What I Seek in a Cooperating Center

Hello everyone! It is hard to believe that this time next year I will be in the classroom as a student teacher. This is the true "final exam" for all ag ed majors and requires a lot of preparation. The first step in all of this is thinking about "What I Seek in a Cooperating Center". This is anything from classes taught to number of teachers and even class sizes and facilities. This criteria will help me to decide was schools I choose to visit and ultimately where I end up next spring. 

Agriculture Courses

This is one of the most important pieces of criteria to me. I came from a school that offered plant science, animal science, and ag mechanics, however, I followed the plant science track and never really dipped in to the others with the exception of the Intro to Welding course that I took my senior year. With all that being said, I am looking for a school that has a strong and diverse ag mechanics program. I want to have the option to teach a variety of classes in ag mech including welding, small gas engines, and possibly even electrical wiring to name a few. I am the least comfortable with ag mechanics out of all of the content areas and know that this is where I will need a lot of guidance. I also am looking for a program that offers animal science classes as well. Although I never took any animal science courses in high school, I raised livestock and got most of my education outside of the classroom. This is an area that I feel more comfortable in especially in regards to teaching about real life scenarios. My last want for courses is some in the area of plant science. This was my "thing" in high school and an area I feel very comfortable in. This is one that I know would be easier for me to teach because I have a lot of knowledge and experience. I would love to go to a school with a greenhouse and be able to teach classes in that space. 

Agricultural Educators

I would love to be at a school that is a multi-teacher program. One teacher programs can be great but I feel like having two teachers would first help me to have a wider range of classes to possibly teach and also to have more experience and knowledge from each that I can gain. I would like to go to a school that has two to three teachers to have that diversity without having too many. I would also like to learn more about the dynamic that is needed in a multi-teacher program as we all know working with others will always being some challenges. 

School Demographics

I am very appreciative of the diversity that is offered in schools and ag programs across Pennsylvania as far as the amount of kids and the backgrounds of those kids. I would prefer a school with smaller class sizes: 10 to 20 students per class. I think this can be beneficial when you have closer to 10 kids in those ag mechanics classes but also closer to 20 in the science based classes. I would also like to be at a school that's district encompasses both the rural and suburban areas. I just think that this gives a good mix of students who are taking ag classes and the background knowledge and experience that they can bring.

I am excited to begin visiting schools and traveling all over the state. I know I am going to see so many amazing programs during my time traveling. No matter where I end up, I know that there will always be a community of ag teachers behind me to offer advice and help along the way. Following the completion of my student teaching application, I will interview with staff and faculty in the Agricultural and Extension Education department. This interview will help to determine the best fit for me. I am excited for the next few months and cannot wait to see where I end up.