Camaraderie
This is the word that comes to mind when I reflect upon this week. I was grateful to spend some time with fellow agricultural educators during the week. On Thursday night (1/18/2018) there was a meeting of the Lancaster County Ag Teachers at Lancaster Mennonite High School. It was great to see some familiar faces and meet some teachers that I had never met before. We carried out the business meeting, shared our potluck feast, and got to work scoring record books from kids in the local chapters. Of course the conversation through all of this was pure gold. We laughed about our personal lives, confided in each other about situations in the classroom, and smiled.
Sometimes a good laugh and a smile is all we need. These are the moments that make you feel light-hearted and good on the inside. Not only do we need friends that can supply an endless amount of joy to our lives, we need a support network of colleagues as well. I find it amazing, just how large of a network we have as ag teachers. There are people to support us locally, on a statewide level, and even across the country.
I hope that as I "age" in the profession and gain more experience, I can support and mentor those that come after me. I am sure that they will appreciate having a helping hand, advice, and a friendly face when needed. Until next week, I hope you find yourself in a situation where you can't help but smile.
Thanks for sharing Angie. I can't emphasize enough the vital importance of our professional organizations (PAAE/NAAE) to maintaining this "Ag Ed Culture" that allows us to be successful in retaining folks in our profession!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Angie. I encourage you think of a theme each week or big idea and use that to title your blog as opposed to week 1, week 2, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis will have more meaning later on.
Angie,
ReplyDeleteIt is never too early to begin mentoring younger educators. As you are being mentored and supported by those who are in the field, you can begin to mentor those who are at the beginning stages of their undergraduate career and even those that are interested in Agricultural Education in your program.
Think about how geese fly. All educators are in this together. Although there are competitions and differences in schools, in reality, we are ALL Team AgEd. If you want to know more about flying geese, see the link below!
http://lenwilson.us/5-thing-geese-can-teach-us-about-teamwork/