Ten Teacher Tips from Texas

Wow. I think that just about sums up everything I am feeling as I sit here. Monday morning we left State College, excited for the week ahead of us but not knowing exactly what to expect. After six days filled to the brim with networking, professional development, and lots of fun, we are headed home with suitcases stuffed with teacher resources and page after page of notes from our workshops.

While I learned so much this week, I’ve narrowed my thoughts down into ten ideas/ principles/ tips. I hope you can take something away from my reflections on the week and apply it to your own life!

1. Every student. Every class. Every day.

This mantra was shared with us by Dr. Jay Jackman, the NAAE Executive Director. Dr. Jackman shared so much with us but his main takeaway for us was that agricultural education is for every student, every class, every day. This really hit home for me because I have observed how sometimes as teachers we tend to pick and choose the students who we like the most or who perform the best and we direct the opportunities towards them but Dr. Jackman challenged us to think differently and truly teach every student, every class, every day.

In the future, I plan to display this mantra on my desk as a daily reminder and a challenge to myself of fully serving every student, every class, every day.

2. 3- Circle Model, 3- Circle Model, 3- Circle Model

I have been familiar with the 3- Circle Model for a long time and I believe in its power but this week really challenged me to do a better job of incorporating the full 3- Circle Model into my program. Mr. Mark Poeschl, the CEO of the National FFA Organization, challenged the Future Agriscience Teacher Symposium to fully incorporate 3- Circle Model into our future programs. He shared with us that while there are roughly 1.4 million students enrolled in agricultural education across the nation, only about 700,000 are in FFA and about 300,000 have SAE programs. (I did not write down the exact numbers but I believe these were close).

This discussion challenged me to use my student teaching experience to explore the implementation of FFA and SAE into the total program. I have seen the difference that FFA and SAE can make when added to the classroom instruction component and I want each of my students to have these experiences in full.

3. Don’t let them feel like just a butt in a seat.

Similar to the first tip, this tip is a reminder to serve every student. Ms. Katie Titus from Galt FFA in California shared this tip with us during her workshop on diversity and inclusion. Katie and one of her teaching partners, Mr. Dane White, led this workshop and shared so many insightful thoughts on how to make agricultural education welcoming and inclusive to all students. Katie shared the importance of having a meaningful interaction with every student every day. She encouraged us to greet students at the door, call them by name, and talk to them about topics that interest them. These simple interactions go far in ensuring that every student feels that they have a home in our classrooms.

As I begin my teaching journey in January, I hope to be very intentional about reaching out to each of my students every day by keeping notes to remember who each of my students is and what is important to them.

4. Your kids are not going to care what you teach them. They may never remember how much you taught them but they will always remember how much you cared.

Mr. Riley Hintzsche from Illinois shared this tidbit with us. To me, this is a great reminder of why the student- first mentality is so important. While our content is important, if we do not invest in the relationships we have with our students, our knowledge will be lost on them.

5. Fake it til you make it!

Classroom management is my biggest fear as a preservice teacher and I know that it is something I

will struggle with. When I asked Ms. Jaysa Fillmore from Idaho how to overcome my lack of confidence in classroom management, she told me to fake it til I make it! While she shared lots of great advice on classroom management, this tip was the most important to me because it assured me that with time and practice, I will gain confidence.

When the time comes for me to begin teaching in the spring, remembering to fake it until I make it will definitely come in handy as I gain confidence in the classroom.

6. The interview begins the moment you make the first contact with the school.

As FAST participants, we were lucky to have Ms. Ellen Thompson, National Teach Ag Campaign Project Director, share her top job interview tips with us. The two that stood out to me the most were to remember that the entire process including every point of contact matters and to make our application/ resume/ responses etc student focused.

As I begin my job search in a few short months, I know that the advice from Ellen will be instrumental!

7. Live like you’re dying!

One workshop that I was so excited to attend and was not disappointed with was one on balancing work and family by Dr. Gary Moore from NC State. Dr. Moore shared 13 tips with us on how to balance being great ag teachers with being great spouses/ parents. I clung to every word in this workshop and was inspired to apply the tips from Dr. Moore.

As I enter student teaching, I hope to work on establishing some of the healthy habits that Dr. Moore taught us such as utilizing a better time management system, spending more time planning and prioritizing, and fighting perfectionism.

8. It is very possible to balance work and family as an ag teacher.

One of my biggest concerns as I consider a career in agricultural education is that I will be unable to balance my work with my family life. Throughout the week at NAAE, I asked every chance I got for advice from seasoned teachers on how to find this balance. All in all, what I took away from these conversations was that if I am intentional in my decisions and fight for a work/ life balance, I will have one.

9. You are never alone in Ag Ed.

Over and over throughout the week at NAAE, veteran teachers reminded us as preservice teachers that we are never alone. We were told over and over again that there is a huge and supportive family of agricultural educators standing behind us and always willing to lend a tip or a helping hand.

This is a great reminder to me as I face student teaching in the spring as I often struggle to admit when I need help. Now that I know how great my support system is, I will definitely be more likely to reach out.

10. Ag teachers have A LOT of great advice.

One of our sessions of the FAST Symposium was a teacher panel consisting of four teachers from across the US. Ellen warned us that in the past, this session had been 30 minutes but was extended to 60 based on feedback. Personally, I think we all could have asked questions for 3 days! Travis Bradshaw, Eric Tillman, Cameron Dale, and Jessica Jones spent the hour making us laugh, cry, and take pages and pages of notes on their stories and advice. To wrap up my reflection, here are just a few of the quotes that stood out to me.

“Bring joy, bring laughter, bring passion, bring your personality.” - Jessica Jones

“It’s okay to say no”- Eric Tillman

“You’re never going to have the job done. Learn to set times to go home and don’t feel guilty about it.”- Cameron Dale

“You can’t give 100% if you’re not giving yourself 100%.”- Jessica Jones

“Don’t let them see you lose your cool.”- Travis Bradshaw

“You give them a safe environment while you have them.”- Eric Tillman