Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Vegas to join fellow ag teachers at the NAAE annual convention. Here are my top 3 take aways from this experience
Networking
I got to meet other preservice teachers like myself during the FAST symposium (Future Agriscience Teacher symposium). We engaged in activities around inquiry based instruction, hands-on "agtivities", and CASE curriculum. We also got to listen to various speakers about their thoughts and experiences with teaching agriculture.
As far as networking goes, I got to learn a little bit more about agricultural education programs across the country, and meet ag teachers who gave good advice. I joined in committee and regional meetings and got to connect with teachers from Pennsylvania.
Professional Development
Of course, one goal of the convention is professional development workshops. I went to several workshops throughout the week. Some of the notable ones are the LGBQT inclusion, aquaponics, vet checks workshops. I enjoyed each of these and was able to snag some cool resources from them too!
Community
Meeting all of those teachers and those involved with the NAAE shows me that despite how many teachers there are, there is a strong community of teachers who are always willing to help and support. There were many teachers who would share their e-mail addresses, twitter handles, and business cards just to help me out. They are all so welcoming to new ag teachers.
I am truly excited to join in the ag ed family and to be a part of a group as welcoming as this. I would definitely recommend other preservice and ag teachers to go to this event!
I would like to thank Penn State and PAAE for providing me with this opportunity. I wouldn't have been able to attend without their support.
