Eenie-Meenie
Before all the chaos of COVID-19 ensued, and everyone's lives took a sharp turn left, I managed to visit a few programs of potential cooperating centers all in the span of a week, and all before spring break. (Yes I know, it was very hectic and crazy but looking back now I'm pretty glad I shoved it all in before all this happened.)
The following is an overview of the different programs I visited in order:
Troy -- Visited 2/28
My visit to Troy was a little different then the others in that I visited it with a group that was heading up to New York to help with their National Officer Candidate.
The first thing that struck me was the drive out here. it was absolutely gorgeous. Being from NH, I have always had an affinity for the woods and the mountains and northern PA is all that and more and I find myself so attracted to this part of the state. Troy is located in a very rural area, which I also found appealing, although part of me felt like it might be too rural for my taste.
Hannah Harris, the teacher here, was so lovely and provided us with a lot of insight, my favorite piece of advice was her telling us about how its important to look at the community needs and have classes that pertain to that.
Her welding set up was amazing, and that being something I'm looking to improve in, was very appealing for me, and I felt like I could learn a lot from her. I also liked her classroom set up and shop set up and thought things were neat and organized.
I also really liked her as an educator and her overall demeanor and felt like this was a great option for student teaching.
Big Spring -- Visited 3/5
Though most of the drive to Big Spring was highway, the last 15 minutes was rural, fields and cows, and the kind of back-road-cruising-country-music-blaring that the soul needs.
I really liked the area in that it is very different from back home and would be a great change of scenery, something unlike the back woods of New Hampshire. I also like the potential of what it brings in regards to a very rural, conventional farming community, an environment that I have never spent an extended period of time in.
The program itself was lovely, clearly well-established and the two teachers there, SaraBeth Fulton and Sherisa Nailor run it like a well oiled machine. This is a huge appeal for me, because that is one fo the points that I was really looking for as mentioned in my previous blog. They also had a strong ag mechanics component, and a greenhouse and food science lab, facilities that would be very useful beneficial in student teaching.
Athens -- Visited 3/6
Though it was my last visit, Athens was one that really sticks out in my mind.
Though the drive was almost identical to the drive to Troy (I took a little bit of a different path than our group took to Troy) it was still breathtaking. For about 30 minutes of the drive it was just rolling hills and mountains and farmland and trees and I had my music blasting and was genuinely enjoying myself.
The teachers at Athens, David Steinfelt and Sarabeth Aldefer, were really great and right away I felt our personalities meshed well. I loved their teaching styles and the was they interacted with their students and overall classroom management. Their program was also really cool to explore and I feel like they have a lot of great facilitates to offer. Specifically, they had a big shop that is used for ag mechanics 1 and 2. They also have two smaller greenhouses, one of which was dedicated to aquaponics and hydroponics systems, and got me very excited about, potentially, what I could use them for.
Overall it was a great visit and had me very excited about whats to come in the near future with students teaching and my career to come.
The following is an overview of the different programs I visited in order:
My visit to Troy was a little different then the others in that I visited it with a group that was heading up to New York to help with their National Officer Candidate.
The first thing that struck me was the drive out here. it was absolutely gorgeous. Being from NH, I have always had an affinity for the woods and the mountains and northern PA is all that and more and I find myself so attracted to this part of the state. Troy is located in a very rural area, which I also found appealing, although part of me felt like it might be too rural for my taste.
Hannah Harris, the teacher here, was so lovely and provided us with a lot of insight, my favorite piece of advice was her telling us about how its important to look at the community needs and have classes that pertain to that.
Her welding set up was amazing, and that being something I'm looking to improve in, was very appealing for me, and I felt like I could learn a lot from her. I also liked her classroom set up and shop set up and thought things were neat and organized.
I also really liked her as an educator and her overall demeanor and felt like this was a great option for student teaching.
Big Spring -- Visited 3/5
I really liked the area in that it is very different from back home and would be a great change of scenery, something unlike the back woods of New Hampshire. I also like the potential of what it brings in regards to a very rural, conventional farming community, an environment that I have never spent an extended period of time in.
The program itself was lovely, clearly well-established and the two teachers there, SaraBeth Fulton and Sherisa Nailor run it like a well oiled machine. This is a huge appeal for me, because that is one fo the points that I was really looking for as mentioned in my previous blog. They also had a strong ag mechanics component, and a greenhouse and food science lab, facilities that would be very useful beneficial in student teaching.
Athens -- Visited 3/6
Though it was my last visit, Athens was one that really sticks out in my mind.
Though the drive was almost identical to the drive to Troy (I took a little bit of a different path than our group took to Troy) it was still breathtaking. For about 30 minutes of the drive it was just rolling hills and mountains and farmland and trees and I had my music blasting and was genuinely enjoying myself.
The teachers at Athens, David Steinfelt and Sarabeth Aldefer, were really great and right away I felt our personalities meshed well. I loved their teaching styles and the was they interacted with their students and overall classroom management. Their program was also really cool to explore and I feel like they have a lot of great facilitates to offer. Specifically, they had a big shop that is used for ag mechanics 1 and 2. They also have two smaller greenhouses, one of which was dedicated to aquaponics and hydroponics systems, and got me very excited about, potentially, what I could use them for.
Overall it was a great visit and had me very excited about whats to come in the near future with students teaching and my career to come.
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