And They're Off!!

The bags are packed! For the next 10 days or so, Ag Education students from both Penn State and The University of Florida are embarking on the Agricultural Education experience of a Lifetime! They are traveling to Seoul, South Korea to learn how Agricultural Education occurs outside of the United States. They even have their own blog to talk about the experience: http://teachagkorea.blogspot.kr/

Of course, they just made it to Seoul at about 6AM this morning (after leaving State College at 6AM yesterday) and promptly went to dinner at their hotel. Rumor has it that many of them even ate with chopsticks for the first time and no one starved (Food was a major concern for many of the students).

Also the students have had an interesting time figuring out the amenities of Korean life - such as the high-tech toilet in their hotel rooms.  Apparently it took 2 students and 10 minutes to figure out how to flush it. Ahh the joys of international travel!

Danielle Smith, 2012 Student Teacher at Selinsgrove High School Talks About Her Experiences this Past Spring

When I was first asked to reflect on my student teaching experience I thought “I don’t know what to write so much has happened.” It is hard to make a short reflection, but now thinking about it more I can sum up my student teaching experience with one word “impact.”

When most people put impact and student teaching together they think about the student teaching impacting the students at their cooperating center. Which makes sense because that’s what we are there for to teach and by extension impact students, but when I think about impact I think more about the impact my cooperating center has had on my life. I have often thought to myself that I have succeeded in my student teaching internship if I have made half the impact on my students that they have made on me.

The first experience I had that really impacted me was when I first started to teach my vet science class; after class one day as students were getting ready to leave as the bell was ringing a female student started to talk to me about FFA she told me that she wanted to join but was worried about what her friends would say I told her that you should not worry about what your friends will think when making decisions and that you should make decisions based on what you want to do. She seemed to be responsive to this and to most people that would just be a typical conversation with a student which it was to me until I found out more about this student. This particular student did not get along with most teachers in the school and she is usually considered a discipline issue and a student teachers could not connect with in a positive way. This is when I realized that it was really meaningful that she felt comfortable opening up to me. My relationship with this student has continued and I have faith that I have impacted her and that possibly her life will be somewhat different thanks to me taking the time to talk to her and even though she probably doesn’t know it I will always remember her because she impacted my life as well.

The second experience I think about when I think about impact involves a group of students. During student teaching I taught a building construction class this class consisted of 13 boys. This was also the class that I was teaching shop based units that I was not that comfortable with. I will always remember this class because not only did it help me overcome my fears of teaching shop, but it also impacted me by allowing me to realize that I can not only teach a class of all boys but prove to them that I know what I am talking about when I am teaching and most importantly teach them skills they did not have before.

My final experience I would like to highlight is my recognition at the FFA banquet. It was not so much that my cooperating center chose to honor me at the banquet it was more that what was read on stage to honor me was written by students. I did not know it till the night of the banquet, but Mrs. Fry my cooperating teacher had given the officers the task of writing something up to honor me. When I was called on stage I was surprised and then when I realized the words that were being said about me were coming straight from my students I almost cried. It was then that I realized I was not going to be that student teacher that comes to a school for a short period of time and then leaves and no one remembers but that I was going to be that student teacher that students talk about for years to come and that has impacted them in some way.

Overall my student teaching experience has been very meaningful and I am sad to leave. That is why I do not think of it as leaving the place but not the people because they have forever changed me as I hope I have changed them.

Emily's Reflections on Penn Manor

Over the next few weeks, we will sporadically post some reflections by the 2012 Student Teachers about their experiences over the course of their last semester. Today's entry comes from Ms. Emily Kuhn who student taught with Ms. Carole Fay at Penn Manor High School. 

I student taught at Penn Manor with Mrs. Carole Fay.  While there I taught Introduction to Agricultural Mechanics, Vet Science, Agricultural Science 1, and Floriculture.  These were all topics that were pretty foreign to me, which is why I chose Penn Manor as my cooperating center.  At first, it was overwhelming to be teaching these courses because of my lack of experience with all of the subject matter.  However, as time went on, I became very confident in myself and my teaching because I kept trying new things, and I used my resources as much as possible to help me to further my own knowledge before I tried to teach things to the students. 

My first challenge while here was figuring out how to help students who were emotional support (ES).  I had a female student who had some serious outbursts in class, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do at first.  I went to her ES teacher for advice and he gave me some pointers, as well as a request to update him on an almost daily basis so he could help discipline/reward her within his classroom via his behavioral points system.  As time went on, she became a well-behaved student within my classroom, and I soon had no issues with her behavior.  By the end of my experience, she was along the lines of a model student and it was nice to see her progress to this point.  The thing that helped her get there most was the rapport we established as well as my discussions with her about her progress throughout the semester.  She began expecting my positive feedback from me and her ES teacher and she was always glad to receive it.

Another challenge for me was establishing rapport with my mechanics class.  They were very reluctant to see me as their teacher and they were reluctant as far as my skills because they thought I was not informed on the subject matter.  However, as time went on, they became more used to my presence as their teacher, and despite them trying to challenge me with questions on the subject matter as much as they could; they eventually came to realize that I was experienced in the subject matter.  Once they realized this, many of them began to respect me as their teacher and they began to listen to my instruction and directions with a little more sense of purpose.  By the end, many of them told me they really would miss me while I was gone, which was nice to hear after they had given me such a hard time when I first arrived.

An exciting experience I had while here was working with the Life Skills students.  My floriculture class invited them to spend a class period with us so that my students could teach them how to repot and care for plants.  We had about a 1:1 ratio of students, which was perfect for this activity.  My students had a great time teaching the other students how to complete this task, and they even took the time to show some of the Life Skills students how to propagate plants by taking cuttings.  Not all of the Life Skills students had the ability to complete this task, but those who did were able to try it.  At the end, we allowed the Life Skills class to have the plants they had repotted so that they could learn how to take care of them.  It was a very exciting activity and everyone enjoyed working together, which was great to see.

Overall, my experience has been fun, although there was quite a bit of time where I was challenged a lot by the students or the subject matter.  I kept pushing through because I knew the students were still counting on me to teach them, and I knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life.  I have finally finished my student teaching and just have to work my way through these last few transition days before I must leave the students I have become so close to.  I will miss them when I leave because I know so much about them and I have enjoyed seeing them progress over the time I have spent teaching them.  It will be a sad departure, but it will also be a happy departure because I have proven to myself that I can teach agriculture, including those topics which I am not very well versed in.  

2012 Annual AEE Banquet

This past week, the students of Alpha Tau Alpha, Collegiate FFA, and Collegiate 4-H put together the Annual Agricultural and Extension Education Banquet. This year's theme was "Celebrating Our Blue Ribbon Students". The event was held at Mt. Nittany Middle School and rumor has it that the food was really good! The keynote speaker was Dr. Larry Schardt, Natural Resourse Conservationalist with the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences here at Penn State. His speech focused on being happy with yourself and life. He emphasized that it is important to let others know that you care about them. He was a wonderful, infectious speaker who inspired everyone in attendance reach for their goals. Afterwards, several of our students in the department received awards for their accomplishments throughout the year. The following is a list of this year's winners:

CFFA:

Bronze Advisors Pin
Brittany Arnold

Kristie Folk

Phillip Hassener

Emily Kuhn

Douglas Masser

Cameron Schirmer
Danielle Smith

Chelsea Walker

Outstanding Freshman: Kaitlyn Rimol

Outstanding Sophomore: Caleb Wright

Outstanding Junior: Amanda Dobbs

Outstanding Senior: Doug Masser

Workhorse Award: PJ Adam

C-4H Awards:

4-H Outstanding New Member: Brenna Robinson

4-H Outstanding Member: Jeanette Blank 

New Alpha Tau Alpha Initiates

PJ Adam

Jamie Aukamp

Laura Davis

Kaydee Gearhart

Mackenzie McCollum

Adam Peachey

Heather Pray

Meagan Slates

Ashley Tressler

Josh Walker

Alyshia West

Cortney Wright

The Final Week....

This week, thirteen 2012 Penn State Agricultural Education Student Teachers return from their fifteen week internship in secondary schools across Pennsylvania for their final 2-weeks of their Penn State Ag Teacher Education experience. Below is a profile of this group.

The 2012 student teaching cohort:

•  Taught 74 different classes to students from 8^th to 12^th grade from 42 minute periods to 90 minute “block” periods.
•  Delivered 161 units of instruction on topics from leadership development, agricultural mechanics, environmental sciences, plant sciences, animal sciences and much more!
• Impacted the lives of  1,213 individual students
• Has 3 Masters/post-baccalaureate members
• Has  1 Schreyer’s Honor Scholar
•  4 minor/areas of emphasis obtained: Agribusiness Management; Horticulture;  International Agriculture ; and Recreation, Parks & Tourism Management (Shaver Creek Block Semester)
•  Has studied abroad in 7 countries, including: Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Ireland, Korea, Tanzania
•  3  students have also earned a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science
•  Will have members who are Pennsylvania Certified (with reciprocity in more than 40 states ) in the following 5 areas: Agriscience K-12; Biology; Environmental Science; General Science; English as a Second Language (ESL)
•  Has earned 13 different Additional Certifications/Accreditations/Licensures, including:
• Accredited Parliamentarians from the Society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians (6); First Aid/CPR/AED Certification (13); Keystone Aquatics Resource (Project Aquatics)(3; National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Instructors (13); NAUI Certified Scuba Diver (1); Occupational, Safety and Health Administration Certificate (1); Pennsylvania Song Birds curriculum (3); Pennsylvania Forensics curriculum (1); Pennsylvania Amphibians and Reptiles curriculum (1); Project Food, Land & People curriculum (2); Project Learning Tree (2); Project WILD curriculum(3); Teaching with Technology at Penn State (1)
• Members of the 16 professional organizations, including:
• Alpha Tau Alpha, National Agricultural Education Honorary; Alpha Zeta, Penn State; American Dairy Science Association; Association of Career & Technical Education (All 13 candidates); Collegiate FFA, Penn State; Dairy Science Club, Penn State; EARTH House, Penn State; Gamma Sigma Delta; Graduate Student Association, Ag & Ext Education, Penn State; Holstein Association, USA; National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) (All 13 candidates); National Science Teachers Association (1); Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; Pennsylvania Holstein Association; Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE) ; Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE) (All 13 candidates);
•  Has previously gained experience or been employed with  22 different relevant jobs/Internships including:
• Ag Choice Credit, Marketing Intern; Cove-View Family Dairy Farm; Folk’s Butter Fly Farm ,Educational Instructor; Home Depot, Plant Merchandiser; Lazy E Ranch, Guthrie, Oklahoma, Intern; Martin’s Flowers and Shrubs, Belle Vernon, PA; Masser’s Produce; Milking Technician; New Bolton Center (University of Penn’s Large Animal Hospital); Penn State Outreach, Orion Instructor; Penn State Department of Dairy and Animal Science, Research Assistant; Penn State University Police; Penn State Turfgrass Research Center Mechanic/Research Assistant; Pennsylvania Department of Education, PASA Scorer May 18-20 in Harrisburg (PSSA's for students with very strong  disabilities); Pennsylvania FFA, Pennsylvania State FFA Officer; Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; Roving Nature Center Teacher Naturalist; Run N’ Jump Farm, Bellefonte, PA; Science Summer Camp Coordinator; Shaver’s Creek Outdoor School Counselor and Learning Group Leader; Tractor Supply Company, Manager; Penn State Department of Ag & Ext. Education, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Where are they now? Status of the 2012 Cohort

Last Updated on April 27, 2015

Brittany Arnold - Agriscience Teacher, Frederick HS, Maryland

Robyn Bechtel - Agriscience Teacher, Williamsport HS, Pennsylvania

Danielle Breese - Chevron

Mackenzie Crooks - Agriscience Teacher, Lebanon HS, Indiana

Jessica Wrey (DiMarzio) - Agriscience Teacher, Cumberland Valley HS, Pennsylvania

Kristie Good (Folk) - Agriscience Teacher, United HS, Pennsylvania

Katelynn Harshman - Banking Industry

Phil Haussener, Agriscience Teacher, Ceder Crest HS, Pennsylvania

Emily Arnold (Kuhn), Agriscience Teacher, Eastern York HS, Pennsylvania

Doug Masser, Agriscience Teacher, Pequea Valley, Pennsylvania

Cameron Schirmer, Agriscience Teacher, Mohawk HS, Pennsylvania

Danielle Smith, Teller, PNC Bank, Pennsylvania

Chelsea Walker, Americorp Volunteer, Armstrong Conservation District

2012 PSU-OSU Teach Ag Adventure

Written by: Mackenzie McCollum, Class of 2013

Students exploring the greenhouses at W.B. Saul High School.

It is hard to narrow down my favorite experience but one of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting and comparing the different schools.  We first visited Milton Hershey. It was incredible to see the facilities and opportunities with which they provided their students. Our tour guide informed us that students could enter with only the clothes on their back and the school would clothe, feed, and provide them medical care. In addition, each student lives in a private home with "house parents." We learned that upon graduation, each student was given $500 to purchase anything they wanted to include in their "senior bag," as well as a laptop and an $80,000 scholarship if good grades were maintained. 

Next we visited the agricultural program at Conrad Weiser. This program focused heavily on science-based curriculum which was evident upon viewing their laboratory, greenhouse, library, and biotechnology facility. The program also had a vineyard and barn. The program exemplified the importance of science within the agricultural industry. Mr. Serfass encourages his students to read and pursue experiments that intrigue them. 

Finally, we visited W.B. Saul, an inner city agricultural high school. This program was amazing because they had their own meats lab, multiple barns, riding arena, and classrooms devoted to each facet of agricultural education. We were fortunate enough to teach a lesson encompassing the importance of higher education. It was awesome to interact with students attending a strictly agricultural high school in the middle of a large city!

The Ag Teacher
By Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat  (www.ronscowboypoetry.com)

When there’s a faculty meeting, he just might come in late,

Cause he’s been out in the greenhouse, or welding on some gate.

But she knows everything from soil chemistry to how to use a tool.

She’s a very special person the life of our school.

He’s our local ag teacher, whom I salute in celebration,

The cornerstone of ag education all across the nation.

She knows about lots of species, from beef to fowl,

And as FFA Advisor is stationed “Here by the Owl.”

He works at the school teaching agricultural education,

Helping students develop for agricultural for agricultural occupations.

He takes kids to convention and to CDEs,

And helps students gain their state and national degrees.

He’s a judge and a janitor, a driver and chaperone,

A cheerleader and coach, as time has surely shown

But most of all, she’s a teacher, helping student to learn,

In the classroom, shop, home, farm, or workplace in turn.

That ag teachers’ impact is immense, in truth, 

In positively affecting the lives of our youth.

So today I pay tribute to this person I feature,

Changing lives every day: our local ag teacher.

2013 PSU Teacher Candidates