Third-year teacher receives national award in English 9/23/2009 7:24 PM
By ROB NOVIT Senior writer
Kanelia Cannon enjoyed growing up in Wagener - a small town where everybody knew her and her family.
When she graduated from Wagener-Salley High School in 2001, however, she didn't want to remain in South Carolina. Cannon chose Fort Valley State University in Georgia and soon decided to major in English and become a teacher.
She still wanted to see more of the world and when she received a scholarship for graduate school, Cannon enrolled at the University of Minnesota to get a master's in English education.
She has brought those experiences back to Wagener as a teacher at A.L. Corbett Middle School. In just her third year, Cannon has been recognized nationally - just one of two teachers in the country to receive the National Council of Teachers of English Early Career Teacher of Color Award of Distinction.
The Aiken County Board of Education recognized her at a meeting Tuesday. Principal Dr. Deborah Bass attended the meeting, and Bass' husband, board member Dr. John Bass, gave Cannon a warm hug. He was her AP physics teacher at Wagener-Salley.
In November, Cannon will travel to Philadelphia for a National Teachers of English conference to receive the award.
"It's very exciting," Cannon said Wednesday. "But it makes me very aware of how much more work I have to do and what I have to keep doing to feel I'm really deserving of the award."
Cannon's parents, Willie and Earlian Cannon, wanted all their children to do their best in all their activities, including school. In high school, she got involved in cheerleading, journalism and the Spanish Club, but mostly Cannon just liked school, especially literature and writing. By the end of her freshman year at Fort Valley State, she realized she wanted to share those things as an English teacher.
The University of Minnesota had established a program to encourage minorities to attend college there. Cannon enrolled in the graduate program with a friend and had to adjust to often being the only person in her classes "who looked like me." She found people there to be genuine and concerned about helping her reach her goals.
"It was an important experience," Cannon said. "It helped me a lot in learning to speak out and make my voice heard and become more independent."
Corbett proved to be a good place to begin her teaching career, as some of her own teachers were still there. She teaches all the eighth-grade English classes - high school-level English I and transitional English for which students can receive an elective credit.
A significant number of her students over the years have been below the level where they should be, and Cannon constantly seeks ways to bring them up.
"I try to open them up to new ideas and share with them that there are things outside of Wagener," she said. "We talk about why it's important that they learn to analyze and do media study and why they need to write in standard American English."
Cannon's students read two books in English I and the other classes last year, but both books shared themes about child abuse. She was thrilled when some students who struggled with reading or had little interest read their assigned book front to back in two days.
"I just want to have that class where my students love to go," Cannon said. "It's not just English. I want them to enjoy learning ... and keep them going forward on a positive track."
Deborah Bass said that all of Cannon's English I students passed the end-of-course test last spring.
"She has a wonderful ability to reach the kids," Bass said.
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.
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Posted by: Outside Looking In On: Thursday, September 24, 2009 8:00 AM
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We need more teachers like Ms. Kanelia Cannon! What a great honor to be chosen for a national award. This is something all of Aiken County Public Schools should be proud of. It speaks volumes of Ms. Cannon's character that she chose to come home and work with students that she can relate to and motivate to do their best. I hope that the School Board recoginizes what a talent they have in Ms. Cannon. I also hope that they allow her to continue to work in her class room to allow her students "to enjoy learning ... and keep them going forward on a positive track." Great Job Ms. Cannon!
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