IMPACT by Mackenzie McCollum

I spent my last day eating entirely too many donuts, cupcakes, and confetti cake and going through massive amounts of tissues because I was emotionally out of control. I could NOT imagine student teaching anywhere other than Central Columbia High School. My cooperating teachers have impacted me more in the last four months than I thought was humanly possible. 

As teacher, you spend a lot of your time thinking about how to positively impact the lives of the students that you see every day. You hope that you make a difference. You hope that you impact all of your students, but at the end of the day, you know that it has been a success if you have reached just one student and changed just one life.  It was not until yesterday, that I realized what a profound impact my students had on me. That one life that was changed indefinitely was mine.

Teaching agricultural education at the secondary level with Doug Brown, Curtis Turner, and Jen Fisher has solidified my desire to go into the agricultural education profession.  But it has been the students that made me realize how much I am going to love this career. Those students ignited a fire in me to go out and do everything that I can to spread agricultural literacy and make the kind of impact on my future students that my students from Central Columbia have made on me.   Just like I told one boy, the only two things that you have control over in life is your effort and attitude and that is enough to make you successful at whatever you choose to do.

Last night, I wrote every student that I taught a thank-you note, but no amount of gratitude for the experiences that I have shared at Central Columbia is enough. If you want the chance to make a difference in the lives of your community’s youth & ultimately change your own life, consider a career in agricultural education.

Submitted by:

Mackenzie McCollum

@McCollumMac

2013 Student Teacher

Central Columbia

Greenwood Greatness by Kaydee Gearhart!

Going into this student teaching experience, I thought that I would have an impact on the lives of the students, but didn’t really think about how it would happen or the obstacles that I would have to overcome. Now, as I reflect back on my experience at Greenwood, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to student teach with Mr. Clark, who is an experienced teacher who was able to give me feedback.  The students at Greenwood are amazing.

I absolutely loved my student teaching experience at Greenwood! I love teaching agriculture! I have a passion for agriculture and working with students. I enjoyed my student teaching experience and I know that teaching agriculture is what I want to do for a career as the rest of my life. I have so much fun working with the students and even learning with them! I looked forward to each day of my student teaching experience. It was so rewarding to see where the students started and to see the amount of information that they learned. And seeing the “ahh-ha” moments when the light bulb came on for the students after working with them made it worth the frustrations that come along before the students “get it”. I love helping the students reach their full potential. I know that this is what I am supposed to do! The days went by so quickly, it was like I wasn’t even “working” because I enjoyed the entire experience at Greenwood! I got to know the students and build a rapport with them. I was also able to gain their respect and have fun while teaching and watching them learn. 

When I first started, it was all I could do to remember the names of the students that first week.  Now, I not only know their names, but I know their personalities, their interests, and how to motivate them!  Each student is unique and in order for me to be successful, I had to take the time to get to know each student.  This started with a simple “Hello, how are you today” in the beginning.  At the end of my student teaching experience, I have full conversations with students.  Some students come looking for advice, whether it is a question about a math homework problem, college, or they want to know if I like the picture of their prom dress.  Other students come to tell you all about their plans for the next Career Development Event that they want to participate in.  This did not just happen overnight.  I had to gain the trust and respect of the students before they trusted and respected me.  Building a rapport or professional relationship with the students is crucial!  I would say it’s one of the most important aspects of being an agricultural teacher!  You have to get to know them and their interests! In order for this to happen, you have to make an effort.  Talk to your students before and after class, take an interest in them and what they like (other than the class you are teaching) and just genuinely care about them.  This task is not necessarily as easy as it sounds. 

The first obstacle that I had to overcome was in my Small Gas Engines class where I taught a class of 17 senior boys.  Talk about a tough crowd… These boys didn’t want to be taught by a girl!  Because everyone knows that girls don’t know anything about small engines…. WRONG!  It took a few weeks to prove to them that I knew what I was talking about.  Once they realized that I actually do know what I am talking about, they began to gain respect for me.  This was a slow and gradual process.  Students accepted me on their own time, not mine.  I gained some student advocates who realized that I knew what I was talking about and they helped get other students back on task when they didn’t want to listen to me.  Slowly but surely, I made progress with each student.  Even up until the last week of student teaching I was making progress and breakthroughs with students. 

National FFA Week played a role in my ability to connect with students on a more personal level and build rapport with them because of the activities and events that were planned.  This made it possible to spend more time with them and talk to the students individually.  I learned about their interests and even goals in life!  Who knew that FFA Week would make a student open up about their life?! I also found that it was very beneficial to attend the basketball games. I had many of the starting players in my classes, and attending their basketball games made a huge difference in the classroom.

Another way that helped me make a connection with the students was talking with them and getting to know them during my planning period when they have study hall. These students are in the ag room and Mr. Clark originally “voluntold” them to help me do various things. By the end of my student teaching experience, they asked what they could do to help me out and I built an awesome professional relationship with these students. They were my main classroom advocates when their peers would not listen. There were a few students in particular that encouraged me along the way, and they probably didn't even know it. They would make comments like, "You are going to be a great ag teacher", "I really like when you teach our class because I learn a lot", "We want you to teach us about ____ (insert various topics!)", "You are very professional and are a good student teacher". These little comments made me feel good and made me feel like I was doing it right! I was surprised at the respect that I gained from the students, especially some of the senior boys... who know everything (or think they do)!!! Every morning I generally see the same group of students before school start because the same students make their way to the ag room. I always say "GOOD MORNING ______(insert name of student) when I see them. One day, I didn't say good morning to a particular student because I had other things going on. This student said good morning to me first. Later, this student came up to me and asked if everything was okay because I didn't say "Good Morning" in my bubbly, excited voice like I do every morning. I was told that this student knew something was wrong/on my mind because this student had to say "Good Morning" to me first. I didn't realize the impact that I was making, just by saying Good Morning to the students; but they came to expect it, whether they realized it or not. Until this day, I did not realize how many little things can impact a student's life.

I know that I made an impact in the lives of these students, AND they made an impact on me! I loved every minute of being at Greenwood! This was a great experience and I was blessed to have such an awesome group of students to work with!  I could not have asked for a better experience!  When I finished a day, I felt a personal satisfaction because I was able to impact the lives of students.  And it never felt like “work” because I loved what I was doing!  You can’t get any more rewarding than that!

Submitted by:

Kaydee Gearhart

@KaydeeG

2013 Student Teacher

Greenwood High School

Walker's Wisdom - Thoughts by 2013 Student Teacher Josh Walker

Why I Love Agriculture Education!

 1) Not the Standard Workday! Why would you want to do the same thing each and every day? Thank God with agriculture education I don't have too! Agriculture education has the opportunity to work with a variety of different subjects dealing with everything from welding in the shop, chicks in the classroom, and landscaping on the school grounds. We have so many different opportunities and the fun doesn't end there! The National FFA Organization and the Supervised Agricultural Experience program give students so many opportunities to try things outside the classroom. You are always learning something new with Agriculture Education.

2) Not every student is the same. Working in agriculture education gives students the opportunity to select the areas they are truly interested in. One of the things that I have truly grown to love and see with the courses in agriculture education is that students have the option of taking a class whether its plants/animals/shop and if they decided they don't like it, they don't have to give up with agriculture! All I need to say is "hey!, you seem like you have a lot of interest in this area. Why don't you try out (insert class here) next year?

Outstanding Mohawk Agriscience Students!

3) It doesn't matter what previous experiences you've had, I can challenge anyone. Experience is a plus but definitely not a requirement. Students come in with various degrees of knowledge on the material. Maybe they have had previous experience or it may be their first time with the concept. I have the ability to challenge students who are excelling through independent study while working with the rest of the kids in the class. Students who excel can also be devoted as group leaders for the class and may aid other students with the subject.

4) What other classes gives students' real world experiences that make them employable right out of school? Many academic classes require students to continue their training and prepare students for a four year degree. Guess what? College is NOT for everyone. There are so many skills trades that go unfilled on a yearly basis and the demand for these positions increases annually. We have the potential to get students exposed to these tracks, show them what these jobs entail, and then they can decide if it is an area they think they would like to pursue all without throwing tens of thousands of dollars in student loans away after realizing they do not want to work in that field.

5) Last, but certainly not least, I get to do the fun stuff and build relationships with my students. How cool is agriculture education. I know I said the learning doesn't stop in the classroom and it is so cool! Through the National FFA, students have the opportunity to travel out of their counties and across the country if they so desire. They are constantly involved in community service, chapter improvements, and local area needs all of which lead to personal growth and career success.

 

It just doesn't get any better than this!

Submitted by:

Josh Walker

 @jmw5508

2013 Student Teacher

Mohawk HS

The "Wright" Placement - the Case of Cortney Wright!

My student teaching experience was some what different than the student teaching

experiences of my fellow student teachers. I decided to take a non-traditional route with my student teaching and teach at a career and technology center which had its pro's and cons!

The major difference at the career and technology center was that I had three 120 minute sessions, no planning period, no school lunches, and no homerooms. Another major differences is that I had three different levels of students in the classroom such as AgriScience 1, AgriScience 2, and AgriScience 3. Teaching at a nontraditional placement such as a Career and Technology Center stretches you as a teacher candidate a great deal.  The students who attended a CTC are there for a very specific reason, so the students really want to learn most days. You also have more flexibility at times to complete certain activities.

While teaching at the Career and Technology Center, the extended instructional sessions can challenge a new teacher.  You learn very fast how to plan for much more than needed. Most of my lessons for one class out of a day is enough material to cover in three classes in normal high school.  Creating variability can be another challenge to address.  Trying to change gears or add something new every 20 minutes can be hard.  You also have to watch and be sure that you are not losing any students.  If you lose students in the beginning of the lesson, it can be hard to catch them up because they have missed so much. The other hard thing to get used to is having multiple classes or lessons going on at once.  I only had to do this once a day, but it was an extremely hard concept to become use to. You learn how to create more student-centered learning activities instead of teacher-centered learning.  This makes students more responsible for their own learning, and less dependent on you to disseminate the information to them

I choose to complete my student teaching experience at a career and technology center because it can be very nontraditional, but also because this program is one of few at CTC’s that is so broad.  The program included everything from animal science, plant science, agriculture mechanics, natural resources, and wildlife. I had the opportunity to teach in a biotechnology program, unique as there are not many of across the nation.  The biotechnology program provided me hands on experience learning in teaching STEM related curriculum. I also had the opportunity to use a lot of equipment and materials that not every program around the state has access to.  I am so happy that I had the opportunity to utilize a fully equipped biochemistry lab.

Bottom-line, I know this is definitely what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I absolute love teaching, love my students, and love the memories that are made every day in the classroom with my students. I could not have asked for a better student teaching experience.

Please watch this short video (2 minutes 13 seconds) that I created:

Submitted By:

Cortney Wright

@WrightCortneyC

2013 Student Teacher

Bedford CTC

"You're an Ag Ed Major? So you want to farm?" Tales from Tressler

Imagine yourself walking into Ferguson at 6:00 am with 16 other people. Breakfast food and drinks line the wall of room 214 waiting to be consumed by the sleepy, yet hungry college students. You pile your plate up with bagels, fruit, and powdered doughnuts and pour yourself a cup of hot coffee. You turn around and notice that at every desk there is a folder. You open it up and bamm…. It’s everything you need to know for your senior year as a student in the Agricultural Education and Extension major, but the one thing you want to look at the most is ‘the list’.

Ms. Tressler with Pequea Valley FFA members

As an Agricultural Education and Extension student, I was way too excited and anxious to take a look at ‘the list’. The list shows all the potential schools in Pennsylvania that would welcome student teachers for the spring of 2013. It’s the school you will be spending about 3 ½ months of your senior year teaching at. It’s a pretty big deal to say the least. Picking the school took careful consideration. It’s not something you can just close your eyes and point to a school on a piece of paper. You have to do your research. What kind of program do they have? How will I benefit in the end? What do their facilities look like? What’s their average class size? Where are they located? These were just a few of the questions that I asked myself. But then there were questions that stuck out more than others…

Should I go to a place where I'm comfortable with the subjects? That was what I originally wanted. I looked at different schools that had animal science and horticulture programs that were going to be taught during the time I would be teaching. All I knew was that I did not want to go to a place that had Ag Mechanics being taught during the time I was there. It wasn't my strong subject, and I was terrified. As much as I was hesitant to have Pequea Valley as my #1 on the top of the list, I knew that I would benefit more from being in a strong Agriculture Mechanics program than I would at a strong Animal Science program. This whole experience at Pequea Valley was me being out of my comfort zone. I looked at being at Pequea as an opportunity; an opportunity for me to be out of my comfort zone and to learn more about Ag Mechanics. Besides, that was my biggest weakness. So, I sat in front of the panel and explained my reasoning as to why Pequea Valley would’ve been the best fit for me. I want to be the best teacher I can possibly be. If my students want to learn about Ag Mechanics, then I need to have knowledge about that specific area. If I didn’t, I would be hindering my students. I wouldn’t be that well-rounded Ag teacher. It’s the end of my student teaching experience, and I still get asked the same question from time to time….

“So what are you majoring in?”

“Agricultural Education and Extension.”

“So you want to farm or something?”

2013 PSU Student Teaching Cohort

It saddens me to know that many people in our society do not know about Agriculture Education and how it molds students to be positive agents of change; how a total Ag Ed program includes Supervised Agricultural Experience, FFA, and Classroom Instruction and what that actually means; how teachers have students walk in as followers and leave as leaders.  We are teaching the future educators, doctors, lawyers, scientists of tomorrow.  While some may say, “they don’t need to learn about agriculture”, they’re wrong because we don’t just teach a subject in a classroom. Agriculture teachers are so much more. We inspire our kids to be something more. We see the potential in every student and try and bring that to the surface so students can see for themselves what they are capable of. We make a difference. These educators can make that small spark that’s deep inside a student turn into a roaring blaze. Agriculture educators aren’t just teachers; we’re advisors, role models, counselors, motivators, engagers, and when needed, a person to just say “Let’s do better next time. I know you can do this.”  

Submitted by:

Ashley Tressler

@aet5099

2013 Student Teacher

Pequea Valley High School

Mifflinburg Magic with PJ Adam

Agricultural Education has been part of my life for nine years. From August 29^th 2004 to May 4^th 2013 I have done a complete 180 in my role in the classroom. I went from being  a quiet scared freshman, to the other side of the table teaching the quiet scared freshman, and dragging them out of their shells into the exciting world of Agricultural Education.  My experiences have been vast from judging cattle at the local fair, to meeting with the President at the White House. No one has lived my experiences in Agricultural Education before, nor will anyone live them all after me. I hope and pray my students and counterparts can learn from my mistakes, and build beyond my successes.

I have enjoyed my time at Penn State overall, I do however pray it is not the best 4 years of my life because there is a lot of life to live yet. Having the chance to work with students has been wonderful, I enjoy every day of it. Every day is a new day, and every period is a new period. Students don’t see what happens in the period before them, nor after they only see their class period, their moment in time with me as the Ag Teacher. There was a time a short time ago that I would wake up and dread going to work many days of the week. Since starting teaching I have never felt that way. I have gotten up and been excited to go to work, and arrived home each evening tired, but with a feeling of success after a long day. Not every part of everyday has been fun, and a barrel of laughs, but they all have been worthwhile times in the classroom.

Reflecting on my experiences at Mifflinburg Area High School, I have learned more from my students outside the classroom than in it. Working as an FFA Advisor has helped develop my relationships with students beyond anything available in the 41 minute period  I saw them every day. I feel as though I have impacted the lives of each student in some way, and some of those impacts may have been very small, and others huge life changes but all positive impacts. 

Submitted by:

PJ Adam

@MifflinburgST13

2013 Student Teacher

Mifflinburg School District

Aukamp's Analysis! Loving Lampeter-Strasburg

Student teaching at Lampeter-Strasburg has opened my eyes to the world of FFA. I was not part of a strong FFA program and in fact did not even hear of an SAE until I came to PSU. I went into student teaching like a sponge in a sink of water, I just could not wait to soak up the knowledge.

My experiences with FFA have ranged from monthly meetings, community events, conferences, CDEs on the regional level, record book contests on the regional and state level, proficiency award judging, and school based contests.  Every year the FFA chapter makes breakfast for local farmers. We arrived at school early at 5:30 am to prepare breakfast. Now, most high school students would never voluntarily wake up at that hour of the morning! But, this FFA chapter has some extraordinary kids and they were all bright and chipper and rearing to make breakfast. We served breakfast to 60 people from 7-9am in the high school cafeteria. It was great to see the local community workers come and support the FFA, many of whom attended L-S and were in FFA. After breakfast, we invited the locals back to the Vet Science room to peruse through old scrapbooks from years gone by. It was a wonderful morning!

Another memory I have of FFA is more recent. Just last week Mr. Smith and Mr. Herman (a student teacher from the University of Delaware) headed up our school’s Ag Mechanics Contest. It was open to grades 9-11 and students did not have to be FFA members to compete. Ten boys showed up last Thursday, April 11, from 6:30-9 pm where they participated in individual and team events. I was impressed to see the students work together to construct a “jig” in a brief amount of time, given their skill level. Some of the participants are just learning about agriculture mechanics and have only taken one class. It was neat to see how interested they were in the material that they would come for the experience and not for the winning aspect of the event.

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to student teach at L-S. I have enjoyed teaching in the classroom and being involved in the numerous FFA activities over the past few months. I hope I will be able to have as active an FFA as they have at L-S, someday in my program. 

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of student across the glob by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter @TeachAgPSU, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PSUTeachAg.

Submitted by:

Jamie Aukamp

@jla322

2013 Student Teacher

Lampeter-Strasburg High School

The Great Northern Lebanon Experience by Alyshia West

I was blessed to be welcomed to such a wonderful agriculture education family.  Starting at National convention my students were such an open and bubbly group of students.  We found fun educational material together at the career show then had a little “scare” time at the haunted asylum.   Through these experiences I built relationships with my students that were critical for my student teaching experience.

During my time at Northern Lebanon I struggled but I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for the excellent support of Ms. Oberst and Mrs.Balsbaugh.  Ms.Oberst has 30 years of experience under her belt and Mrs.Balsbaugh is still new in the education field and coming from Penn State her herself, she understood what I was going through.

I gained a lot of experience in the area of animal science and forestry.  But one of the greatest things I learned is that planning is critical and being able to ask for help is necessary.  I also learned that being able to think on your feet and being prepared for the unexpected is needed on a daily basis as an agriculture educator.  e TH

The greatest example from my student teaching experience is from the day of banquet.  The day finally arrived for banquet, we had planned who needed to be where and when to the T.  However, our sow decided to have her piglets, and apparently so did our guinea pig.  This cramped our plans, but we quickly redirected and figured out how to pull together and have a successful banquet.

The Northern Lebanon students always were chipper and bubbly.  They were always willing to try the crazy ideas I cooked up and always had helpful feedback.  These students were such exceptional leaders of this school.  It was very touching to see how close they all were to each other.  If someone was having a bad day, everyone went out of their way to help their peer out, just like a large family.  I am grateful for such an excellent set of students, and that they welcomed me as part of the family from day one.

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of student across the glob by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter @TeachAgPSU, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PSUTeachAg.

Submitted by:

Alyshia West

@a_west362

2013 Student Teacher

Northern Lebanon High School

Brubaker's Big Picture Review - Annville-Cleona Awesomeness

When beginning my first week of student teaching, I was expecting to ease into all of my classes having a feeling for each of the students after a week of observation. To my surprise, I was extremely wrong! My cooperating teacher told me “you’ll only understand the life of an Ag. Teacher if you experience it the real way.” The first day of the marking period, a week after my arrival, I began teaching all of my classes. At first I was confused as to why I would be given such a work load,
but I would not change it for the world!

The best memory from my student teaching experience was dissecting the stomach of a cow during my Introduction to Agriculture class. To engage my students from the beginning of the experience, I explained the idea of using a real cow stomach for the dissection  to observe the different components. The responses I got from there students were unreal. “Why would we want to know the parts of a stomach?” or “That sounds disgusting, count me out”. As the days got closer to the dissection, students in other classes were asking if they could come to our dissection day because they were hearing it could be pretty awesome! It was amazing to see how the impact of a few students who were extremely interested could change the minds of the rest of the students in the classes, as well as those not enrolled in agriculture courses. The best part of the dissection was knowing that my students had such an interest in the lab, they all diligently worked on their lab packets and could identify the parts and explain their functions. This moment allowed me to know; the students learned something new and were excited and interested in the content!

Another great memory with my students was participating in their FFA events and providing them support every step of the way. Two events the students at Annville-Cleona High School participated in were Public Speaking and ACES conference. The students who were involved in the Public Speaking contest made me believe it is 100% possible to train a group of dedicated students to succeed and accomplish their goals. It was the best opportunity to watch my students develop into great public speakers starting from a stuttering, eye clutched to the paper, nervous individual. The students were dedicated and spent multiple hours reciting and practicing their speeches. ACES was also a memorable moment because the students were capable of representing their school while including me in their learning experience. It was awesome watching the students network with other chapters and include me in their experience!

My experience has been more than I had ever imagined and flew by! It is awesome to see how the components of Agriculture Education can merge together and change the lives of students. I believe that Agriculture Education has the ability to change a student’s life and mold them into a confident, goal setting and accomplishing individual.

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of student across the glob by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter @TeachAgPSU, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PSUTeachAg.

Submitted by:

Kristy Brubaker

@kristylane

2013 Student Teacher

Annville-Cleona High School

Pray's Ponderings on Cedar Crest Fun

Wow! I can’t believe my student teaching experience is almost over! All I can say is: “Where did the time go?!”

Student teaching has been one of the best experiences in my life. I didn't think that from January to April I would be able to make a real connection with my students and boy was I wrong. I got to know my students pretty quickly and now I’m sad that I have to leave them in just 2 short days. I got to know their likes and dislikes and how they learn best in the classroom. The latter was something that I definitely didn't think I could accomplish in such a short period of time.

The most memorable moment I have from student teaching occurred during the regional public speaking contest. I had one student whom had made it that far and she was super excited and nervous about giving her junior prepared speech. I had given her all the tips I could think of and coached her the best I could. I gave her a pep talk before she went in to give her speech to try to calm her nerves. After what felt like an eternity, they finally came out with the results. She walked up to me and said with the biggest smile I have ever seen and said “Ms Pray! I did it! I got first place and I’m going to states!” Then she proceeded to give me a giant hug. This made all of the hard work put into preparing her well worth it.

Throughout my student teaching experience, I refined my teaching skills and learned so much from my cooperating teacher. I completed my student teaching experience at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pa. My cooperating teacher was Mr. Harold Berkheiser. He is a veteran teacher and after 35 years of teaching he is going to start enjoying his retirement at the end of this school year. He taught me so much about how to be a better teacher, how to be a great FFA advisor and how to guide students through the SAE process. He even got me to feel comfortable teaching students in the Ag Shop, which is something that I never thought I would be able to do.

Although I am sad to be leaving, I am excited to move on and have a classroom and students of my own. I will definitely use all of the information that I have learned during my student teaching experience. I also plan to keep in touch with many of my students to see how they progress through high school and college. And even though he is retiring I plan on keeping in touch with my cooperating teacher for more advice as I traverse through my first year as a teacher.

Student teaching is a great and exciting time. Even though at first it seems a little terrifying, it is nice to have a student teaching cohort, good professors, family, friends, your cooperating teacher and university supervisor to lean on. All of these people will help you to succeed as a student teacher. I went in with the idea that I could handle this experience and through the help of all these people I became not only a better teacher and also a new and improved me. 

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of student across the glob by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter @TeachAgPSU, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PSUTeachAg.

Submitted by:

Heather Pray

@hpray18

2013 Student Teacher

Cedar Crest High School

PSU AEE M.S. Candidate

2012-13 National Teach Ag Ambassador

Milton Hershey Moments by Darla Romberger

On my first day of student-teaching at Milton Hershey, I got the best advice for student-teaching from the High School Principal, Mr. Weber.  He looked at me straight in the eye and said, “This experience will fly by—make sure you make an impression each day so you can look back and see what your students have achieved.”  This statement was indeed true throughout my experience and I’m glad I heard these words of wisdom at such a great time during this internship.  With that thought in mind, I will reflect on some of the most ‘impactful’ moments during my time student-teaching at Milton Hershey. 

The most memorable moment during my student-teaching experience was teaching FFA History and the Creed.  To gain the interest and respect of my Freshmen classes, I created an “FFA Jacket Challenge” that would award an FFA Jacket to the first student that stood up in class and recited the entire FFA Creed perfectly.  This announcement spread like wildlife between the rest of the agriculture students and a network of support emerged for the Freshman students vying for their very own FFA Jacket.  Each day, upperclassmen would come to class and ask, “Did anyone recite the Creed today?”  It was amazing to see how one simple challenge created electricity and hype between all the agriculture classes.  After weeks of practicing, 2 brave students accepted my challenge and earned their very own FFA Jacket.  Word spread quickly that 2 students were successful and the same electricity and buzz were evident again in my classes.  During my final week of student-teaching, I presented each student with their freshly-pressed FFA Jackets and saw their eyes light up as they put on their jacket for the first time.  I look forward to seeing the journey that these two young FFA members will embark on over the next 3 years.

Another impactful moment was participating in the 2013 State Legislative Leadership Conference (SLLC) Community Service Project with the FFA members on the trip.  As we first approached our community service site, I was worried that my students were not going to be 100% engaged in the service project.  However, when groups were assigned given tasks, it was my students that took the lead and jumped right into the tasks and quickly befriended FFA members from other chapters.  Words cannot describe how proud I was of my students as they accepted a challenge, developed a plan of action, and worked together to achieve it.  When I asked students at the end of the conference what their favorite portion of the conference was, they quickly responded with the community service project because they got to help someone else in need.  This response made my heart smile because I knew that these students, through Agriculture Education, would leave the classroom as productive, caring, and hard-working members of the agricultural industry.  This experience truly exemplified the “Living to Serve” segment of the FFA motto and gave members a chance to become involved in a project larger than them.

Finally, I watched as students took pride in their Agriculture Education program and spoke to over 200 8^th grade students during the annual 8^th-Grade CTE Tour.  Students had been preparing for this event for weeks and when the time came, their hard work and persistence had paid off as they created an engaging environment for students and chaperones alike.  The students received many compliments for their work during the tour and did a phenomenal job of representing Agriculture Education.  It was amazing to see how the students had banded together to take pride in their Agriculture program and promote it to other prospective students.  I have never seen a group of young people speak with such confidence and determination to recruit next year’s Freshman class.  It was an awesome feeling to know that I helped the students achieve such success.

In conclusion, I never realized the difference that one person could make in such a short period of time.  I have seen students come to life and find their ‘niche’ in Agriculture Education.  After watching the above accomplishments, I firmly believe that Agriculture Education has the potential to make a positive difference in the lives of each student enrolled in an Agriculture class.  Whether a student finds a new interest in agriculture or gains confidence in Public Speaking, Ag Education provides numerous avenues to make a difference in a young person’s life.  Through my student-teaching experience, I’ve learned that a little effort on the part of the instructor can go a long way to help a student and give them an incentive to achieve.  

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter @TeachAgPSU, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PSUTeachAg.

 Darla Romberger

@DJR_131

Student Blogger

2013 Student Teacher

Milton Hershey High School

PSU AEE M.S Candidate

Mad Marsh Musings

2013 Student Teacher Britney Marsh created a professional blog and has some great entries on technology. Britney is student teaching at Greenwood High School with Ms. Krista Pontius!

Britney Marsh,
2013 St. Teacher

Mad Marsh Musings: iPad Mania: I know that technology can be a little scary and you are never sure where to start. I have an iPad and every day I find new and more effective ways to incorporate it into my curriculum. To make it a little easier for those who feel timid when approaching the iPad I have composed a list of educational FREE applications that can be downloaded to your iPad and utilized in your classroom. The list below is categorized by subject.


Good Job Britney! We are proud of you!

Follow Britney on Twitter at: @B_Marsh216

Moving On.....Catching up with 2012 Graduate Mackenzie Crooks

As our 2012 Student Teachers graduated from Penn State on May 5th, many of them had no idea what the future would bring. Now, as summer reaches its climax, many of them now have some idea of where their lives are heading. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will showcase some of our graduates and update you on where they are heading. In this weeks edition, we follow up with Mackenzie Crooks!

Ms. Crooks (top left) with her FFA Officers and other teachers of the Lebanon HS Agriculture Department. 

Mackenzie, a native of Irwin, PA, was a great addition to the class of 2012. She completed her student teaching experience under the guidance of Mr. Kyle Norman at Brockway High School. We asked Mackenzie some questions about her experiences at Penn State and what she is looking forward to in the future.

a)     Why did you choose this school to teach at?

I chose this school [ Lebanon High School] because it had everything I was looking for in a program.  The ag department is fairly new and one of the largest ones in the state of Indiana.  I set out looking for a multi-teacher program so I would have guidance from more experienced educators during my first (and most challenging) year of teaching.  I also liked that it was a newer program.  The department head is amazing and takes all of my ideas into consideration and has even used a few of them.  

b)     What are you most excited about for the upcoming year?

I am excited to have my own classroom and students!  This year will be challenging since the school is under construction and I have to switch rooms half way through the school year.  But I am probably most excited for the new greenhouse that is being built.  I will be the person in charge of over seeing it, and the administration has set the expectation bar high.  I have a lot of great ideas to try with the greenhouse and cannot wait to get in there.

c)      What advice do you have to the student teachers of next year about the Job Search?

The job search can be a very tedious thing, but stick with it.  Keep an open mind to moving somewhere new, and don't limit yourself to one area.  There are a TON of possibilities out there for you; you just have to find them!

d)     Did you feel prepared for the Job Search Process?
I felt very prepared for the job search process.  The last week that we spent at Penn State really helped me to gain the confidence that I needed to succeed in finding the right job.  The mock interviews were extremely helpful.