A Report From Halfway

I write this on the Sunday that kicks off Week 9 of my 15-week student teaching internship. As we enter into the month of March, it feels a bit hard to believe that I have already spent more time as a student teacher than I have left ahead of me! While time certainly has been flying, there have also been many experiences and learning opportunities packed into these last eight weeks - all of which have been very formative in my journey as an agricultural educator. 

Like most former student teachers can attest to, student teaching is an incredibly busy time. In addition to adjusting to life in a new school and community, the time spent planning units/lessons and attending FFA events quickly adds up. Despite the busy schedule, I have been learning so much and enjoy the fast-paced life of an ag teacher. My experiences over the past several weeks have affirmed my desire to go into school-based agricultural education to begin my career, which is an exciting thing!

The right cooperating center is such a critical part of the student teaching experience, and I am fortunate to have a good one here at Athens Area High School. My cooperating teachers Dave Steinfelt and Sarabeth Alderfer are incredible mentors and role models, and I have learned a great deal in both of their classrooms. Outside of the school days, I have enjoyed getting to live in a new community right on the border of Pennsylvania/New York. This internship has allowed me to build a network and community in a totally new part of the state, and I am grateful for the people who have helped to make this experience a sincerely positive one. I am fortunate to have a great host named Michele during my time here, and have enjoyed getting to explore Northern PA over the past two months. I love when I have a chance to go and see students shine beyond the ag department too, including different sporting events. Athens, PA is quickly beginning to feel like Home #3 alongside East Earl and State College :). 

Agricultural educators are responsible for covering a broad variety of content areas within their programs, and I have learned a ton in my new role as a high school teacher. In the course of a school day, I teach classes in SAE/FFA, Introduction to Agriculture, Agricultural Mechanics, Ag and Natural Resources, Animal Science, and Horticulture. The work required to successfully plan and deliver instruction across a broad variety of course subjects is no joke, and this task is one that has humbled me many times! The effort required to show up prepared each and every day with well-planned and comprehensive educational experiences for all students is truly a different kind of work, especially as a new teacher. 

Some of the aspects of teaching I have found to be most challenging include classroom management (especially with cell phones and headphones) and supporting students who are absent/have missing work. I'm learning there are a lot of details to manage as a teacher, and while I certainly knew that before entering the classroom for student teaching, it is something I'm realizing you can't fully understand until you've been there yourself. One of the most challenging aspects of teaching is to help cultivate positive habits/practices in young people who may not immediately see the benefit for themselves. Teaching comes with some very difficult days, but in the big picture I have found it to be incredibly rewarding. I often think back to the impact my own ag teachers made in my life when I was a high school student, and now that I get to work with high school students from the teacher perspective many things have started to come full circle.

I also have been learning a great deal about using agricultural education facilities and utilizing the resources at the school to create meaningful experiences for students. I have worked to help grow hydroponic lettuce, refine my skills in electrical wiring, and partnered with community partners such as the Bradford County Conservation District to teach students about wildlife and natural resources. I've also enjoyed getting to learn more about maple syrup production, which is a busy part of the agricultural industry this time of the year in Northern PA. I even got to visit Dave's own maple production, getting to see how his process works first-hand!

One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to work with incredible students in the Athens FFA Chapter. Whether attending the ACES Conference with 45 FFA members in Harrisburg, PA, serving breakfast to teachers as part of National FFA Week, traveling with our State Champion Maple CDE team to the PA State Maple Tapping Ceremony with PA Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, or enjoying our recent Lock-In event until late in the evening, I count myself a lucky man to get to work alongside incredible student leaders in our program.

As we turn the corner to the second half of this student teaching internship, I'm most excited to continue pressing forward and finish strong. A significant season of life comes to an end in late April/early May as I wrap up student teaching and prepare to graduate from Penn State, and I am doing my best to soak it in and learn from what the next seven weeks hold even as they fly on by. Even on the hard days, I would not trade this experience. I'm blessed to wake up each day and get to learn from and work alongside incredible people who share a goal of making a positive difference, and to teach students with such unique purpose and incredible potential. More than anything, I thank God for the chance to learn here as I wait for what comes next. For now, it's time to focus on heading back to school tomorrow morning. Regardless of what your week holds, I hope its a good one!