On My International Harvester: Mid-Winter FFA Convention

As a FFA member whenever the song "International Harvester" by Craig Morgan came on I would love screaming the line "I'm a lifetime member of the FFA" and remember the joy I had in those moments at different events on the local,state and national level.On Monday I started that tractor on a new journey to get me to where I want to be: an agriculture teacher.

Overview of Mid-Winter Convention

To start my student teaching experience off I got to attend the Pennsylvania Farm Show and attend

their state FFA Mid-winter convention. This experience was my transition completely from FFA member to FFA adviser. Conrad Weiser brought 30 students and they were able to walk around and see several exhibits before Mid-winter started. At Mid-winter I got to see 3 of my students zip up their FFA jackets for the first time and watch 3 get their Keystone Degrees.

Starting It Off

This experience at Mid-Winter was a perfect way to start my week as a student teacher. I got to connect with several students as we tour the complex. I got to know their passions and what they want to do and was able to find connections between my internship and their goals. A highlight part of one of the conversations was discussing CDEs. Talking to students about what CDEs they want to do and seeing how I can play an impact in that was a huge excitement on the students end and my end.

Taking students on these trips helps impact them. It shows them ideas they did not know before such as tractor restoration for my students. Watching them get excited over new ideas makes me as an educator want to help bring that idea back to my program.

Questions

 1. How do you change a consent field trip such as a fair each year to engage students coming a second time or for you who has gone several times?