Virtual Mentor Exploration #2

For my second virtual mentor exploration, I had the opportunity to chat with Ms. Sarabeth Royer. Sarabeth is in her third year of teaching at Athens high school. She teaches biology, veterinary science and introduction to agriculture. We had an awesome face to face discussion and talked about the advice she had for me on teaching! The first question I asked her for our interview was, what is your teaching philosophy and/ or core values as an agriculture educator? She stated that she firmly believes that learning does not just happen between four walls. That learning involves the students finding their passions and they actually learn the material instead of memorizing when they can make connections with the information. One of my favorite ideas she spoke to me was that if it doesn't challenge them it doesn't change them. I think this is so important to understand and may be hard for teenagers to grasp at the time. Once they realize it though, I am sure they would be very grateful.

The second question I asked during our interview was, what strategies or resources do you use to help your class/ program be responsive to cultural diversity? Ms. Royer said much of this for her is done through just talking to the students and speaking with other teachers. She explained that she also uses a variety of resources, such as different books and online materials. Professional development opportunities have also been very helpful she said.

The final question I asked her was, what are the best tips/ resources you would provide to new teachers regarding special needs accommodations? She exclaimed that her best advice to me would be to talk to the special education teachers. She said they are more than willing to help her understand the students needs and how they learn the best. She also said that it is largely to do with knowing your students and this will come after a few weeks.

Luckily, we had a "special guest" during our interview. Mr. Hojnowski, the ag educator at Canton High School, also chimed in with some great advice. He assured me that when teaching it is okay to be messy and that you do not have to go strictly by your lesson plan. It was added in that, "if plan A doesn't work there are many other letters in the alphabet."

A favorite quote of mine from the evening was, "Hands on, Minds on". I love this and it is very appropriate for ag education. Students retain and can connect much greater when their learner is hands on. Overall, I had a great interview with both of these outstanding educators and their advice is greatly cherished and appreciated!