Farm Show.... as a teacher?!?

Well, this was not my first rodeo... well Pennsylvania Farm Show at least. With Farm Show occuring on my birthday weekend, there were many time I would attend as a kid to watch the horse events, then again as an active FFA member. Farm Show was always a place where I got to reconnect with my friends from other schools, see classmates show their animals and of course eat fair food in winter. However, this being a "teacher", being a "real adult" was a new experience for me.

I attended the PA Farm Show during Mid Winter convention with my cooperating school. I walked around with my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Alexandra Barzydlo, from Dover High School. Typically when I go to a large agricultural event I always get stopped from friends I haven't seen in a while and usually I do not have an agenda and can stop and talk for a while. This time though, I more frequently had to just say a quick "hi" and "I have to find my students!".

I also got to see behind the scenes for a couple agricultural organizations that benefit FFA members such as the booth where Mrs.B's father's students work. I also got to help lay the new member jackets on the chairs for Mid Winter Convention later that day.  It was great to be able to work with some of the teachers, past state officers, and people from the PA alumni association that helped over 300 kids be able to receive their very own FFA jacket from writing an essay.

Jackets being laid out on chairs for the new members

At Mid Winter Convention, I was able to watch 5 Dover students receive the highest degree in Pennsylvania, the Keystone Degree, and got to sit with the other members as they supported their seniors. The students were very well behaved and it was really nice to see them be engaged in the convention rather than on their phones, talking to each other, or sleeping.

While it was a different experience attending Farm Show as a "teacher", it was definitely a positive one and beneficial as I got to meet others in the agricultural education profession.

Mid Winter Convention