Agricultural Educators Tell Me More About Their Programs

 Over the past month I have had the privilege to speak with several educators about their Ag Ed/FFA program and how I could potentially grow as a student teacher under their supervision. This is a reflection of the conversation I had with Mr. Neil Fellenbaum. Mr. Fellenbaum is a rock star Ag Teacher at Penn Manor High School in Lancaster County. I had two big takeaways from our conversation which are as follows:

Utilize Your Resources

In our discussion, I asked Mr. Fellenbaum (Fell as the students call him) if he utilized any outside curriculum such as CASE to which responded in the affirmative. He went on to elaborate how as a teacher it is crucial to gather materials from any source you can! As a teacher being pulled in many directions, you have to be a sort of creative when it comes to finding the tools needed and sometimes that means begging/borrowing already existing materials. This was good news to me because as much as I enjoy synthesizing new activities, lessons and such, I also enjoy having time to breathe fresh air. 

Mr. Fellenbaum also made it a point to highlight the ability to rely on other teachers. His school Penn Manor, is a multi-teacher program which means he is able to teach certain topics while other concepts can be covered elsewhere. This provides a more well rounded education for the students in addition to reducing the workload for one teacher. Even in a single teacher program, I could make efforts to rely on fellow Agricultural Educators to gather necessary resources. Mr. Fellenbaum even offered himself as a resource before we parted ways. 

Teaching is Relational 

We concluded our conversation by recognizing the similarities in our personalities and how that would likely foster a positive learning environment for me. That is, when students feel connected with an educator, they will usually learn better. From my experience, this is something Fell does well and is an attribute I hope to develop early on in my career. Even as I stated before, our relationships with other educators is especially important in the Ag Ed community. 

It was great to meet up with real live Agricultural Educators like Mr. Fellenbaum and gather insight on Ag Ed programs and a bit of wisdom on what I'm about to get in to!

What I Look For In A Cooperating Center

I'm new to the cooperating center dating game but I'm going to take a crack at it by narrowing down my options with three things I am looking for. 

CASE Curriculum 

I know becoming CASE certified isn't a requirement for teachers but I really enjoy the structure that CASE curriculum could provide. Being that CASE is widely adopted in the Ag Education community, I think having exposure to related materials will give me a head start in being able to collaborate with other educators in professional development experiences such as PAAE and NAAE conferences. In speaking with an educator I gathered that utilizing these tools gave them much for freedom. In fact, they went on to say that utilizing the curriculum "gave me my life back". Being overworked as a teacher and not having time for family and fun is a big fear of mine so I clung to this statement. Lastly, as a young educator, I know that trying to re-create the wheel is a sure way to burn out quickly. Gaining exposure to tools, even if it is not necessarily CASE, will be beneficial for a successful start in my career.

Community Involvement and Partnerships

We know that Agricultural Education differs from other fields of education in the way that the program is typically built for and by the community. Because of this, I think it is super important for me to see what this looks like from the teacher perspective. Particularly, I'd like to see how my cooperating teacher manages the time they spend outside of the classroom and how they secure a life outside of work. Community involvement for me looks like serving needs within the community and building partnerships with local businesses to support the program. Being an ambassador for an agricultural education program is an appealing line of work for me and I would like first hand experience of what that looks like.

Serving the Underserved

I would like to teach in an area with a relatively low socioeconomic status. There are typically shortages of high quality educators in this area for a number of reasons. Nevertheless, if I become a teacher, I'd like to make serving these students a priority because I know they've got incredible potential to succeed and contribute in ways that some privileged students can't. I have personally experienced the power a teacher has to pull students out of situations that typically don't foster positive growth. We frequently mention how the best teachers are servants and I think that being intentional about going into an area of high need will help me in accomplishing that mission. This would not be for some badge of honor because we also know that true service is not fueled by recognition, but rather by results. 

Over the past few weeks I've been spending a good bit of time contemplating this subject and I look forward to seeing where I land. However, I know that requires me to look at my options and jump!