A Day in the (Van) of an Ag Teacher: SAE Visits

On August 3rd, Mr. Brown and I met at Central Columbia High School. We got in a school van, and headed out into the community. The purpose of the day was for me to see a variety of SAE projects in action, as well as being introduced to the community I will be a part of in the spring.

Our first stop was at the house of a student involved in a poultry production CDE. He raises chickens in his back yard and seeks a mild income from them. He sells chickens at the Middleburg Auction, eggs to neighbors, and he is the source of all eggs and chickens used in the CC  ag department! Mr. Brown had a long conversation with his father about the attitudes of certain chickens, which ones are coming and going, and they even talked business about which ones will be coming to school. I could see that in a hobby operation, dad was just as involved and as essential as his son, but he gave his son the room he needed to grow and be successful.

Next, we stopped by the farm of a student involved in an on-farm placement CDE. His parents are successful grain and potato producers, and he hopes to work in the family business one day. It was interesting to note the differences between hobby production and on-farm. Next on our list, we stopped by Nescopeck Agway, which is owned by a students parents. He does his off-farm employment SAE there. There were not many SAE related conversations at these two stops, mostly because the students were very settled in what they were doing. It showed me that an SAE visit does not necessarily have to be a long detailed event.

Our last stop was at ARC, or Animal Rescue Center. Mr. Brown's daughter (who graduated this past year) did her non-paid placement SAE here, and continues to volunteer after graduation. Her job that day was to socialize/play with the kittens, so they become accustomed to humans and therefore more likely to be adopted (what a tough job). I appreciated seeing how SAE's can evolve into opportunities even after graduation.

What I gained most from my day of SAE visits was visiting the various townships that make up the Central Columbia School District. The land area includes residential and business park areas, but quickly becomes rural and agricultural. I also go to see parts of neighboring school districts that send their students to Central Columbia specifically to participate in the ag program. I am glad to have been able to meet students and parents in advance, and learn the different areas of the community I will serve in!

Other Ways to Win: The Losers in the One Way to Win Game.

As I continue through "Other Ways to Win", the three part setup of the book is becoming clear. I have been taught to reflect with a "What; So What; Now What" style, or Kolb's model. Part one of this book answers "What": There is a problem in our nations high schools that is the one way to win philosophy. Part two answers "So What/Who is effected". Gray and Herr make it clear that those who are greatest effected by this philosophy are those they call the academic middle.

Who is the academic middle? They are our students who 1) do not necessarily want to go to college but feel that is what they are supposed to do, and 2) Those who may want to go to college but may not be prepared and struggle to succeed.

High school is often looked at as preparation for college. If that is the case, why are students not prepared in general academics? I read two interesting statistics that say "Of 70% who are in the supposed academic or college prep program, only a little over half take what would be called a minimal college prep set of classes" and "52% of of students pursuing the one way to win dream at 4-year colleges are not academically prepared" causing them to take remedial classes that put them behind. How can ag ed help with this? Ag classes present science and math in a unique way. I believe we can open students minds to college majors that promote success in  these areas, leading to increased effort from these students. I also feel that the mentor role of the ag teacher will be critical for those students who are discerning whether to attend college. SAE/FFA experiences can provide evidence of thought in their choice

One last piece of evidence I found interesting: Around 30% of graduates are college prepped, but go to work instead, and less than half of them have no CTE experience. Ag provides some basic CTE training to suit these students as well as connections to the workforce.

I believe this part of the book helps my career-prepped/college-ready commitment by highlighting those students who will most need help. Of course our programs may not reflect these exact statistics. Nevertheless, it is important that we understand the academic demographic of our program, and fit our teaching to meet their needs. I am looking forward to reading about the "Now What" of part three, and seeing how to create other ways to win!

Web Wonder #1

I would like to start this weeks reflection by saying that reading Paul R. Vaughn's "Effective Teaching: notes for an effective teacher" was exactly what I needed to see at this point in time. I have been worrying lately that my preparation is good enough. Good enough for my mentors and peers, good enough for my future students, good enough to be an ag teacher. As I prepare for student teaching, I am rapidly transitioning from "fantasy" to "survival" in Wong's 4 stages of teaching. The time to dream about being a great teacher is over, it's time to do it, and this daunting task is a source of worry.

"The bad news is that developing these characteristics.. like many things.. is not easy". 

I have been caught up in the feelings of "I don't know what I don't know". All this leads me up to opening up Vaughn. It was like someone said "Hey Nate, here are 10 characteristics to work on!" and then they said "don't worry, we know that it is not easy, but research says it will be worth it". I examined the 10 points in front of me. They are:

Clarity
Variability
Enthusiasm
Task Oriented/Business-Like Behavior
Positive Reinforcement
Student Opportunity to Learn
Avoided Criticism
Structuring Comments
Effective Questioning
Humor

In that list I see areas where I feel comfortable, such as Effective Questioning, Enthusiasm, and Humor. I also see areas where I need work, such as Clarity (specifically the organisation and preparation in order to be clear). I also gained ideas to help myself improve in what I lack, such as the T-chart.
 
In conclusion, my current thoughts of my #teachag journey are: I know I have a long way to go. I need to improve my organisation and time managements. I know I have the passion (or else I wouldn't still be here) and now it's time to let that passion put my nose to the grind stone. I'm committed to celebrating the small successes this semester and not letting mistakes get me down to much. It's go time.

#AEE412 Lab Reflection #1

Throughout my entire #psuaged17 journey, I have been looking forward to the day when I can move from the desk to the front of the room and teach! Our first #AEE412 lab on Wednesday was my chance to do just that. I was presented a choice of two lessons, and Miranda was assigned as my coach. I was surprised that neither of my choices were agricultural (parts of a castle or chess..., I chose to teach parts of a middle-ages castle) but I realized that that was not important. We are focusing on HOW to teach, not WHAT to teach.

My prep time was less than an hour, mostly because my assessment and content materials were included. I struggled the most with how to convey 14 castle parts and two other facts on the assessment, and give the assessment in 15 minutes. To help with this daunting task, I made the move to write a word bank as we went along. I felt it was important to get the attention of the class in the beginning by setting the stage of walking up to a castle to visit the king. I believe this approach was more successful than starting everyone out cold with vocab.

The results: The class finished with over 80% accuracy. I believe the word bank helped, but things got too confusing with me writing on one side of the board while classmates were drawing the castle. I took my mind off the students needs to do so. I also need to clarify exam length. I asked "who needs more time" and immediately realized that often students are afraid to raise their hand in that situation. I believe I was able to clearly showcase my abilities as a teacher, and my areas for improvement were noticeable. After observing my peers, I would say that #psuaged17 is on a level playing field, and we are all excited to learn together. I cant wait to get back out there again next week!