"What do you teach?"
It's a question we are often asked, especially in agricultural education. The responses often include the subject matter that we focus on such as mechanics, plant science, animal science, leadership, etc. This semester, however, we have often been reminded that our answer to this question should begin with 'students'.
"What do you teach?"
Make sense? While it has always made sense to me on the surface level, I don't think I have really adopted it as a principle in my teaching philosophy. This semester, I have been so caught up in learning how to teach, how to write lesson plans, how to correct classroom management issues, but not once have I really thought about what it means to teach students. My Type-A personality has been so stuck on making my lesson plans perfect and figuring out how one day I can have an award-winning program that I never stopped to think about my students. That all changed this past week...
Bright and early Monday morning, I loaded up into a minivan with three students (all boys!) and Mr. Hughes and another van with seven students and our female chaperone followed us. I was nervous to make a good first impression on the students and Mr. Hughes and honestly, I was probably a bit too uptight for a first leg of the journey. As we drove, Mr. Hughes and I chatted about preparing for student teaching and we chatted with the boys about just about anything.
Our first stop was for lunch and then to explore Cabella's for a bit. After lunch, we loaded back up and headed to Ohio State. This was my first 'aha- moment' of the trip.
As you most likely know, I am a die-hard Penn State fan and in turn, a die-hard Ohio State opponent. However, one of our students loves Ohio State and has always wanted to visit. Before the trip, Mr. Hughes asked her to figure out what she wanted to see there and her biggest wish was to go inside of
the football stadium. When we got to campus and located the stadium, this student could not contain her excitement. As we walked over, she was taking pictures left and right at which point, her camera and phone batteries died. I knew that a cool statue of Script Ohio had just been installed nearby so I suggested we visit. As Mr. Hughes and the chaperone stayed behind the students and I rushed ahead to find the statue. After finding it and taking lots of pictures, the students noticed that on the field behind us some of the band members were practicing. My Ohio State fan of a student wanted to talk to them so I guided her over and she nervously introduced herself. We shared a quick exchange and the headed off towards the stadium again. As we walked over, she mentioned that she was 'so excited she might pee herself'. That was my 'aha'.
It didn't matter that I grew up loving Penn State and "strongly disliking" Ohio State. What mattered was that this student had just had an experience that she would never forget and that is what Agricultural Education is all about. Agricultural Education allows us to give students experiences that they will never forget and experiences that will shape them into better leaders. That moment was so special to my student and that made it so special to me.
To make a long story short, we then found an open gate and got to go into the stadium. My student called her dad (I think he cried) and we took plenty of pictures to commemorate the moment. And off we went.
I was trying to keep this post short, but brevity is not my strong suit. I'll try to just share one more 'aha-moment' that I had.
At Convention, our group went on two different tours and on both of them, I took away the same message. During the first tour, I asked our tour guide what type of training or education they look for when hiring. His response was something along the lines of, "All they need is a high school education. If they can show us that they are hard working and will show up every day, we can teach them all of the skills they will need." On the next tour, the employees hosted a career panel and one bit of advice that was shared was, "Work hard, be honest, and treat people the way you'd like to be treated. The world will be your oyster." I found both of these statements to be interesting but it didn't really hit me until the drive home.
Mr. Hughes and I were discussing the classes that I will be working with in the spring and he mentioned something about how the content is not always what's important, it's about making the students better people who are more prepared for the world.
Boom. Perfection does not happen, especially in the classroom. Students will not always understand the content that is being taught, some may not even listen. It's not about being a Three Star National Chapter Program every year. It's not about having nationally recognized Career Development Event teams every year. It's not about how high the test scores are or how shiny the trophies are. It's about
helping the students to become better people. Remember, we teach students. If my students leave my classroom not knowing how to balance a fertilizer calculation, create a total mixed ration, or repair a small gas engine. That. Is. Okay.
When students leave our program, what matters is that they have learned life skills and have adopted the characteristics that will allow them to succeed and be contributing members of society. When our students leave our programs they should be more hard-working, they should be kinder, they should have more integrity. Students can't learn these things from a book and we can't teach them in a PowerPoint. We teach them by example. We teach them by showing up early, loving the people around us, speaking life into our communities, and never quitting. No lesson plan, no matter how perfect, is going to change the life of a student but a teacher who cares about them, that might just be exactly what they needed to get through whatever it is they are facing.
"What do you teach?"
It's a question we are often asked, especially in agricultural education. The responses often include the subject matter that we focus on such as mechanics, plant science, animal science, leadership, etc. This semester, however, we have often been reminded that our answer to this question should begin with 'students'.
"What do you teach?"
"I teach students. I teach my students about topics like mechanics, plant science, animal science, leadership, etc."
Make sense? While it has always made sense to me on the surface level, I don't think I have really adopted it as a principle in my teaching philosophy. This semester, I have been so caught up in learning how to teach, how to write lesson plans, how to correct classroom management issues, but not once have I really thought about what it means to teach students. My Type-A personality has been so stuck on making my lesson plans perfect and figuring out how one day I can have an award-winning program that I never stopped to think about my students. That all changed this past week...
Bright and early Monday morning, I loaded up into a minivan with three students (all boys!) and Mr. Hughes and another van with seven students and our female chaperone followed us. I was nervous to make a good first impression on the students and Mr. Hughes and honestly, I was probably a bit too uptight for a first leg of the journey. As we drove, Mr. Hughes and I chatted about preparing for student teaching and we chatted with the boys about just about anything.
Our first stop was for lunch and then to explore Cabella's for a bit. After lunch, we loaded back up and headed to Ohio State. This was my first 'aha- moment' of the trip.
As you most likely know, I am a die-hard Penn State fan and in turn, a die-hard Ohio State opponent. However, one of our students loves Ohio State and has always wanted to visit. Before the trip, Mr. Hughes asked her to figure out what she wanted to see there and her biggest wish was to go inside of
It didn't matter that I grew up loving Penn State and "strongly disliking" Ohio State. What mattered was that this student had just had an experience that she would never forget and that is what Agricultural Education is all about. Agricultural Education allows us to give students experiences that they will never forget and experiences that will shape them into better leaders. That moment was so special to my student and that made it so special to me.
To make a long story short, we then found an open gate and got to go into the stadium. My student called her dad (I think he cried) and we took plenty of pictures to commemorate the moment. And off we went.
I was trying to keep this post short, but brevity is not my strong suit. I'll try to just share one more 'aha-moment' that I had.
At Convention, our group went on two different tours and on both of them, I took away the same message. During the first tour, I asked our tour guide what type of training or education they look for when hiring. His response was something along the lines of, "All they need is a high school education. If they can show us that they are hard working and will show up every day, we can teach them all of the skills they will need." On the next tour, the employees hosted a career panel and one bit of advice that was shared was, "Work hard, be honest, and treat people the way you'd like to be treated. The world will be your oyster." I found both of these statements to be interesting but it didn't really hit me until the drive home.
Mr. Hughes and I were discussing the classes that I will be working with in the spring and he mentioned something about how the content is not always what's important, it's about making the students better people who are more prepared for the world.
Boom. Perfection does not happen, especially in the classroom. Students will not always understand the content that is being taught, some may not even listen. It's not about being a Three Star National Chapter Program every year. It's not about having nationally recognized Career Development Event teams every year. It's not about how high the test scores are or how shiny the trophies are. It's about
When students leave our program, what matters is that they have learned life skills and have adopted the characteristics that will allow them to succeed and be contributing members of society. When our students leave our programs they should be more hard-working, they should be kinder, they should have more integrity. Students can't learn these things from a book and we can't teach them in a PowerPoint. We teach them by example. We teach them by showing up early, loving the people around us, speaking life into our communities, and never quitting. No lesson plan, no matter how perfect, is going to change the life of a student but a teacher who cares about them, that might just be exactly what they needed to get through whatever it is they are facing.
"What do you teach?"
"I teach students."
Powerful lesson for us all!
ReplyDeleteVictoria, you hit the nail on the head with this one. We must never forget to practice humility and compassion, or that the things that we do and say in the classroom have the potential to make a real and lasting impact on those who pass through its doors. We teach students first. The rest is secondary.
ReplyDeleteVictoria,
ReplyDeleteYour take-aways from this experience are very powerful! I know that you will keep these important lessons with you as you embark on student teaching and beyond!