Guest Blogger Series: Why, How, What? Program of Activities

The classic FFA activities: fundraisers, recruitment events, food drives, annual chapter banquet, etc. What's the purpose? It's not about what we do, it's about why we do it. Simon Sinek's golden circle is a great way to put this into perspective.

Why?
FFA activities and events are catalysts of change that transform perspectives, habits, career ambitions, and relationships in an authentic and intentional way. Our purpose is to grow and empower students. With guidance, students develop and deliver their own learning experiences through a chapter's program of activities (POA). Planning and executing a quality POA at the local level is powerful.

How?
Success is the result of creative planning and detailed preparation. To invest in chapter success, students set goals and plan the necessary steps to accomplish these goals. By engaging in the development and delivery of a quality POA, students develop leadership and planning skills which are essential in all careers. The key to a quality POA is getting every member involved. The steps to develop and implement a successful POA are outlined in four steps:

• Plan: The POA should be organized by using student committees. The number of committees and committee structure varies by chapter. The chapter vice president is tasked with coordinating the work of committees and every member should serve on at least one committee.
• Develop: Once committees are formed, the POA can be developed. Planning forms are available to aid in the development of the POA. These forms make it easy to write the rough draft by hand, present the plan to the chapter for approval or amendment and prepare the POA for distribution.
• Do: Once the POA is developed and approved by members, the next step is for committees to plan each activity and event. What steps are necessary to achieve the goals approved by members? Make it happen!
• Reflect: Plans are useless without implementation. The POA is a tool used to help the chapter meet members' needs and interests. Reflection is an ongoing process. The POA should be reviewed and reflected upon regularly.

What?
The POA assists in defining chapter goals, outlining steps needed to meet those goals and acts as a written guide to provide a calendar of events the chapter will follow in the year ahead for administrators, advisory committees, alumni and other stakeholders. Every year each FFA chapter takes time to plan ways to provide engaging opportunities focused on growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture.

There are a variety of resources available to aid in the planning, development and delivery of a local program of activities. These include:

• POA Resource Guide - 15 page resource that walks a user through planning, developing, doing and reflecting on a program of activities.
• POA Planning Forms - these four forms are available in PDF and Word. Examples and instructions are included in the POA Resource Guide.
• National Chapter Award Program handbook - this includes information, a scoresheet and rubric for the National Quality FFA Chapter Standards as well as everything needed to be successful in the National Chapter Award Program.
• Chapter Success Guides - each year, a magazine is created to showcase the national finalists in the national chapter award program. These exceptional chapters are planning, developing, delivering a quality program of activities and reflecting on their experiences in a purposeful way. The 2015 guide is a great immediate resource. The 2016 guide will be available in the spring of 2017 and will feature Midd-West FFA of Pennsylvania!

For more information  please visit www.ffa.org/nationalchapter or contact nationalchapter@ffa.org.

Mr. Honeycutt and Mr. Bledsoe

 

 

Notes from the day:

• What's the future?
• What's some pressing issues:
• Relevance: AFNR (career learning and exploration)
• Developing programs of study
• Certifications
• Whatever we inspect is what we respect.
• Engaging people
• How do we tell our story?
• How do we engage our partners more?
• Standards:
• AFNR standards are a good roadmap but look at your local needs!
• Inclusion:
• How do we build that?
• Build that family relationship
• It starts at the local level.
• As a teacher, don't spread yourself so thin that you sacrifice inclusion.
• How welcome, safe and connected will your students feel in your classroom?
• Expose your students to great people, great experiences and books.
• Invest in your students.
• Grades: as a teacher determine how you will grade students fairly so every student can succeed.
• Share with parents and administration!
• How to maximize student teaching:
• Diversify your experiences as much as possible.
• Persevere! Motivation, set backs, lessons will all be challenging so learn from it all. 

 

Links:

• Revised AFNR National Standards revised for 2015.
• This link also has SEVERAL documents about the career clusters and standards.
•  
• Video chat with Mr. Honeycutt and Mr. Bledsoe

 

 

 



Story Time

Hodgepodge Day!

 

Goals

Motivation

Story time

Recruitment and Retention

 

Motivation

(PowerPoint on Drive)

Intrinsic VS Extrinsic
To energize, to activate

Marlow Theory of Human Motivation (Needs)

Push (Drive) VS Pull (Incentive) Theory
Sir Ken Robinson



 

 

 

 

 

Recruitment and Retention

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Hanagriff Round Two!

AET: Round 2

This is the second time that AEE 311 has had a chance to talk with Dr. Hanagriff. Earlier in the year Dr. Hanagriff spoke with AEE 311 about what AET was, why it was developed, and the basis of how it works. This time they have worked with the system and have come back with questions. Here are some points:

• Calendar leads into:
• National Chapter Award
• POA
• Website
• Reports
• AET is used to save the Ag teacher money and keep them organized.
• American Degree is a summary of what you've done.
• AET can be used to input all students in an agriculture, then place certain ones in FFA (PA is inclusive)
• Experience Manager is a great over view of all projects.
• New grading tools (because SAE is a crucial part of the program that should be weighted with a grade.)
• SAE Assessment tab
• Gives feedback for students and builds a teacher's journal (which helps build teacher contracts)

Video chat from today's talk with Dr. Hanagriff.

Today in AEE 311: Reflection and Expansion

What happened today?

• Reflection and unpacking: What happened on SAE day? What's the 3 most important things that happened on Tuesday?
• Had a great time with kids! Preparation is definitely important.
• Learning how to adapt and change your plan early.
• Learning had by all! College and high school students.
• How do you incorporate students with IEP's that may not be the most talkative?
• "It's never too late to learn playground skills."
• How do you develop energy? When you're excited and passionate, how do you get students passionate?
• It takes a relationship to get students to open up!
• Find what interests the students.
• Never be afraid to learn as the teacher!
• Kids don't know, what they don't know.

• Digital Citizenship!!!! Don't put anything up you wouldn't show grandma :)

• Talking with Mr. Gundlach! 40 year veteran teacher with tons of knowledge to share.
• How do you balance it all?
• How do you run a land lab, greenhouse and classroom?
• How do you build your program?

Reminders:

• Extensions are granted on an individual basis.
• Pink Time: Make the most of it!!!

Speaker Recording:

Resources:

• http://www.exploresae.com/

Lets Learn S, SA, and SAE!

Joining us in class today is one of Penn Manor's Agriscience teachers, Mr. Neil Fellenbaum.

 

Mr Fellenbaum driving his "crew" to the Lampeter Fair

Mr. Fellenbaum is discussing the topic of Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE). In preparation for 19 ninth high school students attending our AEE311 class next Tuesday, Mr. Fellenbaum is going to guide the AEE311 class to be prepared. 

Goals of the class: 

1. Explore how to facilitate students internal excitement and inventory

2. How do we describe an SAE visit? 

3. What resources are there for us to utilize?

4. Connect career fair to majors at Penn State that student's SAE interests are formulated around 

Below I captured several comments, resources, and advice Mr. Fellenbaum shared during class:

- Start introducing SAE in introductory agriculture class

- Show exploresae.com to spark interest and expose the students to their options

- Once they are exposed, ask what students want to learn?

- SAE ID Card Set - all 7 pathways divided up (Dr. Foster has a set so check them out)

- Create and use an SAE Inventory/Planning Sheet (remember Mr. Fellenbuam's example?)

For more information: 

- Explore the AEE 311 Google Drive

- Email Mr. Neil Fellenbuam at neil.fellenbaum@pennmanor.net

- Tweet at Mr. Neil Fellenbuam at @neilfell

Session 20- Reviewing AET

For our 20th session, Dr. Roger Hanagriff, creator of AET, joined us for the second time to address specific questions we had about using AET.  Dr. Hanagriff gave some great answers and provided us with the links for accessing the mobile AET site, which are included below:


What are you curious about?

• More ways to grade student SAE's
• Dr. Hanagriff showed us some great ways to review student data in many ways, as well as informed us that a grading rubric is on the way.  Check out the recording of the class session for Dr. Hanagriff's tips for grading.
• SAE grant reviews
• Keep your eye out for an email about attending the Adobe Connect training session that will likely occur this week or next!
• What the Teacher version of AET looks like
• Check it out!  Username: PSU  Password: psu
• Can students keep records on classroom activities?
• There is an option for students to list class activities in their experiences
• Can AET be used for classes that are not Ag-related?
• Students should keep track of outside activities for things like community service hours, etc. but AET is focused on Agricultural Education courses
• Why is the mobile site difficult to get to?
• It was before but it is no longer!  Dr. Hanagriff provided us with two links to assist in finding the mobile site!  Find them below!
• Developing an SAE on AET
• Continue to play with your AET account and the teacher account.  Utilize the list in your handbook of Top 10 items to complete on AET and don't forget to utilize any of the TA's! 
• Can we play with AET on the Teacher's version?
• Absolutely!  The log-in information is listed above.

What did you learn?

• AET sweetness!
• Using the map feature to locate students' SAE's
• Using AET as a teacher
• How to view students' records, as well as grade them

What do you want to learn more about?

• Exploring the POA tools on AET
• The teacher side of AET
• Check it out with the log-in info above!
• SAE Grant Review process
• Keep your eye out for the email mentioned above
• Can we access the teacher version of AET as a student teacher?
• YES!
• SAE Implementation plan
• Janae Bickhart is the TA for this assignment.  Feel free to contact her directly with any questions you have about the assignment!

Recorded Class Session:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O7_Wf_Ih4ZKfQV55mQijP-Q822R73BEeKI8YJFJrXhM/edit#gid=0

Student mobile version instructions - learn.theaet.com/F/learn/7-15-12-Students%20using%20AETmobile%20App%20Guide.pdf

 

Teacher version - learn.theaet.com/F/learn/8-22-13%20Teachers%20using%20AETmobile%20App%20Guide.pdf

Session 18- SAE

Today in AEE 311 we had a fantastic speaker, Mr. Keith Gundlach. Mr. Gundlach gave a great presentation on how he uses SAE in his agricultural education program and gave some helpful advice for those students who will be first year teachers soon.

What are you curious about?

• Deciding what is most important when starting a new ag program or coming in as a new 1st year teacher.
• The best answer for this would be pick a few different events and activities to start with your first year and expand to new events every year. Do not expect to do everything all at once when you first start teaching or you will burn yourself out.
• Is Mr. Gundlach taking a student teacher?
• First talk with Dr. Foster about it. Mr. Gundlach did say that he has had student teachers in the past. 
• How Mr. Gundlach can be so involved with everything.
• As stated today, Mr. Gundlach said that he is very good at time management. That is a major part of being so involved. 
• SAE Project Assignment
• Janae is the TA in charge of the SAE Project. If you have any specific questions regarding the project feel free to email her. 
• How student SAEs are graded
• This is up to the teacher discretion. Many teachers have tasks assigned for each SAE and have the students complete the tasks in order to receive full credit. Others use SAE as a way to check and see how students are doing in their projects and grade based on journal entries, financial accuracy, and commitment. 
• If any other chapters do a 60 page book to send out to the community.
•  Other chapters may not do a 60 page book for say, but many chapters use their SAE projects and chapter activities to draw community interest and support.

What did you learn?

• SAE Process and program implementation
• Building an empire takes time
• The importance of documentation
• The three circle model and the importance of all three circles

What do you want to learn more about?

• SAE in general
• https://www.ffa.org/about/whoweare/sae/Pages/default.aspx   is a link to the National FFA Organization's website. This part of the website is dedicated to SAE and explanations of each type and the SAE as a whole.
• What should go into an Advisor's SAE Handbook?
• Any relevant SAE information! The SAE Handbook should include examples of each type of SAE, examples of the National Proficiencies, and ideas for projects that students could have.
• More about SAE implementation and community involvement
•  SAE implementation is part of the three circle model, so it is crucial in any agricultural education program. SAE helps students develop live skills, so incorporating SAE into the classroom can be something as simple as a student keeping records on the class rabbit to a student keeping records on their small gas engine they are repairing. SAE does not always have to be an outside of school project at first. Also to have the community become involved in the SAE implementation, have students find ways to use an SAE project to better their community. SAE projects on student jobs are another great way to make connections to community members.
• Planning an SAE visit
• SAE visits require the student, parents/guardians, employer, and teacher to all work together and find a time that all can sit down to discuss the student's project. 
• Proficiency Awards
• Follow the link below SAE in general, it links to SAE proficiencies as well. Also if you are interested in seeing proficiency applications, contact National FFA to have them send you examples of national winning proficiency awards.
•  More about Mr. Gundlach's program
• Here is the link to Randolph High School where Mr. Gundlach teaches: http://www.randolph.k12.wi.us/faculty/profile.php?id=1243946348&currentArea=3

Session 16: What is SAE?

Today we had a great guest speaker, Mr. Neil Fellenbaum, talk about what an SAE is and how this part of the total agricultural education experience is ran at Penn Manor High School.

In responses to your ticket out:

What are you curious about?

• how teachers determine the number of SAE visits for each student
• As Mr. Fellenbaum explained today, the number of SAE visits for each student is different. It is all going to depend on the type of projects they are doing along with the time and effort they put in to it. 
• Different possible SAE's
• We discussed in class today the 4 different types of SAE's. If you have more questions please check out the website Dr. Foster showed you at the end of the class. This website is great (kind of wish I knew about it before today)
• How is Tuesday going to be ran
• Here is the schedule for Tuesday 
• 8-8:10  Dr. Foster will set the context for the day
• 8:10-9:10 will be one on one between you and a student from Juniata High School. This is when you will be conducting an SAE visit. It is your job as the "teacher" to figure out what SAE will work for them and help them get started. 
• 9:10-9:30 will be open conversation time. Students will be able to ask you why you chose college and why Penn State. You will also have the chance to ask the students why they chose to take agricultural education at their high school and most importantly what do they look for in a teacher
• 9:30-9:45 is teacher talk. Dr. Foster and Mrs. Morgan will be able to answer any questions you were to ask. 
• 10:00 the students will be able to ride the trolley across AG hill for a tour. So far 3 of you have signed up to ride the trolley. It will be dropping students off at the BJC at 11
• 11-12:00 Career Fair. I will be sending out an email with who you will paired up with for your SAE visit. I am going to try and keep those pairs the same for the tour around the Career Fair. This is a great chance for students to see where their passion can take them. 
• 12:00 everyone is welcome for pizza for lunch in Ferguson 
• Resources for SAE's
• ffa.org, and the websites that Dr. Foster shared with you at the end of class

What did you learn?

• How awesome Penn Manor FFA is!!!!!!!
• The start on how to teach/implement SAE in the classroom
• The four different types of SAE's

What do you want to learn more about?

• How do teachers acquire summer contracts? How to explain the importance of a year-long teacher-student interaction.
• This is a constant battle for all teachers. It is important that when you go for an interview that you have a plan made up. You will also learn more about this in 412 and 413
• How to approach potential employers so students get the best connections through your agricultural program
• This not only relays back to the agricultural program but everyday life. It is important that you always have open contact with business around your area. All you have to do is be willing to pitch your program every chance you get. Also having a great advisory committee is a big help.
• What resources to provide for SAE visits
• If you refer to assignment number 5 you will see some of the requirements. Also contact your TA that is your coach for this assignment 
• The students that will be coming on Tuesday
• Being from Mifflin County I can give some insight on what Juniata County is like (its my neighboring county). Juniata is a small rural community with poultry production being the number one industry. From my experience with the agricultural program, it is just like any other. You have a pretty even mix of farmers and non-farmers, there is also an even mix of students who have any history of agriculture. If you come to class thinking of how you felt the first time you went to a new class then you will be fine. The main perks of being an agricultural teacher is you get to know the students on a different level then other teachers. Therefore, don't be afraid to go deeper than just getting to know them. 

For next class:

• Be sure to come with all materials ready to go. Jane will send you a link for the google doc to help make up the packet. Also, please bring a laptop or something that you will be able to access the internet with. Mrs. Morgan is bringing the students log in information with her, if we have time you can show the students about AET. Also please be on time or at least early. We need to get the room set up before they arrive at 8

Session 11: What Does Inclusion Mean?

Today in AEE 311 we talked all about inclusion!  Ms. Megan Tanaka spoke with us today about making an effort toward "intentional inclusion", a powerful concept!  Finally, we wrapped class up with 6 different lists to help us create a poem based on our own personal culture; as we know, we can't fully understand the culture of our students without first understanding our own culture!

What are you curious about?

• Is the data collected at National Convention made public?
• Lessons that I could use the sunglasses activities for?
• Be creative!  Inclusion is important in any class but maybe an FFA Leadership class would be a great fit for the lesson!  Or, consider this for a segment on inclusion in the FFA during your FFA Officer retreat. 
• How can we get the "We Are FFA" experience at our state convention?
• To see how my poem will turn out
• We can't wait to hear them all!
• The "We Are FFA" program
• Why did the "We Are FFA" program start?
• Can you change a student's views on diversity when they grew up in a racist household?
• This is a tough questions.  I believe that as teachers we may not always have the ability to change a student's circumstances but we can always provide a safe, constructive, culturally rich learning environment for each one of our students.
• Student recruitment ideas
• Is there a proper network for teacher and students to put program information and share ideas?
• Why yes there is!  Check out this blog about using NAAE Communities of Practice as an AEE 311 student!
• Are members or officers supposed to create the POA?
• Officers should consider the needs and desires of the members but the POA should be developed by the officer team, likely at the officer retreat 
• Can we have more peer to peer or big group discussions?

What did you learn?

• More about intentional inclusion at the national level
• Equity & Anti-racism
• About Megan Tanaka's role at National FFA
• "We Are FFA"
• Diversity in the classroom
• Local involvement with the "We Are FFA" program
• Not to put Vaseline on sunglasses...
• Empathizing with students with disabilities

What do you want to learn more about?

• How to use the "We Are FFA" program locally?
• What is an example lesson of inclusion?
• How did Dr. Foster include others and their diversity into his FFA chapter?
• More about Ms. Tanaka's position
• More about reaching the needs of all students
• Strategies for classroom inclusion
• Ms. Tanaka's Contact info
• mtanaka@ffa.org 

This week there was a lot of great questions about inclusion and the "We Are FFA" program!  I think that the resources listed below can answer a lot of these questions and I encourage you to really dig in and check them out!

FFA LifeKnowledge: Check out this link to a list of a ton of lesson plans that include elements of diversity and inclusion.  One of my favorites is the HS.72 : Appreciating Cultural Diversity lesson


Student Recruitment: Check out some of the resources that National FFA provides for student recruitment strategies 

Check out this video on the "We Are FFA" Program for some more info!

NAAE CoP: Learning the Basics

As students in AEE 311, future teachers, and future professionals, it is important to constantly add to the list of resources you have available to you for materials and networking.  A great place to start, especially for those in Agriculture Education is NAAE's Community of Practice.

NAAE's Community of Practice, or CoP, is a great networking site for agriculture educators to explore what other educators are doing in their classrooms, collaborate with other professionals, and to share the  innovative ideas, lessons, and experiences they have to offer.

CoP offers a wide variety of tools and methods for communication.  Users can create blog posts, post questions for any teacher or professional to answer, upload documents and videos, and even create surveys and polls.



Another neat feature of CoP is the ability to create private groups.  For example, during your student teaching year, all of the information you will need (i.e. assignments, blogs, documents, etc.) will be available for you on in your cohort's CoP group.

So how can you as an AEE 311 student utilize this tool?  The opportunities are endless!  Begin networking with teachers from around the nation, search for chapter officer selection plans and POA's, or find resources for training a stellar CDE team!  Communities of Practice would be a great place for you start or to get some motivation on our AEE 311 projects this year.
For more information, check out this link to head to the CoP Home Page.  Also, check out the video below for some more information on using NAAE's Community of Practice.

Dr. Baggett Responses to Your Questions!

Hello all! As I had stated in the answers to the ticket out questions in an earlier session, Dr. Baggett has responded to your questions for here. Below are your questions and his responses!

Did Brown vs. Board of Education help improve vocational education for African Americans?

The Brown vs. Board of Education sat the judicial precedent for integration—that separate but equal was unconstitutional according to the 14^th Amendment of the Constitution.  Very little changed in the real world of secondary education with this decision.  It wasn’t until the Civil Right Act of 1964 that real changes began to take place.  The “Cotton Belt States” still resisted change and the US Government had to use military force to make sure the law was enforced.  Hence, there were turbulent times in this region between 1965 and 1969. The majority population knew that African American schools were not equal because they did not support these schools appropriately compared with the other schools.  However, given the limited resources available, minority schools did an excellent job!  Desegregation helped to level the playing fields relative to the availability of resources.  

After 1964, minority schools were closed and minority students were integrated into majority schools.  There was a huge emotional letdown among minority high school graduates when they found that their alma mater no longer existed.

How did you feel about the FFA and NFA merge?  

Most NFA members were not happy with the merger and I was not exception.  Many NFA members felt that the merger was really a hostile take-over.  There was a vacuum of identity.  NFA members did not have an affinity for FFA.  The 1890 Land grant colleges and universities struggled in accepting FFA and did not embrace collegiate FFA chapters to replace NFA.  Few, if any, 1890 institutions developed collegiate FFA chapters.  My alma mater, NC A & T State University, developed the Ag Ed Association as a replacement for collegiate NFA.

Would things have been better if there would not have been segregated school, or would minorities have suffered more "persecution"?

Segregation was wrong on so many levels and it made a lie of the statement “One nation under God…” because the United States was two nations—one African American and a white.  Segregation was institutional racism in the truest sense of the word and everyone paid dearly.  Slavery was wrong and precipitated segregation where African men, women, and children were treated as property.  Persecution and abuse was used to keep slaves and eventual African Americans in their place as second class people not worthy of citizenship.

Life and education definitely would have been better if schools were not segregated.  Integrated schools exposed the races to one another and fostered racial harmony and respect.  Children of all races grow up, experience the same environment, face similar challenges, and achieve success or failure together.  These children see that the old stereotype are invalid and that skin color does not make a lot of difference.  Having equal access to the resources allows all to develop and grow at one’s interest and capability.  Some, both black and white, will make the most of these opportunities and excel while others will do the minimum.

AEE 311 Session 10 Ticket Out: What is a Program of Activities?

Thanks for a great "Jill Gordon Day" session this morning ;). Check out the ticket out answers below! I have sent to link to Stephanie as well, so hopefully any questions that are geared towards her will be answered! I will try my best to answer from what I know already :).

Other important information: There are currently 3 POA examples loaded onto Angel as well as my own assignment from last year. Seriously, let me know if you have any questions about the assignment! You can reach me on Angel mail, email (jag5750@psu.edu) or Twitter (@jillianpsu).

Also feel free to contact Mrs. Jolliff in regard to any resources. You can reach her at jolliff@ridgemont.k12.oh.us

What are we curious about?

• National FFA
• This is quite the broad question, check out their website (ffa.org) to see the different programs, activities and resources that are available (both as a collegiate student and an ag teacher) if you have a more specific question, comment below or tweet out and I will get back to you!
• How the built in grade works for tying FFA into the classroom
• Given that FFA in an INTRAcurricular activity (built INTO the classroom) and that Pennsylvania is an affiliate state (meaning all ag ed students are FFA members) many programs now give grades for FFA involvement. So if you are enrolled in an Ag course, a portion of your total grade will go to the activities you attend. Linked here is the sheet that Stephanie gives her students to keep track of involvement.
• What makes Jolliff's banquet different from others?
• Going to lobby this one to Stephanie! (I have a copy of last year's program if anyone is interested)
• How do I initially start creating a POA?
• Remember that this assignment is NOT about creating a POA! It's about figuring out how to start a program in your school. See the examples on Angel to get a better understanding. Personally, I think a good place to start is looking at committee structure!

What did we learn?

• Many components of implementing POA
• How to get more student involvement
• Ridgemont FFA Chapter
• What characteristics make an effective POA
• Jolliff is super woman
• How to get students involved in POA

What do we want to learn more about?

• A successful POA
• Check out Stephanie's website to get more info on the structure of theirs. Remember, it will only be successful if it is student centered and student driven!!!!!
• How to phase out "sacred cows"
• I am going to let Stephanie give her input on this as well :)
• How long did it take to get Ridgemont where it is today? What other growth would you like to see?
• Getting a high school as a whole more involved with an Ag program?

If you missed the session or want to watch it again, click here!

Stephanie's Website (with Ridgemont Info)

Click here to check out the Ridgemont FFA Pinterest page!

Session 9: What is a Program of Activities?

Session 9 was a session of awesomeness! Ms. Jenna Genson was with us today speaking about Program of Activities!

Here is the link to the recorded session with Jenna! https://meeting.psu.edu/p84sjvot0ly/
What are you curious about?

• What are the hours that you work to judge the chapter awards?
• There are several options for Penn State students to judge National Chapter awards!  Email Janae Herr kjh5370@psu.edu for more information!
• How to format our expectations of the POA
• 3 examples of past AEE 311 POA's have been uploaded to ANGEL so check them out!  Also, this week's Weekly Web Wonder has lots of example POA's.
• Job opportunities at National FFA
• Check out this link for information on job opportunities at National FFA
• How do I create a blog?
• Great question!  There are lots of platforms for blog, our favorite is Blogger.  It is through Google so all you need is a gmail account and you are ready to go.  One of the first steps will be naming your blog, which can be tricky but is essential!  Check out this link for some tips.
• Does each state have enough people to apply for the National Chapter Award each year?
• Check out this link to see all of the 2014 National Chapter Award Recipients from each state!
• Continuing to learn about FFA
• How do I do all of this as an Ag Teacher and FFA advisor and still have time for life outside of my job?
• This would be a great question for Ms. Stephanie Joliff during our next session.  Ms. Joliff has an incredible program in Ridgemont,OH and balances a family in there as well!
• How in depth is the budget in a POA?
• Check out the ANGEL & Web Wonder examples.  The budget is usually the chapter's budget for the entire year so you will need to anticipate any income or expenses. 
• All of the work I need to do
• Review the syllabus and utilize your TA's!
• Working with my cooperating center on their POA
• A great place to really get a handle on what implementation of a POA looks like!
• I am still a little confused as to what is required in a POA
• Check out the examples and email your TA's!
• Who in PA has qualified or been awarded the National Chapter Award?

What did you learn?

• Program of Activities (POA)
• Committees included in a POA
• Student, Chapter and Community Development Committees
• National Chapter Awards
• Application Process
• Creating a successful POA
• Importance of a POA
• "You are a coach, not a parent!"
• POA implementation in the community
• POA resources
• Duties of the Sentinel

What do you want to learn more about?

• Next week's guest speaker
• Ms. Stephanie Joliff from Ridgemont, OH, speaking about POA Implementation.  Come with great questions!
• Format of the officer selection plan
• Check out the ANGEL examples
• Opportunities on the National FFA trip
• Talk to one of our coordinators about opportunities for PSU students at National Convention! kjh5370@psu.edu
• What does the National Chapter Award application look like?
• Check out this link to the Application for the National Chapter Award
• Georgia & Texas Agriculture Programs
• Here are links to some information on Agriculture Education in Georgia and Texas!

Session 8: Ag Career Network

Last Thursday we had two great speakers give a presentation on the Ag Career Network. We learned some valuable information from the two.

Responds to ticket outs:


What are you curious about?

• How many scholarships are available through career cruising?
• By being a high school senior or college student you may recieve one scholarship per year for a total of two years. 
• Can students use the AgCN after they graduate?
• As long as you are a member of your local chapter you can us AgCN for up to three years after graduation. Once graduated you can still have access if you are part of a collegiate FFA and then after graduation college you may have access as an FFA Alumni
• Can the Learning Styles Inventory be printed out?
• How to get students motivated to complete the career cruising test
• This can be done by making every unit have a career section to it or just by doing a unit on careers. Students do not want to do anything unless they see the results are worth it. Just making things worth grades may help as well. 

What did you learn?

• excel can be uploaded into AgCN, it is a websource we can use for an FFA program
• Learning Styles

What do you want to learn more about?

• My journey
• I am not sure when my journey will be avaiable, however, Haley has offered for you guys to be the beta testers for the program. If you are interested please email me and I can give her your contact. 
• Are there different types of accounts in AgCN, if so what features are available for each?
• There is an account for teachers where rosters can be uploaded and then there are accounts for students. 
• Can anyone access the financial aid section to search for scholarships? Is it limited to HS students?
• This is limited to members only. Therefore, anyone who is not part of AgCN, will not have access. 

Session 6- Learning about the NFA

                Today we had a great class period with Dr. Connie Baggett! It was amazing to hear his stories from the NFA and that he even shared some of the songs that he sang when in the NFA chorus! Thank you all for a wonderful class!

Ticket Out Questions

What are you curious about?

• What are Dr. Baggett’s personal thoughts on the merge of the NFA with FFA?

o   This will be answered as soon as an email is received from Dr. Bagget. Check back for the answers!

•  Dr. Baggett, would things have been better if there would not have been segregated schools, or would minorities have suffered more “persecution”?

o   This will be answered as soon as an email is received from Dr. Bagget. Check back for the answers!

• How different was the NFA from the FFA?

o   Remember the NFA and FFA were “separate but equal.” The handout given in class does a great job explaining the differences. Some of the basic differences were that the NFA only allowed African-American students to participate and were strongly religion based where FFA allowed everyone to join depending on where you lived.

•  There were African American officers in the FFA before the merger, how was this possible with the separate but equal doctrines/laws?

o   Some states were not segregated and gave all students regardless of race the opportunity to participate in the FFA.

•  More resources for FFA History including the NFA.

o   The additional readings section on Angel gives many great ways to research history. Looking through the Agricultural Education Magazine archives is another great way to learn more about the FFA history. Here is a link to the NFA page on the FFA website that gives more information on the NFA and their milestones: https://www.ffa.org/About/NationalFFA/diversity_and_inclusion/newfarmers/Pages/NFA-History-and-Milestones.aspx

•  How are minorities represented in the FFA now? Is the NFA still in existence?

o   According to the National FFA website, “67% of our membership is White; 22% is Hispanic/Latino; 8% is Black/African-American or American Indian; and 3% Asian, Pacific Islander or two or more races.”

o   No the NFA is not still in existence.

•  How has affiliate membership affected SAE projects? Do all students still complete one?

o   All students have always been required to complete SAE projects regardless if they are an FFA member or not. The qualities of the SAE projects vary, but remember that SAE is one of the three circles needed for a successful agricultural education program.

• Why the NFA isn’t as well known as the FFA.

o   The FFA has been around much longer than the NFA. After the merge, the NFA was no longer in existence so it did not gain recognition.

• What are some ways the NFA’s educational instruction methods are being used today?

o   Many of the things that we not use in the classroom for teaching aids are combinations of the FFA and NFA’s educational instruction methods. Both followed the three circle model very closely.

• Did the FFA and NFA ever compete in events together? i.e. Livestock judging contests.

o   No, the organizations were completely separate until the merger when all members were part of the FFA.

• Non-traditional SAEs.

o   There will be a class session devoted to this subject later in AEE 311, so stay tuned!

• Officer selection plans for next week.

o   This will be covered in depth on Tuesday! Be thinking of what a good officer team is made of and what guidelines need to accompany a team for success!

• How can I best prepare for assignments?

o   Ask questions and look at the examples given.

•  How some students reacted to the NFA/FFA merge?

o   Minorities in the FFA dropped significantly after the merge.

•  Learning more about the history of Ag Ed through the online resources on Angel.            

o   Good idea! Using the resources listed on Angel is a great way to learn more about Ag Ed.

 

What did you learn?

• How important SAEs are in the development of a young person who may not know what they want to do.

• The history and symbol of NFA

• Dr. Baggett is a good singer!

•  Rufus Stimson is the father of SAE.

• SAE was part of the Smith Hughes Act.

•  “You train animals, but you educate people”

What do you want to learn more about?

• What is the H.O. Sargent award for?

o   Originally the H.O. Sargent award was given to students after they graduated from high school. Upon merging with FFA, the National FFA now commemorates the NFA with the H.O. Sargent award. For more information visit: https://ulib.iupui.edu/special/nfa

• What are the present ratios of diversity in the FFA currently?

o   67% of the membership is White; 22% is Hispanic/Latino; 8% is Black/African-American or American Indian; and 3% Asian, Pacific Islander or two or more races.

• NFA- history, competitions, etc.

o   Here are two links to explore with information on the NFA: https://ulib.iupui.edu/special/nfa and https://www.ffa.org/About/NationalFFA/diversity_and_inclusion/newfarmers/Pages/NFA-History-and-Milestones.aspx. Also refer to the handout given in class

•  How can I engage more students in SAE projects?

o   Stay tuned, this will be covered in a later AEE 311 class!

•  I want to learn more about what or when schools/clubs formed.

o   Research specific schools for specific dates. Each school is different.

• How to increase chapter diversity?

o   Stay tuned, this will be covered in a later AEE 311 class!

• Did Brown vs. Board of Education help improve vocational education for African Americans?

o   This will be answered as soon as an email is received from Dr. Bagget. Check back for the answers!

• Ways to involve everyone in the classroom and to help each students have great experiences/memories.

o   The best way to do this is to have a comprehensive Program of Activities that encompasses everyone and engages them in a fun yet instructional manner.