Over the past few weeks, I've been overwhelmed but increasingly more excited looking at different cooperating centers that I'd potentially be a good fit at. This whole process has made me realize it is not about what I have learned in the past but what I seek to learn in the future through new experiences. My local high school didn't have an Agricultural program or an FFA chapter that I could have been a part of, so I am excited to finally gain that experience at a cooperating center through student teaching. In this post, I'm going to lay out what I seek in a cooperating center for the Spring of 2022.
First of all, I'm looking to go to a cooperating center that has a strong FFA background. For my future career, I need to be prepared to lead students in an FFA chapter and to be a good resource for them in their Ag journey. Not having any FFA background has been tough during my college career because I realized how many great experiences and leadership opportunities I missed out on in high school. Student teaching at a high school that focuses heavily on FFA will give me the experiences and knowledge I need to be a future FFA advisor for my students.
Another item I'm looking for in a cooperating center is one with a good agricultural mechanics course. I'm currently in the Ag mechanics course but besides that I have no experience working with different tools and machinery. I believe I need to go to a program that focuses on welding, electricity, plumbing, and engines to gain the confidence I need to teach my future students the content. I'm also seeking a school that teaches horticulture and general plant science because those are also content areas that I have no experience in. Going to a school that has a greenhouse facility that houses hydroponics or aquaponics is not a requirement but would be awesome so I can learn how to utilize them in my future classroom.
Something that is not a requirement but I am seeking is to student teach Animal Science and Agribusiness classes. Majoring in Animal Science Business option my first 2 years at Penn State has given me a passion to teach these subjects in the future. Being at a high school that has these courses would be great because I would learn from a cooperating teacher how to teach this content through hands-on activities we can do with the students. Another thing that is just a preference and not mandatory is going to a fairly smaller high school. I would love to student teach classes that are around 20 students each because being a part of a smaller communities gives me the opportunity to open up more and get to know the students on a more individualized basis.
The biggest thing I'm seeking in a cooperating teacher is someone who understands my background and can be patient with me during my student teaching experience. Some of the lessons and content are going to be new to me and having a cooperating teacher beside me who understands that I may need more explaining and help from them will ease my nervousness. I'm mostly looking for a school and teacher that knows I'm willing to learn from them and gain new knowledge to be confident as an Agricultural teacher in the future.
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