Monday, October 6, 2014

Session 12- What does Inclusion mean?



Today we heard from Mr. Charlie Bennett from the Mineral County Technical Center in Keyser, West Virginia. He gave a fantastic presentation on inclusion and allowed everyone to test out their inclusion strategies through scenarios. Thank you everyone for the great questions and class discussion!

What are you curious about?


  •         Being a student teacher in West Virginia.

o   Talk to Dr. Foster about this opportunity!

  •        Teaching urban agriculture.

o   I would encourage you to talk with an educator who teaches lessons on urban agriculture and also research lesson plans and guides for teaching those lessons. The Kentucky Farm Bureau has quite the list of lesson plans compiled to encompass all areas of agriculture, so maybe explore some of them at this link: https://www.kyfb.com/federation/program-links/ag-in-the-classroom/classroom-lesson-plans/ .
  • ·         To hear from the COO of National FFA
o   Mr. Josh Bledshoe will be with us on Tuesday, October 7th!
  • ·         Tactics to better include all students.
o   Hopefully from today’s lecture you have learned some of the strategies to include all students. It is important for you to come up with your own ways as well.
  • ·         Scenario #3 from the handout that Mr. Bennett gave the class.
o   There are a number of ways that this situation can best be handled. It is important that you come to a conclusion on your own as there is no definite right or wrong answer.
  • ·         Inclusion policies, tactics and their uses.
o   School districts differ in their policies which makes it hard to touch on the inclusion policies. Tactics that could be used in agricultural education were discussed in class and could include doing home visits for all students in your classrooms.
  • ·         Scenario #2 from the handout: If members of the faculty are your superiors, how do you discuss this issue with your superiors f they hold a bias.
o   Again there are a number of ways that this situation can be handled. One option could be discuss the issue with a faculty member who is not personally involved in the situation or go to the district office and discuss it with them.
  • ·         Setting up home visits.
o   This would require both student and parent cooperation. The best way to first go about a home visit would probably be contact the parents directly and explain to them the reason behind doing a home visit and why it would be beneficial to their student. Then set up a time that would be best for the parent, child and yourself.
  • ·         Point system for practicing CDE Events.
o   Point systems can vary for event but can be set up as the following example:
§  4 positions are available on the dairy judging team, there are 6 members signed up for the event. Every Thursday morning for two weeks before the contest there will be practices held for students. Students get 10 points for attending each practice. At each practice there will be a practice exam and one class of judging to be completed for a score, each exam will be worth a possible 20 points, each judging score will be worth a total of 10 points. By the end of the two weeks the top four students will be placed on the team. This ensures that only students who are actively studying and wanting to participate are getting a spot on the team and gives everyone a fair chance.
  • ·         Is there a simple guide/ book that helps explain legalities and documentation?
o   I do not believe there is one specific book or guide that explains all the legalities and documentation needed for teaching agriculture at the high school level. The best practice would be talk to other agricultural educators, the district office, principle, and other teachers within your school to determine what is the best practices to be used for your specific situation.

What did you learn?

  •         I learned that teachers need to be careful about what they say and do.
  •         Addressing inclusion in the classroom.
  •        Strategies for picking students for events/ activities when the numbers of available spots are limited.
  •         I learned more about those in my pods through their poems.
  •        The importance of formal communication with parents, students, and administrators.
  •        There are currently four job openings in West Virginia.

What do you want to learn more about?
  • ·         Mr. Charlie Bennett’s ag program.
o   This is the link to the Mineral County Technical Center where Mr. Bennett teaches: http://mctc.mine.tec.wv.us/index.htm . Under that link there are numerous side tabs containing information about the school and the different opportunities students have. If interested in seeing the program requirements for Mr. Bennett’s classes, view the tab titled Program Requirements.
  • ·         How to start an ag program at a high school.
o   Starting an ag program will require community, administration, and student support before it can begin. For more information on starting an ag program at a specific high school talk to Dr. Foster.
  • ·         I want to learn more about being an inclusive educator in various environments beyond the classroom.
o   Talk to other agricultural educators about their experiences and what they found works best. The best knowledge can come from personal experiences as well.
  • ·         CDE’s and the CDE Success Plan
o   CDE’s ( Career Development Events) and the CDE Success Plan will be discussed in further detail on Tuesday, October 14th. Also if you have any questions please feel free to contact Valerie.
  • ·         Ways to talk to administrators about sticky situations.
o   It is important to have a working relationship with administrators. Do not just go to administrators when there is a problem in your program but rather go visit your administrators when there is something exciting to report from the program. Administrators look forward to hearing the positives coming from programs in their school and it creates a positive relationship between you and your administrator so when sticky situations do come up, both parties feel comfortable discussing it with each other.
  • ·         Other teaching styles.
o   Teaching styles are discussed in later AEE programs, but also it could be beneficial to job shadow different agricultural educators to see how they approach teaching.
  • ·         Are there any National FFA Programs that help promote inclusion?
o   While there are no specific programs through National FFA that are for inclusion specifically, here is a link to the Diversity and Inclusion pages on the National FFA website: https://www.ffa.org/about/NationalFFA/diversity_and_inclusion/Pages/default.aspx
  • ·         Where to find school district rules and policies.
o   School district rules and policies should be available upon request from the district office of that specific school. They also should be available in the office of every school in that district as well.

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