Virtual Mentor Exploration #1

"What is your teaching philosophy and/or core values as an agriculture educator?"

This week I was able to Call, Zoom, and Email my virtual mentor team to pick their brains about the prompt listed above. Their responses were intriguing and I felt very compelled to share them with my readers.  

Kevin Keith: National FFA Organization Local Program Success Team member

• ‘Each student in unique, just like everybody else’… they all learn differently, have a different life experience and know more about one topic than anyone else does.

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• The sweetest thing that most students ever hear is their name, the name that they prefer to be called by, and the preferred pronunciation of it. I have had students with oddly spelled names and had them remember for years that I was the “one person” who remembered how to spell their name and how important it made them feel. 

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• I strive to provide a safe educational environment where a student can develop emotionally, mentally, socially and become a leader in their own way/right (maybe by example, maybe by word, deed, mentoring relationships, etc.)  

• I believe in transparency, in admitting mistakes and apologizing and doing everything I can to ‘make it right’.  

• I believe in the importance of experiential learning, in applying learning to the actual world that the students can grasp… in helping them understand why they might need to know something, how they might use it, and why it might make a difference to them.  

• I believe that one of the most uncommon things is common sense and that we are fools to assume that anyone is a master of common sense.  

• I believe that safety and a knowledge of safe practices in classrooms, laboratories, the workplace, etc. is paramount to success of our educational programming.  

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• I believe that it is no accident that agricultural education include classroom and laboratory learning, work based/experiential learning, and leadership, personal growth and career success through the FFA, as it’s philosophical base and feel that it is criminal for any of our teachers to rob the student of one or more of these important components.  

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• Finally – I believe in a concept I call, “Ya Gotta Wanna” – I believe that everyone can achieve, but it doesn’t just happen, you need to plan, to set measureable goals, to practice, to adjust and refine your plan, goals and process, to measure progress, and practice more…

Mrs. Katie Ranck: Agriculture Educator at Elanco, #PSUAgEd16

Katie believes in fully implementing the three circle model. She utilizes a day in class to cover the three circle model and why it works for agriculture education, this help her students find meaning in what she asks them to do.

SAE is a heavily weighted portion of her students grades. She acknowledges that this is an extrinsic motivator, but owns that there is further recognition and opportunities for her students for them to reach own their own, at an intrinsic motivation level.

FFA is encouraged for all students. I'll have the opportunity to see her implement this circle when I travel with her to the National FFA Convention and Expo this fall!

Classroom instruction is something that she dedicates herself to whole-heartedly. This summer, I saw her investments she made for her students by attending the PAAE conference. 

She added to our phone call that she was beginning her Master's Degree and they had just began philosophy work in the program. The irony of reflection that she was going through for class made it easy to discuss this topic for her. 

Mrs. Renee Cambruzzi: Agriculture Educator at McGuffey

My teaching philosophy is simple; respect, nurture and guide. High school students still need to be nurtured and guided but treated with respect and consideration. They deserve a teacher that is caring and compassionate but is holding them to high expectations and challenging them to reach their greatest potential.

I believe a teacher's role is to guide rather than act as the primary source of information. Students need the opportunity to discover for themselves and practice skills in real-world situations. Providing students access to hands-on activities and allowing adequate time and space to use materials that reinforce the lesson creates an opportunity for construction of knowledge.

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I believe students need to have the opportunity to study things that are meaningful and relevant to one's life and interests. Developing a curriculum around student interests fosters intrinsic motivation and stimulates the passion to learn.When students have ownership in the classroom they are motivated to work hard and to reach their goals.

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I believe that it is important to nurture positive student / teacher relationships. The more you understand about the students in your room will help you to develop a community instead of just a class. In the classroom community, students learn to effectively communicate with each other and are more likely to feel safe to share their ideas, fail and learn.

I believe that as an agriculture educator it is my job to never stop learning. It is important to make professional development a priority each year to improve teaching practices, curriculum and student success.