Quick How To-Heads or Tails
Shout out to my friends over at MALAD FFA Chapter in Idaho for this HOW TO!While at Idaho FFA Convention, Malad FFA posted an Instastory (I learn so much from Instastories, I am pretty sure I like stories better than the feed) about a pre-session activity their state officer did to pass time called...HEADS OR TAILSSuper simple, no muss, no fuss, no equipment (but a coin) needed.Step 1: Get everyone with you to stand upStep 2: Tell them to pick HEADS or TAILS, by putting their hands on their head or tail.Step 3: Flip the coin, announce HEADS or TAILSStep 4: All those who picked incorrectly sit downStep 5: Continue until you have two people left. Finish like a coin toss for a game.Step 6: Celebrate the winner!I can totally see implementing this is some "downtime" during FFA meetings or activities!Do you have any quick group initiative ideas? Drop a comment below!Stay G&G
Present over perfect
You can't be perfect.It is impossible.When we try to be the perfect teacher, spouse, parent, friend, coworker etc. we are setting ourselves up for failure.Instead of trying to be perfect at all the things, why don't we try and be present in the moment we are currently in.When you are at school, be present for those kids who NEED an adult who truly cares about them in their corner.When you are at home, be present for whoever is there. Spend time engaging with them.When you are your with friends, forget the worries of your career and lean into those people you chose to be your family.When you have some alone time, sit into that time, relax, breathe life into you, and fill yourself back up.When we choose to be present in the moment we are showing the people around us (and ourselves) that they (and we) matter.And sometimes that is all that matters.Stay G&G
GERMINATE Virtual Summer Conference COMING SOON!
I've sat through countless professional development sessions (haven't we all)?!I've presented countless professional development sessions, some good, some lack luster.I've sat through countless professional development days where I felt like NOTHING actually related to my classroom, my students, my pathway.So, I decided WE, the agriculture teachers ACROSS the nation needed something for US.I have been LUCKY to go to NAAE and National FFA Convention and learn from AMAZING agriculture teachers from other states. But, some school systems will not allow their teachers to attend conferences like that. How are they getting served? Are they sitting in PD sessions that don't relate?So why not invite the BEST of the BEST to create sessions for EMERGING agriculture teachers in the stuff we actually want to know about.....FFA, SAE and CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION!Thus, GERMINATE was born!This virtual conference will be hosted ONLINE, with recorded sessions all with a TAKEAWAY (worksheet, PPT, lesson plan etc.) from some of the best ag teachers from Alaska to the U.S Virgin Islands and Maine to Hawaii and EVERYWHERE in between!Are you as excited as I am?Are you interested in speaking? Check the application out, speaker applications CLOSE April 17. Do you know someone who would be AWESOME for this? Send them the application. Or go ahead and look at it, I have surveyed my people and picked the most common PAIN POINTS for emerging ag teachers to speak to at the conference.Have questions? Contact me here!
Don't give up on STEP 2
Today, I admitted my failure to my entire high school staff.It was exciting, scary, exhilarating, and terrifying all at the same time.I absolutely love speaking, seriously, I actually VOLUNTEER to speak in front of about 200-300 people at least once a month.But, admitting that you failed....pretty epically...to your colleagues that you work with everyday is hard. But, I survived, and you know what? MULTIPLE teachers came up to me afterwords saying they have a similar story and were THANKFUL I was vulnerable sharing my story.So, since you all are MY PEOPLE, I wanted to share with you too.Here it is...my story of failure...Alight participation time. Take the card you got as you walked in and write a goal you have in your head that scares the crap out of you, I teach Ag I promise I am allowed to say crap.SERIOUSLY, WRITE IT DOWN. I’ll wait….It can literally be anything, and don’t share it, it’s your goal and my friend Rachel Hollis says NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR DREAMS.Yup, I said it. Actually, Rachel did, but i believe it. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY believe this. Let me tell you about my dream. I want to create a nationwide online summer conference for agriculture teachers. Where I organize the best teachers from across the country sharing relevant content that will help ag teachers stay GREEN and GROWING.And guess what...about half of you have tuned out….BECAUSE YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT MY DREAMS. Not because you don’t care about me the person, but because MY DREAMS do not have the same VALUE to you as they do me.So your dream is different, but you know what...those dreams all come pre packaged with failure. YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL. Now, it’s your turn to determine how you HANDLE that failure. And i believe that the way you fail and learn from the process can help you be a better teacher.How do you PERSONALLY feel about failure. No seriously, on a scale from 1-5 using your hand. 1 being I shake in my boots when you say the work fail, to 5 I fail like ALL the time and love it. Hands up, yup, I wanna see them (virtually :)). Thank you for your honesty.Failure is part of our job, we literally get to determine if people PASS or FAIL everyday. Not many people have that type of POWER over other individuals. But, we do it, everyday, for hundreds of students.But, what about us. Can we fail? DO we fail? Is failure even an option for us? 1.87That was my first semester freshman year GPA at UGA. Is that embarrassing to share with you, heck yes. But, this was my starting line for learning how to fail.A few weeks back I was listening to a podcast that featured John Maxwell a personal growth expert who shared his CYCLE OF SUCCESS. Here it is…. TRY, FAIL, LEARN, IMPROVE, RE-ENTER. Let’s go through the cycle together with my awesome first year at GA.Y’all I TRIED to pass, I promise you, I studied, went to class, I went to study halls, ALL THE THINGS. BUT, I just wasn’t ready for college. So I EASILY moved onto the second section of the cycle FAIL. I failed with flying colors, I am sure some people didn’t go to class once and got a better GPA then I did. And then, my mom found out. And she gave me an ultimatum that I will never forget. You get that GPA up or you have to move home to Maryland It was the FIRE under my rear that I needed to move to the LEARN section of the cycle.Y’all my second semester, I took better classes for my personality, changed my major to education (PRAISE), forged relationships with my professors and classmates, and LEARNED how to manage college life in the right way. And I SURE did improve. All A’s and one B (dang you English 1102, shakes fist). I IMPROVED more than just my grades, I improved my friends, my eating habits, my comfort in college. YES, I did it. I finished the cycle of success….But wait, Maxwell added something that I think we AND our students tend to forget...WE HAVE TO RE-ENTER, jump back on that horse, try something new, get out of our Zone of Proximal Development, take chances make mistakes and get messy. So...here is where you jump in. YOU and YOUR STUDENTS. YOU need to be failing. You need to be out of your comfort zone and which will help you become be best teacher and person you can be.Without failure THERE IS NO GROWTH. When we sit in our classrooms on cruise control, WE are doing a DISSERVICE to our students and showing them they can just COAST and when they FEEL FAILURE for that first time IT IS GOING TO HURT like flat on your face hurt. BUT, when you understand that they are JUST ON STEP 2 of the cycle of success you can share with them your experience in failure, like me in college, or the first time I tried pure barre and couldn’t walk for a week or that first professional development session you gave. YOU CAN BE HUMAN WITH THEM and share with them that it is ALL A PART of GROWTH.I KNOW you can succeed at that goal that you wrote on the paper. Keep it, put it on you computer, or mirror, or car dash to remind yourself of YOUR DREAMS which are valid, powerful and perfect FOR YOU.Don’t give up on yourself at step 2 of the cycle of success. Don’t give up on your students at step 2 of the cycle of success. KEEP GOING to LEARN and IMPROVE. AND don’t forget to RE-ENTER!