"The Process" 101

Student teaching is the hallmark experience of an Agriculture Education student's journey into the profession of teaching high school based agriculture. The process of placement into a cooperating school is a delicate one, and cannot be overlooked. Each student needs to evaluate themselves in honest reflection on what professional skills they need to improve on before they are prepared to teach. Research has shown that the quality of the student teaching experience directly impacts their determination to remain in the field for the years to come.

I set out to explore what considerations I need to take into account before my placement process can begin. One of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of what to expect is to look to those who have gone before us. To learn more about what to look forward to in this journey, I interviewed past PSU Agriculture Education students, asking them about what they felt were important attributes to look for in a potential placement, and why they felt the way they did.

I first talked with Miranda Kane, a past student of the #psuaged17 cohort, who was placed at Greenwood High School in the spring of 2017. Miranda was more than willing to share her own experiences with me, and gave some quality advice about selecting a placement

.

Miranda felt that its best to seek a school that best reflects what you would want in your future program.

"You should also consider what classes you’re teaching. At least half of the classes you teach should be something you’re comfortable or familiar with. But there should be some that you have to try to learn and work hard at,"  "I would really try to focus in on how you want to structure your own program as a whole and select a similar program to your ideal one."

I also interviewed Halee Wasson, who is a student in the 2018 cohort, currently student teaching at Derry Area High School. She had some valuable insight into what her considerations were in choosing a cooperating school

 "When you are looking for that cooperating center, find one that challenges and gets you outside of your comfort zone. That is one thing Derry did with me because of how extensive their Horticulture program is."

Halee placed great importance in finding a multi teacher program that challenged her professional ability to work with unfamiliar content. 

Finally I contacted Allison Hoover about what she looked for in a cooperating school. Her advice was to look for a school that offered very diverse opportunities within each of the three circle components of the Ag Ed model.

"I looked for a cooperating school that could provide a diverse experience in all 3 components of agricultural education"


Mentioned here is only a fraction of the advice I received from these amazing folks! As evidenced, there are a plethora of considerations to make when looking for a potential cooperating school. There is also a shared wealth of knowledge from all other members of the profession out there to explore.

Taking Flight

My name is Ryan Rupert, and I am a member of the #psuaged19 cohort!

I was raised in the small town of Beech Creek Pennsylvania, and have spent the last ten years of my life growing up on a small farm. I attended Central Mountain High School, and was an active participant in the school's FFA and Agriculture program. I currently work at Calico Creek Fed and Pet in Mill Hall, where I work with customers to help them purchase the right products for their pets and livestock! My faithful (and sassy) companion Bruce the Goose is always by my side, and always living each day to the fullest!

I come from a small farming/ homestead background, and have been raising everything from chickens to peacocks and even honeybees for several years now. My family loves to grow and can vegetables in our garden each summer, an we even make our own maple syrup form maple trees in our front yard! Every winter we cut our own firewood in the woods that border the farm. We even butcher our own chickens, pigs and steers on occasion.

These types of experiences, and the joy, appreciation and enlightenment they have brought me over the years, have been formative in shaping my desire to teach agriculture! I hope to engage with my future students in a way that develops them into future leaders and innovators, while giving them the opportunity to grow in the same type of space I was so fortunate to have been able to. We need critical, informed, and imaginative students, to become successful, passionate and driven adults--and I believe that agriculture education for all is where to start.

I am here embark on my own journey in Ag Ed, and grow into a successful, prepared and more well travelled agriculture teacher! I hope to make the most of my final years at Penn State, and it is my goal to make the most of every opportunity afforded me--all with that future classroom in mind!