In the summer of 2023, AGHS English teacher Nicholas Kennedy participated in the Teaching African American Studies Summer Institute at the National Humanities Center (NHC) in North Carolina. This forged his interest in becoming a member of the Teacher Advisory Council (TAC), where he can learn and grow from scholarship of professors and researchers that center around humanities.
“Through my time at the center and recognizing the immense privilege I had in learning from [the NHC’s], educational partners, and connecting with staff members made me realize that I wanted to help steward their vision nationally,” Kennedy said.
The TAC provides educators with the necessary information to expand their knowledge and tools to support students’ learning about humanities. Humanities include Literary Studies, History, Social Sciences, Language Studies, and the Arts. Through humanities, students and educators create an understanding of the human experience in various social contexts.
“In the [TAC], I serve as the chair of the ambassadorship committee, through which my fellow committee members—teachers from [several] states—and I seek to foster partnerships between the [NHC’s] education programs and local, state, and national organizations,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy assists with a live webinar series from a renowned scholar in the humanities, which he uses to create curricular humanities content for teachers to use for further instruction.
“Our goal is to support educators throughout the country by connecting them with a variety of professional development opportunities and teaching resources in order to ultimately provide students rich encounters with the humanities through engaging scholarship and teaching,” Kennedy said.
The next council meeting will occur in November and will continue online throughout the year due to the distance between members.
“I’ll be reaching out to each of the members of my committee to prepare an agenda for [our] meeting within the council,” Kennedy said.
The director of education, Mike Williams, selected the committee members for the 2024-2025 school year. Out of 80 applicants, he had to choose 20, but instead chose 22 members.
“Kennedy stood out. He stood out because he’s a passionate educator. He is knowledgeable of the humanities, and he consistently focuses on the team and building a sense of community,” Williams said. “It’s clear that he cares for his students and he cares for the profession. And that is so important to our council.”
Kennedy is passionate about the work he does in and out of the classroom to improve the student’s experience.
“I’m honored to work with him. He has been a model educator and [is] very knowledgeable,” Williams said. “The teachers that we connect with at the [NHC] benefit from teachers like Kennedy, who serve on our council in a number of ways. They provide firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to be a classroom teacher.”
Kennedy continues the work of the council by providing teachers and colleagues with the necessary information to successfully help students with academics to be the best they can be.
The National Humanities Center members, like Kennedy, connects with thousands of teachers annually, and the Teacher Advisory Council helps inform the council in improving work.
