofc.edu
DR. HARTSHORN’S CORNER
Dr. Hartshorn’s Corner
Kelsey Barrow from Our Community Committee sent out a lovely invitation for our Spring Banquet. Please respond.
Good luck (Break a pencil!) studying for exams. Remember to think positive and don’t stress.
Sophomores, Our Conference is scheduled for April 15-16, 2016. We will begin with dinner at Riverbanks Zoo (500 Wildlife Pkwy. in Columbia) at 6:30 on Friday, April 15th. We will plan to meet in the parking lot at 6:15 and then make our way to the Safari Camp as a group. You are expected to be on time. Friday’s activities will consist of dinner, icebreaker and getting to know you activities, and an animal encounter. We will also pass out t-shirts and room keys. I have a list of who will room with whom. After the evening activities (around 9:00), we will head to the Embassy Suites (200 Stoneridge Drive in Columbia). Teaching Fellows are expected to remain at the hotel until it is time for the conference on Saturday morning On Saturday morning, everyone should eat breakfast at the hotel BEFORE making the short drive to The SCEA (421 Zimalcrest Drive in Columbia). The conference will begin with announcements around 8:45 and the first session starting at 9:00. The closing session will begin at 3:00 and we anticipate that everyone will be able to leave around 3:15.
I hope you all are looking forward to a fun time. Please see previous email for rest of the info about our schedule.
Dress is casual but no torn jeans or shorts.
Weekly Meeting Dress Code
CASUAL DRESS CODE (CDC):
Shorts, skirts, jeans, pants [not torn, dirty or too short (3inches above the knee--fingertip rule)]
T-shirts, polo-shirts with Fellow or CofC logo
Casual shoes
Never:
Gym shorts, sweat pants, leggings, yoga pants, work out attire, or shoestring straps.
Torn or dirty, unpressed clothing, or short shorts/skirts (less than 3 inches above the knee)
Revealing undergarments or tattoos.
Notes:
Date wear is not the same as Professional or Casual wear.
*Initials for each code will be listed on calendar next to the type of meeting.
If something unexpected comes up, like when Molly Spearman came to see us, PDC will be implemented if that meeting replaces a meeting that is usually designated as CDC.
2016 SC Teaching Expo
The South Carolina Teacher Expo is open to certified teachers, recent college graduates of teacher education programs, and applicants who have applied to and met admission criteria for an approved alternative certification program in South Carolina. This year's Expo is open to candidates from all subject areas.
Participants can register below of visit http://cerra.org/expo.aspx for more information.
Teaching Fellows Interview- Dr.Renard Harris by Royce Herbert
Dr. Renard Harris
Where are you from?
I am from Moss Point, Mississippi. It’s a small town on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Right next to Pascagoula, Mississippi where they have ship-yards and fishing. It’s a regular working class town.
How did you get into teaching?
I went back home after college and started substitute teaching. I eventually fell in love with it. My undergraduate degree was in Marketing so it was kind of weird to enter the classroom. I went back to school at 28 to get my masters degree in Middle Grades Education.
Where did you teach prior to the College of Charleston?
I taught at Alcoa Middle School in Alcoa ,TN which is right outside of Knoxville. Then I went back to college and got my doctorate from the University of Tennessee. The first job I had teaching was at an alternative school. There were guys who were marginalized and expelled from school. These kids needed help. In hind sight I would say that teaching is personal. It’s understanding who that student is as a human being. The students well being should come before the content without question. We haven’t figured out this phenomenon of how to bring a personal connection with each student into a classroom of 20 or 30. The content is really a conduit. Truthfully, what we are using to teach is not as important as who he or she will become as an adult.
Why are you passionate about teaching?
It’s powerful. It’s absolutely powerful to be a part of the human world and making the world a better place. You can also grow in yourself by searching for your own beauty, and then empowering someone to search for their own beauty. It’s hard to find another profession where you can receive as much as you give. Teaching is amazing.
What is the biggest lesson you want your students to learn?
That teaching is personal. It’s about understanding each individual and identifying who they are and turning that back on them. Teaching content through who they are. I teach you yourself through various disciplines. You validate the student before you validate the content. You have to see them both but you have to see the student first. If you leave the student behind by only using content they are going to become another statistic.
You work with the Call Me MISTER program. How has that impacted your life?
Well because I get to work with men of color or underserved communities. I’ve always been interested in this group of society. I get to try and encourage them to be themselves and help out where teaching lacks. I am confident the Misters will be an asset to public education because of who they are and where they have come from. We are adding something new to the field, which is always a good thing.
What would you like to see this program become in the future?
A sincere honest focus on marginalized communities. The achievement scores are disproportionate and they have been this way for a while. How can you argue with results? If our intentions are sincere we need to change that. It’s time to start putting our money where our mouth is. If it’s consistently disproportionate we are doing something wrong, and somehow we have got to change that.
What is your favorite part of being an instructor here at the College?
You meet some really neat students and kids. They are really creative and open-minded. When you facilitate different learning styles you get different results. These aren’t your typical run of the mill kids because they chose a liberal arts school. That alone says they move to a different kind of beat. You can create really neat space that allows for personal connection along with professional betterment.
What is this instrument you play?
I played the harmonica, but blues music specifically. We opened up for Conn Hunley one time, which was probably the biggest place I’ve played.
What do you want Teaching Fellows to know about Dr. Harris?
You can answer that question. I don’t have much of a personal statement. I just like for my peers to judge me on my actions and accomplishments.
Extended Lounge Hours
Professional Dress Code (as determined by Professional Development Committee):
*DRESS CODES FOR TEACHING FELLOWS
1) PROFESSIONAL DRESS CODE (PDC):
Dress shirt/blouse
Dress pants/skirts (3 inches above the knee--fingertip rule)
Dresses (3 inches above the knee--fingertip rule)
Dress shoes
Name tag
2) CASUAL DRESS CODE (CDC):
Shorts, skirts, jeans, pants [not torn, dirty or too short (3inches above the knee--fingertip rule)]
T-shirts, polo-shirts with Fellow or CofC logo
Casual shoes
Never:
Gym shorts, sweat pants, leggings, yoga pants, work out attire, or shoestring straps.
Torn or dirty, unpressed clothing, or short shorts/skirts (less than 3 inches above the knee)
Revealing undergarments or tattoos.
Notes:
Date wear is not the same as Professional or Casual wear.
*Initials for each code will be listed on calendar next to the type of meeting.
If something unexpected comes up, like when Molly Spearman came to see us, PDC will be implemented if that meeting replaces a meeting that is usually designated as CDC.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES!!!!
~KALEIDOSCOPE~
Harbor View Elementary, located on James Island, is hiring for the after school program. Interviews will begin the week of Apr 4. Hours are from 2-6 pm and the pay is $9.25/hr.
Please email the after school Director, Leslie Medlin, atLeslie_Medlin@charleston.k12.sc.us
Service Opportunities
1. Reading Partners Charleston
Hi my name is Bridget! I am a freshman Teaching Fellow and I volunteer for Reading Partners Charleston! We really need volunteers to help elementary school kids with reading. Reading Partners has locations all throughout Charleston county school district and I volunteer at Memminger which is in walking distance from campus. There is a training session/meeting to go through but its not long. Also Reading Partners has sessions all throughout the day M-R so something can work with you’re schedule.
Contact:
Bridget McLaughlin
2.Here is the link to the organization that plays with children on the east side on Friday's from 4-6.
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.lovingamericastreet.org&d=CwIFAg&c=7MSSWy9Bs2yocjNQzurxOQ&r=M7rfNELjiS5Mm_SXdMaQWdVR-35ApaSdpHChCuleNlE&m=LC6Vmh3UFyYjIiG64zCIWqfT4rTrzcJrxEbagljdbKA&s=4SUXMPL69NkzcnifbiKvKwDawkNg9EtCGYVRw-0Wiqw&e=Valerie Barkley
WiseOwl Tutoring
Please contact Haily Jacobs for more information.
Volunteer Opportunities
Details about these opportunities and organization can be found on the Service Opportunities portion of our website.
Organizations:
Project Playground
Charleston Literacy
FitCatZ
Meeting Street Academy
WISE OWL
Dance Marathon
Governance Council
Vice President Emily Lain
Secretary Molly Deese
Treasurer N/A
Committee Chairs
Greater Community Kelli Mixon
Recruitment Claire Winkles
Communications Katherine Osborne
Professional Development Lauren Putirka
Morogoro Children's Fund Scarlet Sawyer
Cohort Chairs
Tamara Berry and Rodrick Bellamy
meeting location: Alumni Hall
Sophomores
Josh McCall and Jade Carpenter
meeting location: 3rd Floor Lounge
Juniors
Hayden Lamunion
meeting location: Curriculum Lab
Seniors
IMPORTANT LINKS
Calendar:
Missed Meeting Forms:
Meeting Minutes:
https://lms.cofc.edu/d2l/le/143949/discussions/List
(REQUIRES YOU TO LOG INTO OAKS)
*Service reporting will *not* be done online this semester. Governance council and Dr, Hartshorn will sit down and revamp the system before the start of the 2016-17 year.
Social Media
- Facebook: Teaching Fellows CofC
- Instagram: @teachingfellows_cofc
- Twitter: @CofCFellows
Dr. Hartshorn's Contact Info
Visiting Assistant Professor
Director, Teaching Fellows & Teacher Cadet Program
School of Education, Health, and Human Performance
College of Charleston
Room 112/ 86 Wentworth St.
Charleston, SC 29424
hartshornma@cofc.edu | 843-953-8057
"My office hours are 1:30 until 3:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment. I will have an open door policy when I'm here. If the door is open, you are welcome. If the door is closed I am with someone or need privacy."
Website: teachingfellowscofc.org