Guest Blog: #PAAE17: Learning from the Wise

Here, by the owl... 
The owl is a time honored emblem of knowledge and wisdom.

The Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators held their annual conference in Philadelphia from July 11th through July 14th. The 2018 cohort of Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education Majors had the opportunity to attend.

Tuesday, July 11
Tuesday the student teachers and their cooperating teachers took part in the "Teach Ag Adventure Orientation" guided by our fantastic Ag Ed specialists Dr. Daniel Foster, Dr. John Ewing, Dr. Kevin Curry, and Dr. Laura Rice. I feel more prepared for my student teaching than I did prior to this meeting and I want to thank my professors for this. 

Ms. Carole Fay having lots of fun
at Dave and Buster's.

After our meeting we joined the other conference goers for an interesting evening filled with fun and games at Dave and Buster's. I never knew how much fun a great group of agriscience teachers could have but I sure am glad to be joining this group of superb teachers and interesting individuals. 

Wednesday, July 12

The Philadelphia FFA Chapter at
W.B. Saul is the largest
chapter in Pennsylvania! 

On Wednesday we made it to Walter Biddle Saul Agricultural High School! We began our day with committee meetings and a school tour. It was amazing to see kids so passionate about agriculture in such an urban place. Afterwards, the conference attendees broke up into groups and headed off to respective tours. I was lucky enough to receive a behind the scenes tour of the Philadelphia Zoo! I learned about the unique programs that the zoo hosts for high school students annually. After the zoo we went to dinner near Reading Terminal Market. Then one of my favorite activities of the week was a double decker bus tour of the city of brotherly love! 

The 2018 cohort posed for a photo on the bus with Ms. Fay
and Ms. Seibert photo-bombing in the back.

Macy learning about
wildlife forensics and
gaining tools for
teaching.

Thursday, July 13
Thursday was a day filled with workshops at W.B. Saul that provided me with many teaching tools that I cannot wait to utilize in the classroom. Our banquet was that evening and one thing is for certain, we all clean up nicely! Awards were given out at the banquet and we had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Foster auction off items that were donated to support the association as well as the national relief fund. 


Friday, July 14
On the final day of #PAAE17 we attended meetings and our final workshop which provided even more exciting teaching tools. After thanking our wonderful hosts we started the journey back to University Park. 


I was thankful for this experience to build connections with seasoned leaders as I continue to grow my teaching skills. I may be just a fledgling but hanging out with owls for a week has taught, excited, and inspired me for my #TeachAg journey. I can't wait. Hoot Hoot!




Angela Becker
2018 Student Teacher at Manheim Central High School
Twitter: @BeckerAngelaM
Instagram: @MissBecker_MC