The James Center for Student Success and Advising will host Freebird McKinney, 2018-19 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year, for a public presentation:
Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2018 (add to calendar)
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: RCOE 124BC
Open to the public. Students who attend will receive seminar credit.
About Freebird McKinney
Freebird McKinney is the 2018-19 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year. He teaches social studies, world history and European history at Walter M. Williams High School in Burlington, North Carolina.
After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 1998, he earned a second bachelor’s degree in history from UNC Greensboro in 2004, then a master’s degree in education in 2006, also from UNC Greensboro, where he’s now working on a master’s degree in history.
In his own words...
First of all, in getting to know him, you need to know that he is fulfilling his ENTELECHY, on a daily basis.
He was literally and figuratively, BORN TO BE A TEACHER! It is his calling, his destiny, and his purpose.
As the current North Carolina State Teacher of the Year, he has had the blessing and honor of educating and inspiring countless young men and women inside and outside of the classroom, both in public high schools (for 14 years), currently at Walter M. Williams High School in Burlington, NC and at Elon University as a School of Education adjunct professor.
Global Education and Service Learning are also great passions of his. He works with an organization, Dustin's GreenHouse, a non-profit group of educators dedicated to immersing students in the experiences of international travel and service. He has traveled to Peru, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, South Africa, Belize, and the Yucatan, Mexico.
He describes himself as a “Village Teacher”, and as such, he attempts to engage his students in the “Hero’s Journey”, as they strive to understand their purpose and its meaning.
He uses history, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology to help his students uncover their own individual story, which they can then connect to the story of “What Does It Mean to Be Human.”
Freebird McKinney with his children, Jeremiah Strong (left) and Dorothy Gail (right). Photo submitted
Freebird McKinney, 2018-19 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year to Speak on Tuesday, September 25
