How does Diversity in Secondary Programs Benefit Pre-Service teachers and What Aspects can be Used in the Classroom?

Diversity in a program can encompass many things. Programs can be diverse in their content offered, the student demographics and the needs of the community. Pre-service teachers in agriculture education can face a wide variety of subjects and students when they enter the profession. The quality of a program in school-based agriculture education depends far more on the teacher and community rather than the resources that the school has. It's important for pre-service teachers to see all the ways teachers interact with students and the ways they access resources to meet their unique community needs.

For example, many schools in Montana focus on getting students into industry jobs right out of high school. Fort Benton High School had both a woodshop and recently joined their metal fabrication class into their agriculture program. Next we visited Cascade High School who focused more on SAE projects and their FFA involvement. Cascade even offered adult education programs, which was a unique experience.

If nothing else, exploring agriculture programs outside of Pennsylvania can show us what things PA Ag Ed could be beyond what it is currently. You don't know what you're going to face in your career, so its important to build your experiences as much as you can.

Leaving the Nest at Greenwood

Just like that, my 15 weeks at Greenwood are up! I cannot believe that the time flew by that fast, and I can honestly say that I have enjoyed my entire experience at Greenwood. This week was a more laid back type of week. I was only teaching one class and helping out here and there with some others. My primary focus was to complete my teaching internship materials so that I am ready to go for Monday.

I have grown so much during this semester alone and I owe much of that growth to those that supported Team Rupert along the way! I could not have asked for a better home than Greenwood, and I look forward to keeping in touch with the amazing people I've met during student teaching.

To summarize my experience at Greenwood, I composed a list of my biggest takeaways from student teaching below.

Stop saying you can't, and start saying you will
Teaching is not easy, and not for the faint of heart. I am so fortunate to have had people who invested in me and helped me to grow. When I felt defeated, all I had to do was look at what I could control and start there.

It is the duty of the teacher to plant a tree in whose shade you will never sit in
I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my students. I hope to keep in touch with them through the years, but undoubtedly, you may never know the impact you've had on someone that has gone through your classes. You just love them while you have them and hope for the best.

You will never learn to lead, if you never learn to follow
Its been said, if you are the brightest person in the room, you need to meet new people. I was fortunate to have learned so much from Mike and Krista during my time at Greenwood. They are leaders in their profession, but you will never convince either one of that! They truly embody the sense of servant leaders who put those they have charge over ahead of themselves. They always lead from behind!

Teachers serve so much more than just their school
Mike and Krista never seem to catch a break. They have taught me how to be diligent in effort towards investing in your community. A good chapter is not without wheels. Greenwood's FFA is active in the community and the teachers make it their mission to serve their community beyond the walls of the classroom.

See a need, fill a need
If there is ever a job to be done, Mike and Krista are the first to raise their hands. From cooking food for an entire PAAE event, to picking up trash along the highway, to helping Mr. Rupert get his truck out of a ditch. Anytime there is a need, they are there to pitch in. I hope to carry the same drive for service into my professional journey as they do.

No Experience is a Bad One
I am someone who likes to stick with what they know. I've learned through my time at Greenwood that failure is an awesome teacher, and that even a bad experience is still experience. Mike and Krista are always willing to try new things, even if it doesn't turn out.

If you can't laugh, then what's the sense
We have had tons of those "moments" at Greenwood this year, all in signature Ryan Rupert fashion! We made it though with plenty of laughs, because if you can't laugh in life, then what kind of life are you living? This job can make you almost cry at times, but my hope is that it will always bring more smiles than tears.

Always make something better than when you found it

I had an ugly green shirt that I hated because it looked like a 1950s shower curtain to me. It was a pale and faded pistachio green dress shirt I got at a Goodwill store. One day, Krista got me a beautiful green and silver checkered tie that really makes the outfit. I appreciated the gift, but it really hit me. You can look at something and call it ugly, or you can make the best of it and perhaps it will turn out beautiful in the end.

Like my the chicks that hatched on my last day with Greenwood, I am leaving the nest. I hope that the future is bright and that I will always have my eyes on the future and some of my heart on the past. I am truly blessed to have been a part of the Greenwood family!

South Central PAAE Meeting

Last week the South Central Region hosted a regional PAAE, which is typically scheduled for twice a year. This was my last professional experience with Mike and Krista as Greenwood's student teacher. I am always amazed to see so many dedicated teachers who take time outside of school, and pay for membership with their own money, all to invest in their own development as teachers to better their schools. It has been my observation, that teachers who are involved in PAAE are always involved. The same teachers I saw at this meeting, I see at nearly every other meeting or event. They aren't great teachers for being so involved, but rather, they are so involved because they are great teachers.
 
PAAE provides agriculture teachers the opportunity to communicate and connect with each other outside of the classroom. It really helps to bring the profession together, and seeing the level of involvement from these teachers really illustrates how, even in competition, we all have one common goal for bettering youth and telling the story about agriculture. During the meeting, Mike Brammer reviewed the budget and discussed some of the logistics for the state FFA convention this summer. Dr. Curry made announcements about some of the opportunities Penn State is offering as well. I appreciate the fact that the university is in good contact with the organization, as it really helps to build the connection between programs and provide a link to the university for the teachers. It was interesting to see how the news  regarding the lobbying issues was handled.

During our meeting, the FFA met in the next room over. I love that student and teacher events are almost always scheduled at the same time. Greenwood only brought one student, as it was for those who wish to become a state FFA officer. I think the students really enjoyed having a meal with the current state officers and had the chance to connect with other applicants.

My Professional Development Experience

While reflecting on the unique experiences I've had during student teaching, I have realized that nearly everything we have done so far during this internship is professional development. We've grown into the professionals we have become as a result of student teaching. Outside of the classroom, one of my more formal professional development experiences was at SLLC. During SLLC, teachers had a presentation from Dr. Troy Ott from the Pennsylvania State University's Department of Animal Science.  Dr. Ott presented on genetic modification and biotechnology, and how teachers can reach students through all of the misinformation out there.

I actually had Dr. Ott as my of my Dairy Production classes at Penn State. I enjoyed listening to him speak, as he is a very intelligent and gifted lecturer. These professional development experiences involving content knowledge are so super important for young teachers to experience, as they can really enhance you comfort and knowledge of a certain topic in a classroom you are teaching. Dr. Ott explained basic principles of common biotechnological practices in agriculture. He explained how tansgenics works, how genetically modified plants and animals can benefit the environment and how we as educators in a community can overcome misinformation and fear among the public.

As I've said, Dr. Ott is a tremendous speaker. I enjoyed the opportunity to watch him do his thing and I learned so much about biotechnology. It was also a nice treat to run into him and see how he's been doing since I had him as a professor. Events like SLLC and ACES and PAAE events allow teachers to explore their content and new ways to teach that content. It's essential for teachers to invest in professional development in order to remain up to date on their teaching practices and content.

Dairy/ Calving Operation Placement SAE

My first SAE visit this semester with Greenwood was with Jay, who works on his pap's dairy farm feeding, watering, and weaning calves and caring for their needs.

Who did you visit?
Jay is a freshmen at Greenwood who has a profound interest in dairy cattle.

Where did the visit occur?
The visit for Jay's SAE project occured on his grandparents dairy farm in Millerstown.

What preparations did you make prior to the visit?
Prior to visiting, we had to schedule the visit with Jay and determine what biosecurity measures need to be taken so that we don't cross contaminate anything between SAE visits.

What was the students' SAE program?
Jay's project is considered a placement SAE, since he works on-site at the farm caring for the animals. Although he keeps accurate records, Jay does not conduct formal research and is not compensated for any business transactions for this project.

How would I evaluate the program?
I think this project is a sound SAE project. Jay spends so much time on the farm that he loses track of time and misses dinner. Jay cleans stalls and calf pens, feeds and waters them, moves them and maintains records on their care. His pap sells the animals, which may be something that lends itself to an entrepreneurship SAE project sometime in the future.


What recommendations could be made for improvement?
My recommendations for improvement might be to look at transitioning this student into more money management and ownership of the operation. I think this will allow the student to end the project with and entrepreneurship SAE project.

What record books were being used?
Jay records all of his records on the AET, which I was able to review for his project. The project is graded based on the number and quality of entries and the overall direction the project is taking.

Cover Cropping SAE Agriscience Project

For my second SAE project, I visited with two freshmen girls who studied the effects of cover cropping on CO2 levels in the soil. This project was submitted as an Agriscience Project at the PA Farm Show this year.

Who did you visit?
This SAE project was completed by freshmen Emily and Alyssa in Mr. Clark's Agriscience class.

Where did the visit occur?
The visit for this project took place at Greenwood. It is an agriscience fair research project that is able to be completed in the greenhouse.

What preparations did you make prior to the visit?
Prior to the "visit," I asked Alyssa and Emily what time of the week would work best for them to show me their project. Since it was not a site-based visit like the other SAE projects I've visited, this was the only preparation to make.

What was the students' SAE program?
Alyssa and Emily's project would be considered a research SAE project, and was entered in the Agriscience Fair this year.

How would I evaluate the program?
Alyssa and Emily had done an outstanding job with their project. It was clean, organized and meaningful. They appropriately represented all of their work and conducted research in an important agriscience topic. They utilized the resources of the agriculture department well.

What recommendations could be made for improvement?
I think that Alyssa and Emily could have tested something besides CO2 in the soil, as other things influenced by crop cover might have a bigger impact on soil health.

What record books were being used?
Alyssa and Emily used the AET to record their project progress. In addition to the AET, they needed to submit a paper for the Agriscience Fair, which was graded as part of their SAE grade.
 

Service Based Learning

My community based unit of instruction is titled Food Security and Sustainability that focuses on the issues of food security, factors that influence food security, and the distribution of wealth, food and population. Throughout the unit, students learned about what causes food insecurity and made connections between the distribution of wealth and food compared to population. They learned what actions they can take in their communities to help end sustainability issues and decrease food insecurity at the local level. Students created displays in the classroom and presented them at the Greenwood Meal Packing Event this year, sponsored by the Perry Valley Grange in support of the Perry and Juniata County Food Banks. The students would present their projects at the event and participate in the meal packing during the event. This would benefit the community and provide an applied service learning opportunity for students to connect their learning in the classroom to real community-based needs.  Greenwood puts on an annual “Hunger Event” each winter that benefits the community and educates the public about the reality and severity of food insecurity and hunger. The school and FFA chapter have been hosting a hunger event each year for seven years. Since the start of the annual hunger event, Greenwood has raised over $45,000 with support from the Perry Valley Grange that has benefited the Perry and Juniata County Food Banks. The school/ chapter has chosen to benefit both food banks because the Greenwood School District overlaps within both Perry and Juniata Counties. Typically, financial support is raised for the food banks, however, with the meal packing event, actual meals are packaged and donated to the food banks.

The annual hunger event is operated on a rotational basis. The first year, Greenwood hosted a hunger banquet, where community members were served meals that represented the food available to those around the world. Following the hunger banquet, the chapter hosts the meal packing event the following year. After the second meal packing, Greenwood will elect another type of support for the food banks. In previous years, this included a volleyball tournament and a BINGO night to raise the funds for the food banks. This rotation is so that the hunger banquet will have the same wow factor for newer people than it would if it were constantly done. The meal packing event is very costly to pull off, and can require a number of fundraisers and community support to undertake. This is the second time Greenwood has done a meal packing event.

The partnership with the Perry Valley Grange began seven years ago when the chapter wanted to host a hunger banquet-but lacked the resources to pull it off. Since then, the Perry Valley Grange has been an integral part of hosting the hunger events at Greenwood. This year, the Perry County Grange catered the food for the night and lend financial support for the event. Because the event did not meet the typical timeline for grant funding, it wasn’t feasible to apply for any grant funding. In lieu of grant support, the Perry Valley Grange pledged to provide support for the 50,000 meal goal in the event that the fundraising efforts proved insufficient to cover the costs. The membership of the Perry Valley Grange voted on this at their February meeting and agreed to pledge financial support

The Grange had worked with us to help draft a letter to announce the event that was sent out to area churches, fraternal organizations and other local organizations. Another huge means of support was the Greenwood FFA Alumni Chapter, who we contacted and had run both a sandwich and pie fundraiser. The organizations at the school are limited in their fundraising allowances, so we reached out to the alumni to act as a booster for the event. We reached out to Meals of Hope who would send us all of the oatmeal and supplies for packing the food. The cost for 50,000 meals was $12,500, which we were able to raise through fundraising and community sponsorship. The gymnasium actually had to be requested for the event back in August, as the date of the meal packing was the only day of the year that was available on a Friday night. To request the gym, we had to contact the athletic director Adam Sheaffer and request that the gym at the elementary school be kept open that Friday. The event was also advertised on Love 99 and 92.5. I submitted an article to Lancaster Farming through the PA FFA Association for my DYI project.

During the event, we had the space set aside for four hours and ran the event in two shifts, and the Grange took care of the registration by taking names and emails. Teddy Trip from Meals of Hope was the one who was our contact to the organization. He was sent in from Georgia to show us how to setup and help us undertake the event.  Doug Bonsall announced a community service challenge that the Grange was hosting this year for the organization’s centennial anniversary. Chapter president, Ethan Brummer and county commissioner Brenda Benner welcomed the guests to the event, which totaled 258 people. The students were originally supposed to display their Food Security and Sustainability Projects at the event, however, the classroom experience component to this unit had to take place following the meal packing due to snow days and area contest dates. The students will display their projects at the Greenwood Wildcat Symposium this May instead of the original plan to show them at the meal packing event.

In total, we were able to package 48,000 meals in just under four hours. All of the food was then donated through Meals of Hope to the Perry and Juniata County Food banks. Any financial donations provided to the chapter after the order from Meals of Hope were directly donated to the food banks. For reaching our goal, Meals of Hope will financially support a student to go to the Washington Leadership Conference this year. The students were able to connect their learning of food security and the issues we face as a society in dealing with food insecurity, with a hands-on community service component that meets the needs of their area.