Pre-Internship: Many (Green) Hands Make Light Work

Last week was the unofficial start to my student teaching internship and it was a whirlwind! The week began on Monday, in State College. I hadn't realized how much I missed the atmosphere of a college town and cohort members until I was experiencing pre-internship seminar alongside them. After pre-internship seminar ended, I immediately began reporting to my cooperating center the next day. Already, even though I have only been at Cumberland Valley High School for two days, I feel like I have learned a lifetime of information. 

Thursday, my very first day, was long - 12 hours long to be exact. But, what better way to be introduced to life as an agriscience teacher? After the school day, it was a sprint to the finish to set up before guests arrived for the Greenhand Degree Ceremony/Agriculture Department Open House. Usually, this ceremony would be done in the school library, the officers would recite their parts of the script, and the Greenhand Degree recipients would walk across the stage, shake hands, and smile for a photo. However, like everything this year, coronavirus complicated this tradition. 

In order to remain covid-compliant, the ceremony functioned as a walk through open house style event with one-way traffic. When Greenhand recipients and their families arrived, they were greeted by an FFA advisor and directed toward the beginning of the tour route. Stationed along the tour route were officers who had memorized their speaking parts to the ceremony and recited them out loud for the family. The officers were strategically placed in Ms. Case's classroom, Ms. Romberger's classroom, and the shop/laboratory spaces which were decorated to display student work, agriscience fair posters, SAE projects, and lab equipment. The final stop, before the exit, was a poster where students painted their hands green and placed their handprints on a banner to be hung in the hallway. This was where I was stationed, which worked out perfectly because I got to meet most of my freshmen students and practice learning their names.  

Reflecting on this experience, as someone who is continuously learning the traditions and ways of FFA, I thought this open house style Greenhand ceremony was extremely advantageous (and maybe even better than the traditional ceremony) from a marketing perspective. Not only did parents get to experience an abbreviated version of the Three Circle Model, but they also got to see the projects and assignments their students completed during the school day. This event also comes at a time when course selection is nearing and I think, as a result of this event, parents would advocate for their students to enroll in another agriculture course for the upcoming school year - 💥RETENTION💥

Additionally, during my short week of observation, I have noticed that the students at Cumberland Valley are self-motivated. They take initiative to set-up and clean-up FFA events, they "know the drill". As an agriscience teacher, I can see how this would be beneficial and take one more thing off my already full plate and teach students the skills of responsibility, communication, and organization. FFA officers, when they are available, also give FFA updates at the beginning or end of every class. I would also like to continue this practice as I pick up classes but also in my future classroom as a way to keep students up-to-date and connected. 

Stay tuned as I start teaching Plant Science next week!