Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! This past week was dedicated to the Ag Ed members traveling to New Orleans for the NAAE Conference that was held in-person and virtually. Although I was not in attendance in-person, I was able to participate and learn virtually from the various individuals who dedicate their lives to improving the education profession. It was truly an inspiring experience to listen to the stories and journeys of people who value CTE and Agricultural Education.
The opening speaker, Kevin Brown, left me feeling inspired and encouraged to keep aiming for my goals, even if they seem impossible. His message was not necessarily education related, but I really did learn a lot of life lessons that I will try to live by as I become a teacher. One key note I took away from it, was not to diminish the vision and creativity of yourself or your students. He spoke about how when he was younger, him and the neighborhood kids would get so excited whenever there was an empty cardboard box. They would use their imagination to dream up the box into anything they wanted it to be. He then molded this into the message that you only start doubting your dreams when other people tell you they aren't possible or achievable. Believing in yourself and your students is very important in ensuring confidence and success when planning for the future. Overall, it was truly inspiring to listen to his family's life story and how he has challenged people to believe in the impact they leave on others.
I was also able to attend the NAAE's workshop on recruiting and retaining teachers in the Agricultural Education profession. My key takeaway after listening to all of the current Ag teachers, is that your 1st year of teaching is crucial and most influential on if you are going to continue down the path of education. One of the few great ideas that current school districts and associations do is send personalized care packages to 1st year teachers, filled with resources and forms of encouragement for them to use in their classrooms. This is a great way for young teachers to know that they aren't alone and they have other people to fall back on if needed. Another really important part to retaining educators is exposing pre-service teachers to the classroom prior to their student-teaching experience. I heard a few individuals express the need for college students who are interested in education to get out into the field and either observe or teach in the classroom, so they are getting that real experience to see if they like it or not.
Another workshop I was able to attend virtually was about the New Farmers of America (NFA) and educating individuals who are a part of Ag Ed to learn about the culture and history of the organization. This session reminded me a lot about AEE 311 where we learned about the FFA and NFA "merger" and how it was more of a take over rather than a smooth merge. A lot of the traditions and cultural importance was lost when the NFA joined the FFA and it is important as educators to learn about that history so that we can pass it along accurately to our students.
During the NAAE closing ceremony, I learned that experiences shape us into the person and educator that we are today. Every encounter we have with each other and every activity we choose to peruse impacts who we are as a person. As a future teacher, every interaction I make with my students will not only impact me but also them as they learn to navigate through life. I will try to always make beneficial impacts on my future students to that each experience is a positive one. I hope this brought you some insight into what I learned this week from a few of the virtual sessions I attended of NAAE and the ACTE conference.
Thank you for reading!
Lauren :)
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