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Which workshops at NAAE Convention did you find helpful?

Getting ready and making sub plans for the next three days!  Can't wait to get to convention.

It is hard to believe three years of serving as the regional vice president has passed.  I have appreciated the support that region IV has shown as member welcomed myself as well as my family to their home states.  The support and effort of every member at regional and national events has been memorable.  During the past three years, it has become evident that it pays to be a member of the NAAE.  The work and the effort of the national staff at the headquaters of the NAAE has improved member services well as improving our communications networks and partnerships.  In just the last three years, NAAE has developed many programs that can be benefical to a new teacher or the experienced teacher alike.  It takes times to learn to use with the new tools, but like everything, over time, we adjust and swing into the mode of using the technology.

Perhaps the best new tool we have to offer is Communiites of Practice.  The site has many tools for any teacher to incorporate into his or her program, from lesson plans to lab practicals.  It's a great tool for those going into student teaching, it can help revive a lesson plan, or add a spark to a plan that needed something to catch our students' attention.  In addition, NAAE has been working hard to recruit new ag teachers throught the National Teach Ag campaign, providing internships for college students, and award and recognition programs that members are recognized at the national level. All of theese programs and other resources are located on the NAAE website.

Another very important aspect of NAAE's service is its member recognition.  As we recognize teachers for their service, we need to take the time to assist our fellow members, and NAAE provides resources to help you be a better mentor.

Sponsors who believe in the importance of agricultural education is what makes our many programs possible.  It's a great feeling to know that the agriculture industry believes in us and the programs we offer. 

As I close, I leave you with this quote by Albert Einstein that relates to the service and commitment we must have in order to prosper in our profession; "If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or things." It is clear that the NAAE has goals for members to succeed.

Sincerely

Greg Curlin

Region IV Vice President

Sometimes when you teach floriculture it is hard to make those real world connections to the boys so that they become interested in flower design.  O

n Friday I started introducing my kids to floriculture ID using some flowers that I had leftover from Homecoming and an arrangement that I had made.  In introducing the flowers we were also classifying them as either filler, form, line or mass flowers.  The first flower I held up to ID and talk about was Baby's Breath.  Right after I described it and mentioned that it would be classified as a filler flower, one of the boys in the class pipes up that he had just heard that in a TV show that week.  (I'm sorry I don't remember the show....)  Some character on this popular show worked at a florist shop.  And the character was talking about Baby's Breath and mentioned that it was a filler flower!    I bet that for the rest of his life, this kid will remember that Baby's Breath is a filler flower!  And now he will be paying more attention to what that floral designer does/says in his shop on the show.

I just love watching the light bulbs go on in kids heads!  Those nuggets are what teaching is about.

I would guess that many of you have returned from the National FFA convention and are recovering from your trip to Indy.  I do hope that many of you have plans to make the trip to Nashville to attend the national meeting. The NAAE staff has worked with a variety of people to create many engaging professional development opportunities.

In my two previous Region 1 Blogs, I have asked for your action on two matters. Relative to our 2010 Region 1 Conference to be held in Great Falls, Montana, I requested you provide us with Professional Development Workshop topics that would be of interest. There is still an opportunity for you to share your ideas. Our members from Montana want to do what is possible to meet your needs as they develop opportunities for our trip to their state.

The other issue that I requested your participation in was providing contact information for your local member of Congress or the U.S. Senate. For those of you who attended our last Region 1 meeting in Nevada, we agreed that we would each gather the information so the Region could compile it for possible future action. There all still many members of Congress with we would like to associate a name of a NAAE member who can contact them or a staff member so our advocacy work in our local communities might be leveraged to benefit the profession.

As always, if there is anything that I can do to assist you in providing opportunities for your students, let me know.

Hugh Mooney

NAAE Region 1 Vice-President

916-319-0488

hmooney@cde.ca.gov

After a brief hiatus, our member profile is back. This week, read about Joe Moore CoP member and Razorbacks fan.

Name:  Joe C. Moore

Lives:  Stotts City, Missouri

Title:  Agriculture Instructor

School: Verona R VII Jr./Sr. High School

Loves teaching ag because:  When you work with kids that are excited about what they're learning, and you see the "Ah Ha!" moment in their face when they finally "get it",  that's the best!

Best thing about Communities of Practice:    It's pretty cool to be able to communicate with another instructor, maybe across the country and share ideas.  I love being able to gather new ideas from others.  I'm a notorious thief!

When you're not teaching, you're:  Raising beef cattle and rooting on the Arkansas Razorbacks!

Learn more about Joe, like what he's posted on CoP, send him a message, or become his friend by visitng his profile. Joe Moore

I had the pleasure this past year of serving on the MN state MAAE Executive board as the secretary.  One of the highlights of my year long reign was working with the MAAE President, Tom Anderson.  He is the epitome of strong leadership and really a walking billboard for Agricultural Education.  His favorite quote was that of Dr. Martin Luther King and it went "We may not all become wealthy, but we can all be come Great, as Greatness is measured by the service we give to others."

Agricultural Educators understand this quote more than most.  As Agricultural Educators we devote our time, energy, and love to this profession so that one day in the not to distant future the students we educate may go out into the world and make an impact.

Agricultural Education is a calling and is not for the faint of heart or mind.  It is sometimes more grueling and painful than a triathlon and more rewarding than winning the lottery.

As you set out on the start of another school year or for some of you your first day as the Ag teacher I encourage you to share with your students the joy and passion you have for the profession of Agricultural Education.  You are an Ag teacher by choice and not by chance, display this to your students.

Throughout the next 9 months you will be hearing a lot from me in relation to the Teach Ag Campaign and National Teach Ag Day.

Agricultural Education is at a critical point right now.  We have the opportunity to reach students and impact lives in ways many other disciplines cannot.  It is time that we as an organization make an effort to expand the opportunities for students wishing to pursue a degree in Agricultural Education and inform all our students that Agricultural Education is a viable and in demand career option.

The journey of greatness begins anew each day, best wishes to you and your students on another exciting and promising school year.

Remember to mark your calendars for Thursday, February 25th to celebrate National Teach Ag Day with your students and community and stop by the NAAE Teachers World booth Thursday during the National FFA Convention to record your Teach Ag Testimonial.

A great way to get your students familiar with floriculture identification is to have a "Flower of the Week". You can use the floriculture i.d. list from the National FFA Floriculture Judging CDE as a way for students to learn scientific names of plants and flowers. Each week you can have a new flower on display in your classroom. You can spend 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the class talking about identification points and students can log that information on their Floriculture I.D. sheet. This works great because students look forward to finding out what the new flower is for the week. It is very important for you to plan ahead and stay on schedule. I also recommend showing pictures of the flower on a PowerPoint and combine those pictures so that you can do floriculture identification quizzes throughout the class.

Click here to see the Floriculture Plant Identification List for the National FFA Floriculture Judging CDE

Please add a comment to this post and tell us about how you do floriculture i.d. in your class!

A friend sent me this quote by Teddy Roosevelt. "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." How blessed we are to be in a profession where individuals DO work hard at work worth doing!

As I traveled around the country this summer, I met so many people who did outstanding jobs in many facets of Ag Education. Summers for me usually start off with State FFA Convention. What a team effort goes into making a successful experience for our students! It's stressful at times, but the outcome it always worth the hard work that goes into it.

Region II summer conference was held in Canyon, TX in June. The teachers, state staff, and faculty of West Texas A&M University did an outstanding job! Many thanks to ALL who helped make it successful, especially Buddy Wallace, VATAT President, and Ken Carr, Cowboy Poet / Cook. It takes a lot of effort to put on a summer conference, but it's always worth it - for the teachers who participate, who learn new skills, get new ideas, and understand a little more about the various cultures in our country. Thank you for your hard work.

Leadership Camp and teacher inservices were next. Thanks to all those who coordinated activities, chaperoned cabins, and prepared the banquet. Well done. And to the teachers who wrote the new curriculum rather than sneaking off to play golf - thanks for a job well done!  Your hard work will benefit our students and communtities.

The board met in Washington D.C. in July. What a bunch of dedicated professionals! I know their lives are full, but they go above and beyond for the good of our profession. Thanks to the staff - Jay, Alissa, Julie, Linda, and the others for all their tireless work. One thing I look forward to at the meeting is the release of NAAE Award Winners. Congratulations to all who have gone above and beyond!

The Region II winners include:

• Outstanding Young Member - Gaea Wimmer, KS
• Outstanding Teacher - Mark Sneary - OK
• Outstanding Middle/Secondary Ag Ed Program - Pontchatoula High, LA
• Outstanding Postsecondary / Adult Ed Program - Great Plains Technology Center, OK
• Teacher Mentor - Tim Vanover
• Ideas Unlimited - Lee Weis, KS
• Lifetime Achievement - Floyd Jenkins, LA
• Outstanding Cooperation - Rep. Dale DeWitt, OK
• Outstanding Service - Larry Long, OK
• Teacher Turn the Key - Bethany Marsh, CO, Mandy Kern,  KS, Devin Grissom, OK, April Offolter, OK
• Upper Division Scholarship - Mary Shivers, New Mexico State University.

As the bell schedule gets engrained into our heads and the hustle and bustle of young people go through our doors, let us not forget to give thanks for the best prizes of life - a job worth doing, and the opportunity to positively effect the lives of each person we come into contact with each day.

Have a great school year!!

It's time once again for our weekly Communities of Practice Member Profile.  This is a regular weekly feature in the NAAE blog designed to allow CoP users to find out a little more about one another.  Today we're meeting Rose Hartschuh, ag instructor for Bellebue City Schools in Bellevue, Ohio.  Here's a little about Rose, in her own words:

Name: Rose Hartschuh

Lives: Bellevue, Ohio

Title: Agricultural Education Instructor

School: Bellevue City Schools

Loves teaching ag because: every day is different. Ag teachers have the opportunity to teach exciting curriculum, build relationships with students and community members, and be an advocate for the agricultural industry... sometimes all in the same class period! I love the diversity of activities we encounter and the diversity of the audiences we serve. Not to mention, I have some of the best, and most fun, colleagues I could ask for!

Best thing about Communities of Practice: CoP is a great way to tap into thousands of brilliant minds across the country. At times other ag teachers are the only ones who can understand our struggles and triumphs, and with Communities of Practice, you have a built in support system. The opportunity to improve your curriculum or work through a challenging issue is right at your fingertips. If you're not using it, you should be!

When she's not teaching, she's: helping on her family's dairy farm or being involved in community activities. She also loves learning new things about a variety of topics and traveling.

See Rose's profile, where you can send her a message, friend her, or see what kind of things she's posted on CoP. Are you willing to be profiled?  If so, send a message to Julie Fritsch.

It is once again that exciting time of year, the beginning of school. It is the time when we develop impressions of our new students and renew our visions of the many possibilities for our returning students. This is also the time of year that some agricultural educators need to break in the new administrator, always an enjoyable task. It is time to remain focused on what really matters, your students.

We have all heard from our educational leaders at the national, state and local level about the need to achieve high standards. Teachers are often told what to teach and the pace that they should teach the material. We hear from those who have been identified by these leaders as a great teacher because they can cover all of the standards at the identified pace. Seldom during those beginning of the year professional development activities do we hear about student engagement or how well students learn. I hope as the year passes, rather then focusing on how well teachers teach, we all concentrate on how we can best engage our students so that they can learn. If that happens, the test scores will take care of themselves.

In the next issue of News and Views we will have information available for the Region 1 meeting to be held in Montana April 21-24, 2010. If you have topics you would like included in our professional development workshops, this would be a good time to share them with me. Also, I hope several of you are making plans to attend the NAAE Convention in Nashville. Both the ACTE and NAAE conventions are housed in the same facility. This will allow greater opportunity for members to select from the many activities available that will best meet their professional development needs.

If you have considered running for office, keep in mind that you must submit a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the NAAE office by September 15, 2009. The Regional Secretary position is a one-year term and the current regional secretary may run for re-election. I would also encourage you to consider seeking a leadership role on a national committee. The best way to have your voice heard is to have a seat at the table.

As always, if I can be of assistance, let me know.

Hugh Mooney

Region 1 V.P.

916-319-0488

Back in June, we had severe weather nearly every other day!  Well, maybe not that much, but we did have a lot of storms, several of which left their mark.  In Oregon, MO we got hit hard with hail during one of these storms and left my greenhouse with a swiss cheese roof!  I have worried in the past about being caught in the greenhouse during a severe storm, but luckily this one happened during summer vacation.  Once, we did miss a tornado drill because we were in the greenhouse and didn't hear the warning bells and another time we watched the firemen show up to run a fire drill.  We stood outside the greenhouse and watched the students pour out of the building during the drill, kind of fun!

Back to the hail damage, I quickly contacted the greenhouse company and asked for a quote to replace the roof (luckily no side panels were damaged)  As soon as I had the quotes, I passed them on to my Supt.  He said he would give them to the insurance company and hopefully they would get my greenhouse fixed by winter.  Well, I am not betting on that happening, so we are out of the poinsettia business this year!  I think we will purchase some mums to sell to replace the poinsettias.  I was thinking, what other damages have been caused to greenhouses?  Fellow teachers in the area have had the propane not delivered when promised and it ran out in March (and lost all of their bedding plants) also doors kicked in and beer cans left all around (you have to know the town), so I want to know.... what is your crazy greenhouse story?

It's always a treat to bring my students to a place I called home for several summers - Camp Oswegatchie in New York's Adirondack Mountains (http://www.oswegatchie.org/)

Note: Not just for New York FFA members, picture your students there next year.

One of the most important things I have learned as a teacher is being able to laugh at yourself and with your students.  Here are a sampling of amusing anecdotes I encountered.

• At pre-camp meeting, words of advice from a former camper - "Don't pack make-up.  You won't need it.  But I am bringing my eyeliner!"
  
• While walking to her campsite with a rolling suitcase, a young lady had her jacket sleeve wrapped around her wheel.  When informed of this, she replied "It's okay if it get's dirty.  It's an old jacket."  Had to let her know the wheel might roll easier without a jacket around it.
• While passing a wind farm with several turbines, the question was asked "Is that what makes wind for us?"  Her travelmates reminded her they had done a whole unit on alternative energy sources in 8th grade science.
  

And a plus for life lessons from FFA.  Quotes from my students:

• When stopping for lunch at a sit down restaurant "Guys, be prepared.  Miss M is going to teach us how to tip.  We'll have to do the math.  This is why we should eat fast food."
• On the way home from camp "This was the healthiest week I had all summer!"

Welcome to a new, regular CoP feature - member profiles.  Each week learn a little bit about a CoP user and fellow ag educator.  Willing to be profiled?  Email Julie Fritsch at jfritsch.naae@uky.edu

Name:          Renee Smith

Teaches:      McIntosh County Academy, Darien, GA

Title:            Ag Teacher

In her words:

Loves ag education because: Ag is a family, a very competitive family, but you have a close knit group of people who are dedicated to this profession. There are few teachers who have the chance to reach students like we do; our student's learn, have fun, and get to show their skills for everyone to see.

Best thing about Communities of Practice: The best thing about CoP is the multitude of ideas, I read everyone's posts even if I don't teach the class because I am always learning something new. Every state, every person, has a different view and I love hearing all of them!

When she's not teaching, she's: Outside, I love to camp, golf and I am learning to kayak which has been a very fun experience. I also love to travel and work as a coordinator for exchange students from the Republic of Georgia, who come from Future Farmers of Georgia chapters and want to experience FFA across the United States.

Check out Renee's profile

In my constant quest to improve my classroom instruction, I am connected to other Web 2.0 communities.  One I just joined actually has a summer reading club with the focus of the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. I know that we as Agricultural Educators have full summers (SAE Visits, Professional Development, Summer Crop Activities, etc.) but . . .

• Have you read a good book lately (fiction or non)?
• Anything out there you think would be a good read for other teachers?
• Any books on your book list you wish you had time to read?

Last night, I sat down with "The Girls from Ames" and am half way through.  You've got to love a book that mentions, even if in passing, the nuances between soil and dirt!