FFA National Convention is one of
my favorite times of the year. It is where a sea of blue and gold corduroy
jackets flood a city to challenge them to be better leaders, participate in
competitions, meet other students from across the nation, and gain new
experiences that will stick with them forever. This convention was a special
one for me too. This year, I swapped in my “Member” pin to an “Advisor” pin,
and folks let me tell you, it is an HONOR to wear one of those pins. I had the opportunity to chaperone eight amazing, hardheaded, challenging, and friendly students in Louisville, Kentucky for 5 jam packed days. Although I did not experience the pleasure of riding in a school van for 10+ hours like the rest of my classmates did to Kentucky, I had the unique opportunity to travel by plane with my students….some for the very first time! Our journey began at 6AM in the morning on Tuesday where I met these students at the Philadelphia International Airport. After going through security and finding our gate, “Team Philly” was ready to go to the 88th National FFA Convention!
Instead of giving a “play by
play” account of all the experiences, I will share a few of my most memorable experiences
of the week:
- I got a nickname! Yes, Ms.
Murphy-Sweet can sometimes be a mouthful, so my students decided to call me Ms.
Sweetz <<<< and yes the ‘z’ is meant to be there!
- The red Advisor pin can transport
you to some pretty cool places! Places such as Teacher World, opportunities to
receive free lesson plans and textbooks from the convention, as well as some
awesome workshops that I can use in a “hands on” approach in my student teaching next semester!
- Students get hangry…. and tired….
just like you! Convention can drain any person. The continual pattern of
standing, walking, watching the events going on around you, new things to see,
can put a strain on any person that was there. I had to power thru the fatigue
and be the cheerleader to my students and push them to get out there. They needed to understand that they needed to
take full advantage of the opportunity being given and experience anything and
everything. Get out of their comfort
zone and meet people outside of the Northeast.
This could be the only time they have the opportunity to attend
convention. Make it worthwhile!
- One- on-one conversations do
matter! I challenged myself to have a meaningful conversation with EACH one of
my student’s to let them know a little more about me and for me to find out
more about them. By the end of the week, I felt like I had made a connection
with each one of them and understand what they want to learn in the coming
semester. They felt more comfortable around me and were able to joke around and
be themselves. We wear many hats when we
teach: the teacher, the advisor, second
parent, and counselor everyday with our students!
- And lastly, the most important
lesson that I learned…..preparation. I
was not as prepared for this as I would have liked to be. I believe that this self-critique will allow
me to build upon this experience and learn from it. I want to be a strong student
teacher this next semester. Sometimes the biggest lessons are not when you
teach but you are taught a lesson from students. I am taking this “teachable moment” to pass
along to you when you experience this for the first time. You see, there is more to this story as I
challenged myself when I chose my school to student teach and the students that
came along with this package deal.
My students are not the typical
FFA students that you would imagine in an agriculture setting. They come from
different cultural backgrounds, families, and experience life survival challenges
that most of us read about but never are faced to witness first hand. Most of us are truly blessed in our lives as
a result. This week, one of my students
was faced with a difficult situation regarding her race and cultural background.
Although I am not going to give details to the situation, it is important to
know that she had an opportunity to react with two different scenarios. She chose the high road and did not create a
confrontation or put her teachers in an awkward situation. She chose to not go
down the path that the other had chosen, but instead hold herself to a higher
standard there and did so with grace and humility. At such a young age, I learned something from
a student when coming into this convention I thought I was going to be the
“expert” and show them how to act and how they would be treated based on my
experiences in years past. After
learning what had happened, I was mad, humiliated, and generally disappointed
that after all of the education that is out there, this was still an issue with
today’s youth. It was her attitude and determination to let
it go that led it to a teachable moment for me. Her attitude and kindness
towards others taught me a valuable lesson and reminded me that sometimes I
have to be a student and let my students teach me a thing or two!
Overall, I am incredibly honored
to be teaching at a school where my students are confident on who they are and
challenge themselves every day. Although they are going to push me to be a
better teacher, I cannot wait to be with them for a part of their educational
journey.
Thanks for reading Ag Ed Fam!
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