#psuaged17 member Miranda Kane (@mir_kane) hard at work in Mineral, VA

Ms. Miranda  Kane, #psuaged17 member and new teacher
at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia.

2017 Penn State graduate and #psuaged17 member Miranda Kane (@mir_kane) is already putting her teaching skills to work after being hired by Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia.
During Ms. Kane's time at Penn State, she was involved all over the University, in The Blue and White Society, Chamber Choir, Christian Student Fellowship, Teach Ag Society, and Collegiate FFA. During her senior year her student teaching took place at Greenwood High School in Millerstown, PA with Mr. Michael Clark and Ms. Krista Pontius (@Krista_Pontius). During her time at Greenwood, she taught a wide range of subjects, including Plant Science, Small Gas Engines, Agriscience, Welding, Animal Bioscience, Food Science, and Leadership.

Ms. Kane and several of her Greenwood students.

One of the most interesting things she got to take part in at Greenwood was teaching a hydroponics unit to her plant science students, "which was a really neat experience because I had never done it before and got to learn about it alongside my students." Her students constructed miniature hydroponics systems, where they were able to test them under different fertilization methods and talk about quality and management of each. She said she also really enjoyed teaching her Leadership and Parliamentary Procedure classes, and was surprised to see how much her students were enthralled by parli pro.

The Ag program at Louisa County was started in 1948, after a merger of several schools in the area. In her new position, Ms. Kane gets the opportunity to teach Horticultural Sciences and Introduction to Animal Systems, with Greenhouse Plant Production Management added on in the spring. She has a helping hand as she teaches, being one of three agriculture teachers, joining the team of Ms. Machenah Simmons, a current N.C. State grad student, and Mr. Logan Horne, who is experienced in landscaping.

Miranda has a fairly unique opportunity at Louisa County; "Both of my teaching partners are new to teaching, and we all have such different experiences with FFA and agriculture, so we are all learning together! We are excited to grow the agricultural program and give a new name to FFA and Ag Ed here at Louisa County High School." She's especially excited to see how her students are able to utilize the greenhouse and the gardens around the school in her horticulture class.

Speaking of her new job and the journey ahead, she pointed out that she's located in a very small town, quite a bit away from home. She told us that she moved to Mineral without knowing anyone from the area, and anywhere else would have seemed to be a better choice, but, "Something felt right about where my journey has taken me and I wanted to grab it while it was there. I have been given all of the tools to be successful from my past experiences, and now I get to apply them." She continues, explaining that jumping into the unknown can be challenging and overwhelming, but also prove to be very rewarding.

We asked if Ms. Kane has any advice for those thinking about majoring in Agriculture and Extension Education, and she says, , "...if you have a passion for educating students, love working with agriculture, and want to make an impact in the lives of young minds, Agricultural Education is the career for you." To her, teaching her students doesn't feel like work at all. She encourages anyone interested in agricultural education to gibe it a try and see where they can go with it. "Agricultural Education truly is a rewarding profession and a wonderful way to make a huge impact in the lives of many."

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a 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 at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.

Hunter Kauffman, Student Blogger

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

The Pennsylvania State University

Email: hlk5120@psu.edu

Instagram: kauffman_hunter

Entering Year Three: Excited about engaging as a Teacher Leader

[Editor’s Note: Laura Kennedy (Polatnick) came to our teacher preparation program as a graduate student after completing an undergraduate degree in Animal Sciences. She completed an M.Ed in 2011 and is currently entering her third year of teaching agriscience]

My name is Laura Kennedy and I am currently an agriscience teacher at Wilson Middle School in Fishersville, Virginia.  I graduated from Penn State in 2011 with a Masters degree in Agricultural Extension and Education; since then I’ve had the opportunity to work with both secondary and middle school agriculture students. I am now going into my third year of teaching and my second year at the same school! As many will say, the first year as an agricultural teacher can be very challenging – being a new teacher at a new school two years in a row – still just as challenging; but with those challenges come A LOT of fun and life lessons.

Ms. Kennedy and 6th grade Agriscience students engaging
in a wreath making lesson!

As I think back to what brought me to this point, I wanted to make sure that I shared key pieces of information that might help others as they conquer their first few years as an agriculture teacher. First being, do not take on too much your first year of teaching – this is key!!  Many times throughout this year and last, I found myself wanting to be just as great as the other teachers who maybe had 20+ years on me -- and at times I would get discouraged when I would realize I had maybe run out of time and couldn't do certain activities, or I wished I would have planned activities differently because the original plans didn’t work out. As a new teacher feelings of discouragement and frustration then led to questioning whether or not I was cut out for this. At those moments when I felt the most self doubt, I would always think back to what was taught to me by my professors – don’t try and conquer it all in your first few years, you’ll burn out. Remembering this made me feel good, and gave me the confidence as a first year / new teacher to know that even if I didn't get to an activity or event this year, I could and would the next.  I also found myself giving this advice to many of the other new agriculture teachers around the county who were challenged by their own self doubt.

Ms. Kennedy with three of her 2013-14 Chapter Officers
who received a scholarship FFA jacket!

Another piece of information that really stuck with me was the importance of being involved in your professional organizations like PAAE and NAAE – I’m teaching in Virginia so we have the VAAE. These associations grant so many opportunities and provide such great information, not to mention the lasting relationships that you build with other teachers and vendors throughout the state and even the country. Last year I made a promise to myself that I would make it a goal to attend conferences put on by these associations because of the advice that was given to me by my agricultural teacher educators. With that being said I laugh because at this years’ ag. teachers’ conference, I volunteered to become the Northern Area Vice President for VAAE. To be honest I was terrified by the thought of having the extra responsibility -- but with the overwhelming lack of volunteers to fill the position I raised my hand.  What makes me excited about this opportunity is the fact that this association is so important in aiding not only current ag. teachers, but future ones as well -- and it is because of what I have learned throughout this continuing process that I feel so strongly about these associations.

The last thing I would like to share is this – there will be times in life, not just in your career, where opportunities will present themselves and you will feel, for whatever reason inadequate, which then may prevent you from participating – but in those moments, please remember that the only person who is doubting your ability is yourself – push past that and participate, raise your hand and get involved. As Mary Kay Ash (Entrepreneur, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc.) said “don't limit yourself; many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” To all future and current educators, enjoy this year and remember to have some fun!

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a 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 at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog

Laura Kennedy (Polatnick)

Guest Blogger

2011 PSU AEE Graduate

Twitter: @LaKennedy0906