The Day That I Stopped Trusting Scales #Sweet2Senegal

Quote of the Day

“Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo”

THE STORY

Don’t trust your scales at home.

BACK UP

Today I arrived in Senegal.

Yes you read that right, this girl is on another continent so watch out!

After officially telling the Peace Corps that I would love to be one of 70 people to go to Senegal to be a volunteer, I got the job title of Sustainable Agriculture Specialist. After packing all of my items into two very large and overweight bags, we headed off to Washington D.C for a direct flight to Senegal. As we arrived at the airport, I started to get nervous. We were the first guests to be helped at South African Airlines to not so happy airline members. So here I am. Strolling up with what I knew was potentially two pounds overweight…or five pounds…. I was in denial and in my defense thought my home scale was accurate when it said it just weighed over five pounds.

I had packed a bag so heavy that the airplane members working the booth said that my luggage would have to be stored in cargo where the oversize CARGO goes which would cost a whopping $200 dollars.

After hearing to total of what it potentially would cost me, I started to scramble. I started putting all of my food in my ukulele case, my clothes in my carry on, and anything that would be able to make it through security on my back or in my friends bags that were there waiting for me. That is when the stressful emotions came out. I begged the airline attendants to wave the fee because I was a volunteer. Surprise though, they had no idea what Peace Corps even was. After I (in the most dramatic I have ever done) explained to them about the commitment of serving in a different country for two years and leaving my family behind they finally understood what it was. And guess what… They WAIVED THE FEE.

THE ARRIVAL

You know those people who look great getting off planes? The ones that wear the nice clothes and do their makeup before landing? I am not one of them. As we arrived in Dakar and got off the plane we walked across the tarmac to a bus that would take us to our luggage. As we checked in with Peace Corps, we loaded up on huge buses that would take us to the training center. And then…. The bus broke down. My theory? My bags literally broke the bus because they were so heavy.

So yes friends and family, I pushed a bus to help get it moving in Senegal on my first day, after the airplane ride, after crying and being dramatic in D.C., and in a skirt that covered my knees.

ANYTHING ELSE?

I am happy to be here. I have made some great friends and I have survived the heat so far. Looking forward to more sun,  more fun, and getting to know this beautiful country.

Next week starts training, language learning, and then some integration through living at a host families house for a couple of weeks! 

Get ready for this crazy ride!

What are you going to miss?

Someone asked me, "What are you going to miss most about Philadelphia when you leave?" A tough but important question. Although I have traveled around a huge city, figured out its transportation system, met and networked with several individuals, fought for the starting of Community Schools in lower income neighborhoods, and I have grown personally and professionally there is one thing I am going to miss. The thing I am going to miss the most about Philadelphia is the...Food. 

A wise professor once said, “Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something Holy... It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity.” 

This quote couldn’t be more true. This summer I have jumped into a new experience with new individuals and new perspectives. I have eaten my way around the city with different people and friends. I have experienced the hustle in Reading Terminal trying new food until I couldn’t eat any longer. I have cooked food outside at the Schuylkill Center with teenagers across the city in the Teens4Good program who work all summer planting and harvesting an urban garden. I have literally picked food from a dumpster with my fellow interns to realize how wasteful we are as a society and turn that food into meals for my roommate and I. I have attended a #right2work dinner series at South Philly Barbacoa to spread awareness about workers in the food industry who are the backbones of many kitchens across the Philadelphia area. I especially enjoyed meals in the neighborhood park getting to know my fellow interns by sharing stories and ideas over a lunch break when we are all together.

Sharing. Honesty. Identity.

It is bringing together the of sharing stories, being honest in who we are, and identifying ourselves and our personalities through the enjoyment and surrounding of food and people.

Food. 

That is what I am going to miss.

Couldn't learn it unless I was HERE #reflection

This Penn State Community Engagement Office in Philadelphia provides unique opportunity to learn about different outlooks and a culture that I couldn’t learn anywhere else. Although the Penn State University Park prepares you the best of their ability for the outside world and prepares you to expand your brain to critically think, they could not have prepared me for this internship.

In Philadelphia, there are different boroughs and neighborhoods that have unique personalities. For example, in West Philly you will have your hipster, trendy individuals that thrive on coffee and would be lost without it or for comparison, you travel Center City where the “suit culture” is alive and well or you go down to South Philly where there is an activist on every corner standing in front of beautiful art work. This city creates a unique melting plot of individuals that come together to form this city of Philadelphia. Although all of them are different, when there is an issue or a call for change into action, these cut out boroughs are not afraid to come together to become agents of change. But what is the change that is happening right now? Solving the problem of the inequities of the public education system in lower income neighborhoods in Philadelphia through the Community Schools Initiative.

The Community Schools Initiative is designed to open a dialogue to stakeholders who are overlooked in a public conversation, implement an Ambassador Program to build leadership among parents, teachers, and community members, bridge a conversation between community members and the Mayor’s Office, and develop public awareness about Community Schools. A lot of awesome work for communities who have been overlooked and not heard from at all when it regards their communities.

Conversations and being comfortable talking to diverse populations about the hard topics is something that I never thought I would do. After realizing that these conversations needed to happen and communities depended on talking about these issues to spread the awareness was crucial to change to be implemented. These are the things that couldn’t learn anywhere else. I couldn’t learn how to identify populations in one city, feel comfortable talking about the inequities that are happening to this day, and I couldn’t create a story about the public education system in Philadelphia without being here to experience it myself. 

The {People} of the Community Schools Taskforce

There is a problem in the Philadelphia area around education. Not only are the teachers and students suffering because of the strained budgets and lack of support from the government, the parents and communities are suffering because they have lost their RIGHT to a voice in what they believe is good for their neighborhoods. With help from the Community Schools Taskforce, they are breathing new life into communities and giving overlooked neighborhoods a chance to start fresh with community schools.

The Community Schools Taskforce in Philadelphia is group of individuals representing different organizations coming together to tackle the issue of helping solve the inequities of the education system through Community Schools. Not only do they take time out of their days to meet and talk about these problems, they are coming together to advocate of educational justice and community schools in Philadelphia to address the problems of systemic poverty and economic inequities in schools to empower parents, students, and educators.

Who are some of these people that are making such a difference in these areas?

 Let me introduce you to three amazing individuals that are impacting this process and bringing their unique stories to the table. 

*Side Note* 

Due to these interviews being conducted around the city, there is some background noise in the videos! I apologize for the inconvenience!

Ron Whitehorne

Retired Teacher. Current Activist. 

Ron has been in the Philadelphia area since the 70s. Starting his career as a substitute teacher while getting his Masters, he has been an influential person in the creation of the Community Schools Taskforce by assisting in laying the groundwork for the Taskforce and the role that it plays. In the video below check out who Ron is and his thoughts on where this taskforce is heading.   Meet Ron!

Kendra Brooks 

Active Parent. Parents United Employee. 

Kendra is an active parent working for Parents United to help the unheard voices of parents share their ideas and thoughts to the administration in their schools. Kendra has developed the idea of transformative parent engagement in local neighborhood schools. In the video below, Kendra tells us a little bit about herself and why she believes that parent engagement in important in communities. Meet Kendra! 

Amber Felton

Graduate from CAPA High School in Philadelphia. Media Mobilizing Project Employee. 

Amber is a perfect person that is a part of this Taskforce. Starting when she attended CAPA High School as a student, she started the Philadelphia Student Union in her school that helped the students share their ideas and voices in regards to what happens at the school. As stated in her interview, the slogan of Media Mobilizing Project is "Movements begin with the telling of untold stories." Amber has known first hand that movements start with listening to communities and helping them out by what they want and need. Meet Amber! 

These individuals that are a part of this Taskforce bring unique stories and perspectives to the table that help form what is happening with this Community Schools Initiative in Philadelphia. It is through these people, the trust that they have built in their own communities, and their courage to implement this change, that change is finally happening. 

Stay tuned for more interviews and updates about the Community Schools Taskforce. 

Community Schools is my Jawn. #summerintern

After doing my 15-week student teaching internship at Walter Biddle Saul High School in Philadelphia, I was not ready to leave this beautiful city. Since I had an eye opening experience learning about the Philadelphia education system, I decided to intern with the Penn State Center in Philadelphia to work with the Community Schools Task Force to help start the conversation of helping schools back into underfunded neighborhoods in lower income areas.

Wait, what is a community school again?

A community school involves the community surrounding it to come together to create a democratic environment for everyone that chooses to get involved. This strategy includes several needed resources that give not only the physical paper and pens to the students, but answers the needs of the school through outlets of counseling, nursing, after school programs for students and even adults, to create a community hub for that area.

So where does that leave me and this internship?

After discussing with my boss about the impact that could potentially happen with me in Philadelphia and talking with the partners involved, the best idea was to jump on in! Right?

Being assigned to catch up on the years of struggle in one city and the impact that it has had in the education reform has been challenging. Countless hours of research, learning that there sometimes isn’t black and white when it comes to these issues, and learning that I can play a role in this system has been an incredible experience so far!

Some of my roles and responsibilities include:

- Learning a world view and approach that takes in to account power and privilege and systematic inequalities in public education

- Becoming familiar with the perspectives of stakeholders in the Philadelphia Community Schools Strategy

- Developing the initial public face for Penn State's Community School approach through the means of multimedia (i.e. blogging and video/audio)

- Participating in collaborative reflection and curriculum design for the Community Schools Ambassador program

Overall, becoming comfortable in the roles that I am given to communities that I am speaking to has been an amazing time learning about myself and others.

Keep your eye out for posts that will not only include my time here in Philadelphia, but a background and story about what is going on with the education system that is happening in our own backyard.  

A Blessed {Teach} on the Block! #15weeks

When I came home this past weekend, my sister asked me a question for her homework: “If you were to describe in one word how you feel right now, what would it be?” Blessed.

For the past 15 weeks I have been blessed to be a student teacher at a great school called Walter Biddle High School in Philadelphia. For 15 weeks I have gotten to know over 50 students in my classes, several student leaders, amazing agriculture and non-agriculture teachers, all the while working as a Penn State student teacher with a graduation date that is quickly approaching whether I want it to or not.

I am blessed because for the past 15 weeks:

-          I have taught classes in Enviornmental Science and Small Animal Science

-         Attended several field trips to aid in my classes

-         Handled over 5 different rodents, rabbits and dogs

-         Planted over 5,000 plants at a local CSA

All while teaching full time, coaching a Cross Country team, and organizing a Scrapbook club for the FFA chapter.

I am blessed because I have been able to teach some the most unique and special individuals I have ever met and help make a difference in each of their lives whether I knew it or not. Although this chapter of my life is coming to a close, I am excited for the new doors that are opening for me. After graduation I will be leaving to go to Senegal to serve as a Peace Corps Sustainable Agriculture Agent. Scary thought to be leaving the country and my kiddos behind. However, as much as an impact people say that I did at Saul, Saul changed me as well. I learned from them that:

-         I can make a difference no matter how tired the job makes me. My job is important no matter how much I want to binge watch Netflix, get frustrated because I feel defeated, or because I didn’t get enough sleep the night before because I was worried about them. I can make a difference because of them.

-         Agriculture is great way to connect people. The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture Program) at Saul brought together farmers and a school to guide them through this process of Farm to Fork.

-         Diversity of student demographics is important to know. Although the job can be “Drawn” (lame/tiring/crazy/Philly Talk), getting to know my student made for a better lesson that they would understand and be able to relate too. Gucci?

-         Being transparent with my students and parents will always be important no matter if I am a teacher or not. I need to let people know who I am and what I am doing for support in a program.

My 15 weeks at Saul High School has made me grow as an individual, a teacher, and a friend. I realize now that I choose the right job and I will continue to have a passion for agriculture education no matter if I am in the United States or Senegal. It has been surreal that this student teaching experience is over, however my life is entering into an important time for me to bring my agriculture education knowledge to a global level.

I am blessed because I have gotten to know great people at Walter Biddle Saul High School and grow to be the teacher I am today.

I am blessed because Penn State has allowed me the opportunity to have life skills and agriculture education knowledge for me to share with Senegal and the world.

Cheers to this experience and many more that are to come. Until my next Oh So Sweet Mission, thank you for reading!

Evaluations and Animals...Action Based Research

Research is something that I have come to love ever since I did it this past summer. I like looking at situations and finding solutions or looking at a problem from a different perspective. Penn State Ag Ed challenged me to look at something that Walter Biddle Saul does, observe it, and make it better.

Side Note: I am not doing this project because I am a “master teacher,” quite honestly I am far from it. However, coming to this school and looking at a class from a different perspective of what they currently do is nice to offer suggestions to make it even better!

Teaching alongside my cooperating teacher, Ms. Turrentine, we decided that we wanted to look at areas of improvement of the Animal Science department when teaching of handling and restraining animals. This directly worked with the SLO that Ms. Turrentine submitted for the beginning of the year which was nice to work with what directly she wanted to improve. Let’s break down what the SLO/Action based research looked like:

1.       Who: The SLO worked with the 10^th graders enrolled in Small Animal Science. The class is a 110-minute class that met every day! (Lots of time to work on this project)

2.       How: The students will be compared from last semester to this semester in the handling and restraining of small animals. We will analyze a project that was completed by the spring students and not the fall students and see how they compare.

3.       Expectations: The students that took the spring class will be more comfortable handling and restraining animals than the fall students.

RESULTS: As the project completed, the data was in and I was actually shocked. The students were driven by finding out the answers on their own and figuring out their own problems. 100% of the students in the spring semester that I taught were 100% comfortable handling and restraining animals compared to the fall semester. Super cool research and super cool data that showed me that the SLO was working.

Overall, this project changed my perspective about SLO’s and Action Based Research. I didn’t believe that this project would be beneficial, but seeing it work and actually helping out my students see things from a different perspective was great watching the light bulb go off! I look forward to more SLO’s and Action Based Research in the future!

Thanks for reading Ag Ed Fam!