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Angela Killebrew
38 Plays2 years ago
On this episode of National Board Conversations we take a trip to Central Maryland to speak with a newly certified National Board Certified Teacher! Angela Killebrew achieved certification in December 2021 and joined National Board Conversations to detail her journey.
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Facebook: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to National Board Conversations. On this episode, I speak to Angela Killebrew. She's a National Board Certified Teacher in Maryland who just achieved back in December 2021. She joined the show to talk about the ups and downs of her National Board journey and give insight into how she finally achieved. I hope you enjoy the episode. Here's my chat with Angela.
00:00:19
Speaker
Hey Angela, thanks for taking the time. How you doing today? I'm doing great, Eddie. How are you? Doing pretty well. We both in this DC area is rainy today. It's not, not a very good look today, but you know, trying to make the best of it. Absolutely. Absolutely. So we'll get right into it. Can you give us a brief, a brief, uh, intro of yourself, what your role is and, uh, and where you at? Sure. Great. So thank you again, Eddie, for having me.
00:00:45
Speaker
Of course, as you said, my name is Angela, Angela Kilibrew, and I currently work as a high school science teacher in an alternative placement school. Over the years, I've taught several subjects, but my favorite is environmental science. That's what I teach now. I especially enjoy the flexibility of the curriculum that I teach. You know, it happens to lend itself to more of a hands-on experience for my students.
00:01:10
Speaker
You know, in my observation, the students are able to extend their learning beyond the textbook because environmental science allows them to get outside do hands on experience experiments and they also have the opportunity to learn about the environment in themselves at the same time.
00:01:29
Speaker
That's awesome. So can you share why you ended up becoming
Angela's Path to Teaching
00:01:33
Speaker
a teacher? It's like a lot of stories out here is either somebody stumbled into it or it was something they were on track to do like their whole life. Like they wanted to be a teacher from the time they was in kindergarten. Well, you know, that's interesting. You would say that actually when I was in college, I had a work study job as a tutor. And of course that was just for credit. But here recently,
00:01:56
Speaker
Prior to this job, I was actually a stay-at-home mom, and I was very comfortable, very comfortable being a stay-at-home mom, and I would do some occasional tutoring gigs here or there. However, of course, with the growing family, my husband and I knew it was time for me to pitch in and help a little bit more. So equipped with my science degree and my tutoring background,
00:02:20
Speaker
My husband and I put our heads together and decided, you know what, taking a job as a teacher is probably the best option for me and our family. So the rest is history, but you know what, I can't, you know, I would be remiss that is if I didn't mention that my mother was a teacher and my mother-in-law also worked in the field of education. So both of them served as excellent role models for me of teachers in the profession.
00:02:49
Speaker
And now you're a national board certified teacher. You just certified back in December. Congratulations. I'm sure I was really trying on you. Why did you end up pursuing board certification?
Pursuing National Board Certification
00:03:00
Speaker
Well, I'm one of the people who is deemed as a go-getter. I initially set out actually to gather information about graduate school opportunities at a professional development fair.
00:03:16
Speaker
And at that particular event, I came across an information booth about national board. I had never heard of it before. So I took the information, reviewed it, went to the orientation session and signed up to participate. So I thought it was an opportunity for me to sharpen my skills and become a better teacher.
00:03:40
Speaker
So you recently wrote a blog piece for us detailing your journey. And early on your first year, you decided to take on all four components. For everything I hear, that sounds very ambitious. What was going through your mind when you decided to take on all four at once?
00:03:55
Speaker
Oh my Eddie, that's an interesting question. You know, actually I was thinking that if others could do it, you know, I should give it a shot too and see if I could do it as well. I had a perspective of one year and done, but actually I realized that that was an unrealistic goal. I nonetheless was really unaware of the degree of the commitment and the attention that would be required of me to achieve the process.
00:04:22
Speaker
Nevertheless, I stuck with it, and here I am today. So year after year, you didn't, you passed on your, you finally achieved certification on your final attempt. Year after year, you were waiting to see them fireworks. What was going through your mind as you, year after year, didn't get the fireworks you was expecting?
Overcoming Challenges and Perseverance
00:04:41
Speaker
Wow, I take deep breath on that one. Oh my goodness. I'm usually an upbeat person, but to be really honest, I was upset. I felt what a bummer I thought. How many times do I need to repeat this process? I actually pondered if it was worthwhile trying again. There is a time commitment as well as a degree of discipline that is required. And it seemed like I was actually doing two jobs.
00:05:08
Speaker
maybe disheartened a little embarrassed as well. But just, you know, when I felt like surrendering to, you know, the disappointment or the defeat, I was awakened to hope within me and decided to try again. So how did you keep yourself motivated?
00:05:26
Speaker
Well, as I said, I'm normally an upbeat person, and for me, failure is not an option. As long as the door of opportunity is open for me to try again, that's what I do. I challenge myself constantly, even as a teacher, day by day to push myself past any barriers in life and circumstances. By doing that, I'm actually setting an example for my students as well, because the students I work with that come to the school have come out of challenging circumstances.
00:05:55
Speaker
I believe in the power of overcoming adversity, and that's a reward that you cannot measure. So finally back in December, you got your fireworks and your national board certified teaching now congratulations again. How were you feeling when you finally got those fireworks and was it.
00:06:15
Speaker
Yeah, how are you feeling when you finally got the fireworks and the chief certification?
Achieving Certification and Celebrations
00:06:19
Speaker
Well, thank you, Eddie. Actually, I had to take a second look. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
00:06:27
Speaker
So I just stared at the screen. I walked away from the computer and I came back later to check my account again. And yep, the fireworks were still there. So it was a feeling of astonishment, awe, excitement. There were so many emotions going on. And actually, I'm still trying to process the reality that I have achieved national board certification. Yeah, I mean, it was just about a month ago, right? A little bit of buzz and a half ago. So like not a long time ago.
00:06:56
Speaker
Right, I'm still taking it in. I'm still taking it in. I'm very excited and I'm thankful. Did you get to do anything for him to celebrate?
00:07:03
Speaker
You know, actually I haven't. I'm just so set on, you know, what's the next goal? What's the next thing to achieve? But our county in the school district where I live, they actually will be having their pinning ceremony on March the first. So yeah, that's going to be a part of the celebration. Yeah. Yeah. My family is very excited. They cheer me on. And, you know, we had our own personal celebration. But as far as the
00:07:32
Speaker
district-wide, we will have something very soon. That's awesome.
Angela's Personal Life and Interests
00:07:37
Speaker
All right, so something I like to do on this podcast is get to know my teachers, get to know the National Board of Certified Teachers outside the classroom. So I'll have three questions for you to get to know you a little bit more on your personal side. So the first one I got for you is, what was your most recent TV show binge? That's an easy one. Hallmark movies, of course.
00:08:00
Speaker
I mean, all year round, I can watch Hallmark movies, Hallmark shows about people who experienced some type of setback or adversity. Yet by the end of the show, it never fails that things work out for their good. That's why I love Hallmark. That's awesome. So what was your first job growing up?
00:08:19
Speaker
As a teenager, I actually babysat for a neighbor next door, tutoring her kids with homework and occasionally joining in to help her with her chores. I suppose I could have launched a nanny business after all of that. Surprisingly, the majority of my numeration and my pay, that is, came in the form of desserts. Now what 13-year-old can easily say no to tweets, right? Right. Yeah.
00:08:48
Speaker
All right, last one and then we'll let you go. What would your perfect Saturday be like? You know, I'm a nature person. So I guess I would say a stroll around a lakeside park.
00:09:01
Speaker
I enjoy eating salad. So a stroll around a lakeside park, a light salad, something sweet, of course, maybe like a scoop of gelato, ice cream, a smoothie. Yeah. And then later on, perhaps taking an adventure film. I like adventure films as well. So taking adventure film with my family. And then to end the day, pamper myself, maybe with like a cucumber facial.
00:09:30
Speaker
I like it. I like it. Gotta take care of ourselves. Self-care for the teacher.
Reflection on Teaching Journey
00:09:35
Speaker
Well, thank you, Angela, for taking the time to talk with me. This was a lot of fun. Yeah. Well, I did have a closing thought. Is it okay if I add that? Yeah, for sure. Okay. So basically, Eddie, what I've learned over the past five years is that the architecture of accomplished teaching, you know, it's more than just a infographic.
00:09:56
Speaker
a double helix infographic. It is a method, a method of weaving knowledge and cultivating change in your instructional practices through application, modification and reflection. So my five-year journey, was it worth the wait? I thought to myself and other people might ask that as well. Absolutely, absolutely. You see, for me to achieve national board certification, for me, I had to respect the process.
00:10:25
Speaker
And it's been a journey of faith by God's grace. So thank you for having me. Well, thank you for coming on. I'm glad we was able to do this. Yes, thank you. I love to hear stories of triumph. Congratulations again to Angela on achieving. And I want to thank her again for taking the time to chat with me. And thank you for taking the time to listen to the National Board conversation. Be sure to follow us on social media for all National Board related updates. And we'll see you next time.