4 Practical Things to do During Teacher Work Days
The Walmart Back to School shelves are becoming bare.
The good erasers have been gobbled up.
The class lists have been made.
School is back in session already, very shortly or in just a few weeks.
I’m going to be honest, I LOVE BACK TO SCHOOL. I absolutely love getting brand spanking new class supplies, having time in my classroom to organize, and getting to reconnect with my coworkers.
You just can’t bottle up that type of excitement and anticipation of what the new year will bring.
Sometimes, I have to admit that this can be a downfall for me. I get so jazzed on all the exciting, sparkly, fun things and forget about the practical, required things.
This year I am committing to setting myself up for success in the planning of Back to School and not just the fun things like decorating my classroom and relabeling the chromebooks.
I am committing to the practical tasks of prepping for the school year.
These tasks are things that will not only be good for the beginning of the school year but will help me out throughout the entire school year. Why?
September show season
National Convention in October
CDE season begins in November (if not earlier)
Community Service in December and the list goes on.
Don’t even get me started on the Janfebrumarch Month of the year!
If there are a few tasks I can front load that help lift the burden of those busy times throughout the year I am going to tackle them now! I asked the G&G team to collaborate on this topic so you get to hear from singleton teachers and multi-teacher departments as well as small and large chapters!
And if you haven’t heard us say this before, know that NOT ALL ADVICE will be beneficial for you. Our goal of this list is to give you some ideas to get you started and you can make your own customized Practical Tasks of Teacher Work Days that fit your classroom, chapter and career!
4 Practical Things to Do During Teacher Work Days
REQUESTS
What is the one thing we wish we had more of? TIME. There are only so many days where you get uninterrupted hours of work and most of those days are at the beginning of the year. Those glorious Teacher Work Days (that are hopefully not too marred with meetings). Here are some tasks that might save you time (and sanity) during the school year! ⬇️
Get things done early that can be done. Now, we get it. Not everything can be done early. We also know you might have some competition dates, convention dates and recurring chapter events that you need to get planned and administration approval. We are thinking of those pesky field trip requests, bus requests, sub requests and fundraising requests.
Take the time NOW to do those types of things so you aren’t rushing the week before to get all your ducks in a row.
SYSTEMS
We are firm believers that you are the captain of your culture (shout out to Germinate 2023 Keynote Speaker Ann Vote for teaching us this). But, to be a captain you must first chart your course. You need to know what the destination is and map how you wish to get there. This starts by determining your classroom systems, routines and expectations.
-Rules/Expectations
If you don’t have them, the kids won’t know how to follow you. I had a teacher once say that this creates “free and feral” classrooms. And, I’m going to bet you don’t want that. Now, we don’t have the exact formula that is going to work for you because the best rules and expectations are going to be unique to your kids. But, don’t fall into the trap of something you don’t need to prioritize.
-Computer Clean up
This truly is something I need a good kick in the butt to do. If you have a thousand screenshots, more takeaway downloads than you can count, and folders in disarray it is time to get those cleaned up. When you take time now to create some systems and organization your future self will be thanking you later this year!
-AET Clean up/out
AET is one of my favorite resources we have as ag teachers. I also know if you use it for the classroom and SAEs with your hundreds of kiddos, it can be messy fast. Take a moment to clean out old practice applications, chapter pictures and set up for 2024-25 resources. .
RELATIONSHIPS
Que that go to teacher quote from President Roosevelt, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
You might think it’s cliche or overused but it’s truly just human nature. And if we can harness some skills that allow us to connect and care for those kids in our classroom seats, we say go for it!
Here are some of our favorite ways to start building a classroom culture focused on relationships before the school year starts! ⬇️
Send cards home
An oldie but a goodie. If you have access to student addresses, sending some snail mail might be the ticket to help ease some nerves for that first day of school.
Classroom Vibe Curation
Ambiance is a thing. Providing a space that evokes feelings of calm and relaxation can help students feel safe and ready to learn. Now, I’m not saying your classroom needs to look like a yoga studio or spa. I am saying you can take some time before kids rush in on day one to have some vibes ready.
This can look like decluttering, adding some fluorescent light covers, getting some lamps, incorporating some plants, making a spotify playlist, maybe some twinkle lights, a candle warmer (if allowed), and anything else you think will add a calming environment to your little educational sanctuary.
Time with Co-workers (retreat/mini retreat)
Your co-workers are your support staff IMHO. While they might not be your secretary they can save the day on many occasions. From the “can you watch my class while I pee?” to “how are you managing those ninth graders this year?” Start the year off with some time to rekindle those co-worker relationships.
Something simple our department did in the past was go out to our favorite local restaurant the first day of teacher work days to debrief from our summer vacations. I was lucky enough to have a teaching partner and we also started “Food Fridays” where we got takeout (usually Chick-fil-A) on Fridays and reconnected after the craziness of the week.
Whatever you do, try not to take on this job alone. There are people who would love to help you and sometimes they are just a walk down the hall!
FUN
If you came to this blog just for fun activities for the first week of school, well we have some with a caveat. We know that fun is great on the first few days/week of school, but we also know that setting your kids up to be “entertained” every class period because of how you set up the first few days MIGHT be setting yourself up for failure.
Our best word of advice is to make sure that you are running your class during those first days and weeks very similarly to how you expect it to run in October and May. Which absolutely can include fun but will most likely also include your routines, habits and expectations.
The Numbers Game
Put numbers that mean something to you on the board (ex. Your age, the year you graduated from college etc.) on the board and have students guess the meaning.
CDE Stations
Give your students a preview of what career development events they can participate in by creating stations for them to test their skills!
Emoji Tattoos
Students choose emojis tattoos that represent them and put them on so they can show their personality to everyone.
Regardless of how you want to focus your time those first few days know that we have a team at G&G cheering you on. If you are looking for more specific help when it comes to starting the school year, even if it is more FFA related contact us and we will do our best to get you the resources you need to make this school year the best yet!
Three tips to PERSONALIZE your next learning experience
I have a beloved professor from college.
He was the professor who welcomed first-semester freshmen into the AgEd major with NO BACKGROUND in FFA at all with open arms.
He was the professor who encouraged me throughout undergrad as I did observation after observation and lesson after lesson.
He is also the professor who encouraged me to get my Masters and gave me an assistantship that led to getting my degree paid for, a paid instructor role and a Grad School teaching award.
I also didn’t listen to him.
I vividly remember being in one of my teaching methods classes and this professor was a stickler on the strategy of “Not smiling until Christmas”
Those of you who know, know. If you don't, basically it means that when school starts in the fall it is important to be stoic, solemn, and strict to get the kids to respect you. And then after a few months of “laying down the law,” you can loosen up around Christmas and “smile” again.
Well, hello my name is Sarah Nerswick and I am a joker.
I am a middle child, and if you have ever seen a TikTok about the oldest, middle, and little siblings I fit the middle child demeanor to a tee.
If you aren’t a middle child, here are some characteristics: Rebellious, Social, Easy Going, Attention Seeker, Prone to Levity.
And you are telling me I need to be STOIC. Seriously?
When I yell the only thing that can hear me are dogs because my high-pitched voice just gets pitchier.
This advice just doesn’t work with my DNA, my upbringing, and who I am at my core.
So, I threw it out.
And I think that this is advice we don’t hear a lot in the education field. The advice to “take it or leave it”. Sometimes advice is given as an absolute solution.
And if you are like me, we don’t subscribe to “absolute advice” We know that absolutes are “a value or principle which is regarded as universally valid…without relation of other things.”
And if we said “don’t smile until Christmas” is universally regarded then a class clown, always here for a laugh girly like me should be able to turn on the facade of a Buckingham Palace guard in a jiffy.
When you go into a learning experience (maybe that is a grad school class, a school-dictated PD experience, or even a conference you pay to go to like Germinate Conference) it is important to focus on YOU. And have a filter to help you decide what advice to take and what to throw away.
Here are three tips to PERSONALIZE your next learning experience
1️⃣ All Me Mindset
Does this sound selfish, maybe? And I’m willing to go to bat saying that you should be selfish when in a learning experience. If you are at a conference, class, or session and are only concerned about taking everything the presenter says you will take your focus off of the point of learning: Improving yourself, your craft, and your skills.
When you step into a class, absolutely you want to hear new perspectives and be open to listening to people who think differently from you. That is what makes life and the world so beautiful. You can be kind and considerate when learning while still DECIDING what advice to take into your classroom.
➡️If the class is all about integrating AI into your classroom and it is forbidden in your school system, you probably don’t need to focus on implementing this new content into your classes.
➡️If the class is all about integrating automatic waterers in your greenhouse and you only have raised beds in your program, you probably don’t need to go out and buy all the things they suggest.
Go into your next learning experience with an “All Me” mindset. Walk into that class saying to yourself “I am going to learn, be open-minded and choose what works for me”
2️⃣Do what suits you
This is tough advice for me to take. When I go to conferences I wanna hang out with my friends (can you blame me? Ag Teachers are so cool). And that makes me tend to want to do what everyone else is doing. Meaning I might go to a nursery/landscape CDE session just because my bestie is there, instead of the Agriscience session which would be much more beneficial for me.
When in a learning experience, do what suits you.
I’ve recently said “I hope no one at Germinate Conference has the same experience”
And I truly hope that rings true. I want every Germinate attendee to choose what suits them.
If that means only going to the live sessions, amazing!
If that means only watching the classroom strategy sessions, cool!
If that means focusing solely on how to increase leadership and autonomy in students, go for it!
Don’t feel pressured by peers, friends, or even what you “think” you should do. Do what suits you at this moment!
3️⃣ Take what you need, and throw away the rest
This is the easy advice to take. Like we learned about “Don’t smile until Christmas” it is ok to say NO to advice you are given.
You better believe there is plenty of advice I have heard in conferences, grad school classes, and even conversations with my AgEd buddies I threw right in the trash.
It is totally valid to say “Good for you, not for me”.
This is YOUR learning experience. This is YOUR life. This is YOUR career.
You get to choose what to try out. And even if you do try something out and it doesn’t work you can throw it away later. Or maybe you got advice as a newbie teacher that you couldn’t even fathom taking until Year 5. It’s totally ok to pick up advice later in life!
Our mission for G&G is to always learn. We hope you also choose to continue to learn throughout your career. We also hope you focus on yourself when you do!
3 Ways to Share Abundantly in an industry that likes secrets
Six years ago, a FFA director out in California wanted to invite an “expert” in Agricultural Communications to teach his teachers about how to coach an Ag Comm Career Development team. He decided to take a look at the past teams who had been successful and found out that one school from one state had been dominant for the past few years.
So, he reached out to the Georgia state director and he said “don’t ask me, ask Sarah.” And thus, I found myself flying across the country to spend a weekend in the absolutely breathtaking landscape of Yosemite coaching my competition on the very competition I wanted to continue coaching my students to win.
I mentioned that this idea of coaching my competition sounded a little crazy to that director and he said something that has stuck with me ever since.
“I want my competition to be at their best, that means I need to become my best.”
Phew.
Sharing your “secrets” helps others achieve.
I’ll be honest when I was coming up in the AgEd world, secrecy was the norm. That was the only way to win. And winning was paramount.
Now, I am hopefully optimistic that this historic pastime is over and done with.
And I am on my soapbox screaming at the top of my lungs like I’m at the Eras concert that agriculture education is about sharing abundantly (which is why it is one of the G&G values).
We as a society only improve when we work together and share our resources. From the beginning of time this is how humanity began to change and grow.
That is what we as an industry must do. We must lean into sharing abundantly which means to “plentifully give a portion of something to another.”
3 Ways To Share Your Industry “Secrets” Abundantly
1️⃣ Sharing Publicly
Ok, not everyone was made for Teacher TikTok or Instagram Accounts. I get that.
When I say sharing publicly means, I simply mean that if you are at an event and someone asks a question you know the answer to, offer to share. If a teacher sends a request to observe you, let them. If someone reaches out to you because of your expertise, share it.
That is sharing publicly. That is what changes AgEd Secrecy to AgEd Collaborations.
If you are rolling your eyes at me, thinking “there is no way a competitive team actually shares,” you might be right about some people. But I also know multiple nationally competitive teachers in the G&G community who serve as specialist teachers in that very area to provide support, feedback and advice.
Also, keep in mind this is not me saying shut down your Teachers Pay Teachers stores. If you make something that took time, expert energy and you purposefully made it to help others, then by all means be compensated for your work.
The thing you are doing by even having a podcast, blog, Teacher TikTok/Instagram, or TPT store is SHARING publicly! You are taking what is in your brain and broadcasting it to who wants to listen!
2️⃣ Becoming an advocate
An advocate is simply someone who publicly supports something.
If you want to be someone who shares abundantly you can’t just hope others do it. YOU have to be willing to publicly support the act of sharing.
You can do that by leading and becoming an advocate for the collaborative culture of AgEd (I mean we say we are a family right?!)
Some examples of ways you can do that is by serving on your state teacher association board, serving as a National FFA Teacher Ambassador, becoming a CASE Lead teacher or becoming a G&G Specialist Teacher (recruitment starts in the fall).
Choose where you want to make an impact and go all in!
3️⃣ Speaking at PD conferences
There is a good chance you have to go to professional development this year. Maybe for school, your county or state. There is also a good chance those professional development events are looking for speakers. If so, THAT is your chance to continue to share publicly with others.
If you don’t know where to start, G&G is currently looking for speakers for Germinate Conference (Applications close March 8, 2024). Here is a quick look at what being a Germinate Speaker looks like:
Your work.
➡️ Apply with written application & video
➡️ Get selected
➡️ Support from a speaker coach throughout the planning & execution of your session
➡️ Complete 15-20 minute pre-recorded session & takeaway document
Your rewards.
🎉 Free registration to Germinate Summer 2024
🎉 $100 payment or donation in your name to G&G Scholarship Fund
🎉 Exclusive speaker gift
🎉 Certificate & Thank You sent to administration & state staff
Your impact.
♥️ Sharing your passion with others
♥️ Becoming a mentor teacher that helps serve other teachers
♥️ Contributing to the growth of the agriculture education industry
So, where are you going to make your impact? Where are you going to start sharing abundantly?
We hope you decide to apply to speak at Germinate Conference because there are teachers out there who can only dream of knowing what you know. This is your chance to lead them and move AgEd one step closer to being the family we claim to be.
Using AI to up-level your classroom
Welcome to 2024. The year of mainstream artificial intelligence.
It’s been around a while and yet in 2024 less than one third of Americans say they use AI on a daily basis.
AI can be as simple as using a chatbot for customer service and music list playlist recommendations like my new favorite “Daylist” on Spotify.
McKinsey stated that by 2045 Ai could automate up to 50% of our daily jobs, largely in careers that are knowledge based. And when I read that sentence, I got a little concerned because that is where my career lies. And then, I read the next line. The shift in automated tasks means that many employees will need to “use tools such as generative AI in the same way we use search engines and word processors.”
What that is telling me is, why not learn it now and be ready when it comes more mainstream!
As someone who did my first ChatGPT query in late 2022 to write a real estate love letter for a house we ended and used it this week to tweak some middle school questions about plant growth. I am happy to be your AI Guinea Pig!
I think the question most professionals have is, “can we use it to save time in our day to day life or work life”. The answer is yes, in varying shades of gray depending on your ideas for use, willingness to implement and your level of integration.
How To Effectively Start Using AI In Your Life and Work
Types of AI to try out!
ChatGPT: This is the OG (ok, don’t quote me on that, but it’s the first one I heard of). Use ChatGPT to do writing type tasks like coming up with titles for your upcoming presentations to getting gift ideas for gifts for your fishing loving grandpa.
Magic School: For the teachers out there, Magic School is a great place to start lesson planning, assessment planning or even translations for your multi language learners
Canva Magic Media: Canva has implemented a few AI tools into its interface. One is Magic Media where you write and idea for an image and Canva creates it.
There are plenty more to look at and sift through, but if you are new to AI I would suggest picking one that is most aligned with a task you would like to get some help with and start feeling comfortable using one AI tool for that task.
AI is a great place to unleash your creativity. Instead of attempting to Google something, you can use a very specific query in AI to get your ideas started.
For example, let’s say you are looking to name an event, plan a vacation, make a meal plan or even write a lesson plan. Ai is a great starting place to get ideas. But, Ai can’t do ALL the work for it. It comes down to how you ask the question and that all starts with a great prompt.
How To Make Good AI Prompts
To make a good Ai prompt follow these simple rules taken from Harvard (I mean, it’s Harvard and Elle Woods trusts them).
-Be Specific
AI has the power of the internet in their grasp. If you ask it a general question you are going to get a general response.
For example I asked ChatGPT (my AI of choice but there are plenty others) for a meal plan for a family of 4. She spat out breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas for 7 days and of those 21 meals I think my family would only eat 5.
I made the prompt more specific by adding in details that my kids are picky, we eat dinner for breakfast on Thursdays, and our main protein sources. And you better believe it that I would actually try all 7 of the ideas!
Be specific! And if AI pops out something that doesn’t work, give feedback and tweak. I love providing good feedback for my AI by saying “Thanks, you are on the right track. Could you try again with ________ in mind”
-Use Do and Don’t
AI loves directions. When you are able use “do” and “don’t” in your prompts, this allows the search to easily eliminate things that don’t sound good to you.
For example:
“Don’t use the word “very” in my MOH speech”
“Don’t provide any spicy foods in my meal plan”
“Do use any horticulture/plant puns.”
This is very helpful when you are building on your ideas.
Let’s say you were asking to name your new podcast and you are a dog walker, but you want the word Dog in the podcast for SEO reasons. Make sure you tell AI or you might end up with ideas like Pawsome Podcast or Canine Companion Chronicles.
-Use Examples
If you have examples, USE THEM in your prompts. Last summer I used AI to help with jazzing up some email subjects for our signature virtual conference. I was able to upload the email subjects I used that had great open and click rates and AI was able to suggest more ideas for me to A/B test.
You can also do this for life things like vacation planning (share what you’ve loved in the past) or professional things like editing your resume.
Where Do You Fall On The AI Conundrum
Now, don’t hear what I am not saying. I do not believe AI can replaces your human creativity.
I am currently sitting on my couch with my dog staring at me waiting to be taken on his daily afternoon walk typing away. If I placed the title for this blog into AI, it would totally write it. And I also think it would come off as a robot and if you have read my work, you would know it is not me.
I think about my incredible website and brand designer Nicole and what she was able to pull out of my brain and put into paper would never be replicated.
What about your favorite teachers from school, do you think they could just replace them with a robot that knows the curriculum in and out without an ounce of compassion or rapport? I don’t think so.
Or my go to color consultant Sarah Kraus. I tried the AI color analysis and got Autumn every single time because of my brown hair and dark hazel eyes. And on September 16, 2022 she in person draped me as a dark summer. And I never tried to wear earthy greens and mustard yellows again!
So, I am wondering:what is your level of commitment to experimenting with AI?
Are you All in, have mediocre interest, or have decided it’s not for you?
Connect with us on Instagram to get in on the AI conversation! We’d love to know your thoughts.
Three Trends in Learning for 2024 (that might stand the test of time)
New year, new trends am I right?
From hearing that you have to be on TikTok to learning that 90’s fashion is back and if you are in your mid 30’s you are cringing.
Trends come and trends go and one place that we KNOW this is a constant is education.
Platforms, initiatives, behavior techniques, rapport building exercises, virtual learning and more change faster than the Super Bowl betting predictions.
As an educator with over a decade of experience in the standard high school classroom and another half decade in adult education via online business I would say I am more than skeptical about trends in general.
I want the tried and true because I know it works and can last the test of time.
Therefore, I scoured the internet for trends in learning for 2024 and with my intense critique rivaling that of Miranda Priestly in Devil Wears Prada I present to you 3 trends in learning that (might just) last!
Let’s get into it ⬇️
3 Trends in Student or Adult Learning That Might Actually Last
1️⃣"Snack media"
No, this isn't the Jetson's microwave that automatically makes food for you. And no, not even like the Disney Channel Movie "Smart House" PAT (Personal Applied Technology) system to make you a snack.
Nope, snack media is also called "nano-learning"
This is a learning trend that leans into Gen-Z's proclivity to keep everything short and sweet.
This allows learners to learn what they need quickly with short form videos, infographics, podcasts and even interactive activities.
Basically it helps teach one specific skill and cuts the fluff that you might see on a traditional course.
Why is this important to your students?
➡Your students ARE Gen Z (if not Generation Alpha) and they are growing up with instant gratification and quick results.
➡Your students actually want to learn, you might just be not “hitting” it right for this new generation. Try something new that gets to the end of the lesson faster!
Why is this important to you as an entrepreneur?
➡Your clients habits are changing with technological advancements (and it's not just Gen Z, millennials also prefer short form learning)
➡People want to acquire new skills faster (and will pay for that experience)
➡People want to learn. This includes your clients. Have you thought about how a client experiences your learning activities?
2️⃣Gamification
Teachers, are you rolling your eyes yet? You already know kids are loving Gimkit, Blooket, Quizlet Live and [insert the next trendy platform that we’re hit with 🤪].
I get it, if you have to learn another game you might just go crazy. But I hate to be the one to break it to you… gamification is probably here to stay.
And guess what? If you grew up with a gameboy, super nintendo or even playing the snake game on your cell phone (GUILTY!), you started this trend.
Gamification is a learning technique that weaves in game-like elements like prizes, rewards, points, badges, quests and more. For the main purpose of making learning more interactive and engaging.
A whopping 67% of students agreed that gamified learning is more motivating than a traditional course. And when I say students, I mean ALL students regardless of gender, age, status or profession.
And it’s not just motivating, it actually increases the overall performance of the learner. So my fellow educators, it’s time to game it up!
Why is this important to your students?
➡Your students want to be entertained. That doesn’t mean you need to be a stand up comedian. You can pass some of that “work” off to games like Blooket, Gimkit, Quizizz and Kahoot.
➡This is another way to give your students a quick break from lecture or group work.
➡ Going off script and reminding you that games in class don’t have to be on the computer. You can incorporate many in person games like review Jenga, Connect 4, Grudgeball and Stinky Feet. Check out this blog post from The Not So Wimpy Teacher for directions on these review games.
Why is this important to you as an entrepreneur?
➡Your clients like a challenge. Can you implement it into your course, membership or coaching? Maybe a 5 day reading challenge or 45 Grit like Jenn Boughey (check out her highlights).
➡Games introduce awards into your programs. What are some ways you can recognize your clients? Maybe a client spotlight in your newsletter or even a monthly snail mail prize for a client.
➡If you have an online course, there are many built in apps for gamification. If you need help navigating this hit reply and let the G&G Team help you add this to your client offerings.
3️⃣Upskilling
Upskilling is exactly what it sounds like, acquiring new skills to level up! Students and Adult learners love an achievement (like we talked about in gamification).
A global study in 2023 found that Gen Z’s (including current 12 year olds to 27 year olds) have a desire for power and achievement. Even more so than millennials, gen X, boomers and the silent generation.
Providing an opportunity to provide upskilling can help satisfy your learners craving for achievement.
That is why more and more Americans spend money on online training, hiring coaches or spending money learning in other ways.
Why is this important to your students?
➡Your students are going to eventually leave your class. What are they leaving with? Is there a certification you can provide them with? In the Career Technical Education world we have commonly seen ServSafe, Youth For the Quality Care of Animals YQCA, Financial Education EverFi and National Career Readiness Certificate or NCRC.
➡Some students aren’t headed to college (and we are perfectly OK with that at G&G). Even still, there might be a way to provide them a certification or at minimum career skills to help them land their first job outside of high school.
➡ If you teach littles, we get that this is a little outside your realm. Upskilling can be as simple as tying shoes, lining up silently in the hall or holding the door open for other people. Those are mighty important skills for your students to learn as people!
Why is this important to you as an entrepreneur?
➡People who undertake Upskilling earn around $8,000 more than peers who haven’t taken training.
➡Think about you! What type of upskilling would help you elevate in your business?
➡People want to be on the “up-and-up” to stay relevant in the job market. What can and do you provide your clients to serve this need?
➡If you have an online course, you are already doing this. What do your clients get to show for their learning? Is there a blurb that you could provide them for their LinkedIn or Resume?
So, trends come and trends go. (Personally I am thankful for the outdated trend of puka shell necklaces.)
I am 87.5% certain that these trends will be here to stay at least until Generation Alpha decides to shake up the whole world.
With these timeless trends (a little bit contradictory, huh?) I’m curious to know, which one will you focus on first? At G&G, we’re personally leaning into SNACK MEDIA, so connect with us on Instagram and let us know what you’re up to!