Student Teaching Site Visits

Hello!

As I write this, I am wrapping up a long week here in State College. This concludes Week 11 of the semester...only four more + a Finals Week to go until we are officially done for the year! It is certainly an often busy and stressful time of life as I conclude my junior year of college, but even on the hard days I try to remind myself that I only get to do this once. I've been reflecting on how quickly my time in State College is coming to an end - in around nine months time I will be living in an entirely new area getting ready to student teach! I easily find myself feeling nervous and a little sad about how quickly the rest of my time in college will go by and wishing I had more time here in State College. However, a good friend once said that "if you do it right, once is enough"...so I'm doing my best to "do it right" over the next few weeks of this semester, even in the busy times.

In this blog, I'm excited to share a little bit more about the potential cooperating center site visits I have done over the course of this semester. In my previous blog (https://mrbixlersblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/what-i-seek-in-cooperating-center.html), I talked about the things I was looking for in a potential student teaching placement site. This time, I get to highlight the places my travels took me as I searched for those things. :)

In each of the schools that I visited, I met incredible teachers and students who went above and beyond to help me feel comfortable and welcome. It was fun to step back into a high school setting and be reminded of all of the reasons I began pursuing this career in the first place. In addition to this sense of familiarity, I also got to experience many new things in schools different from my own, which also got me excited in anticipation for all of the things I will surely learn during this experience. I feel fortunate to have had three incredible visits as I traveled across Pennsylvania...let me tell you about them!

Visit 1: Athens Area High School

My first visit was to Athens Area High School in Bradford County. Athens is way up north - the district borders the New York state line! On my way to Athens, I went up a day early and took a bit of a detour to Ithaca, NY to see Cornell University, which was a fun trip for me to see a different university. At Athens, I observed Mr. Dave Steinfelt and Mrs. Sarabeth Alderfer teaching a variety of courses within their agricultural education department. I loved seeing how Mr. Steinfelt and Mrs. Alderfer give guidance to their FFA chapter and support their officer team in meaningful reflection. Even in my one day of observation, I saw effective classroom management and students learning incredible things through hands-on application. The students were very friendly and I really enjoyed getting to see their school.

Visit 2: McGuffey High School

My second visit was to McGuffey High School in Washington County. This time, I headed way to the west...McGuffey borders West Virginia! This visit came in the same week as my first one, so I put some major miles on my truck during this week. At McGuffey, I observed Mrs. Renee Cambruzzi and Mr. John Leasure teaching their agricultural sciences courses. I loved hearing about how engaged the FFA chapter is with their community, and I was amazed at the student projects that I saw being completed. Whether through impressive welding projects, deer blind construction, or flower arrangement, Mrs. Cambruzzi and Mr. Leasure lead an impressive program. I enjoyed seeing students have fun as they learned in a positive atmosphere. I even got to sit in on an FFA chapter meeting...which took me back to my own days of leading chapter meetings!

Visit 3: West Perry High School

My final visit was to West Perry High School in Perry County. This one was a bit closer to home for me in the central part of the state. I got to observe Mr. John Hines and Mrs. Ayla Miller teaching throughout the day. I observed a variety of classes, and one of my favorite parts was seeing students work on incredible projects where they were able to apply a variety of skills in both the shop and the classroom. I got to see students learning welding with the help of the teacher while other students worked on a feed scoop project that integrated a variety of agricultural mechanics skills. I also got to see an FFA chapter meeting at West Perry, and I got invited to play volleyball during the activity time after the meeting concluded! Those that know me well know that I love volleyball (even if I am not very good), so this was a hit for me :). 

All told, I count myself fortunate to have gotten to visit three quality agricultural education programs in three different areas across the state. Although I can only end up student teaching at one school, I learned things on all three visits from all six teachers that I truly believe will make me a better educator. This was a special opportunity to hit the road (it took me back to my State Officer days :) ) and take it all in, and I gained some memories I won't soon forget. 

The #psuaged24 cohort concluded our student teaching placement interviews last week, which means our official placements are coming soon! While I can't wait to find out my official placement, I'm taking these few weeks to wrap up the last of my requirements to be ready to be placed with a school district. There's a lot more requirements than you might expect (3 PRAXIS certification exams, a CPR certification, 3 different clearances, and 80 early field experience observation hours), but only an Ag PRAXIS exam is still standing in my way. Thanks for following along...I am grateful for each of you! 'll look forward to sharing more soon.

-Brandon