National FFA Convention Advisor Edition

Just A few weeks ago I got to enjoy one of my favorite parts of the year, the National FFA Convention, only this time it was a little different; instead of wearing my familiar blue corduroy jacket, I was wearing my blue blazer, my unofficial advisor jacket. 

I got to spend over 10 hours each way with a great group of five students from the Tri Valley FFA chapter, where I will be student teaching this spring. I learned a lot on this trip, not only just about how to fill the advisor role and how to work with these five students who will be some of the many I'll be teaching in the spring. I also learned how much of a family Ag. teachers can be, and how welcoming most of them are to new people in the field like my cohort and I.  

But this convention wasn't like many others, I've gone on other trips as a chaperone with FFA members, so chaperoning my five kids was not much different than chaperoning any of the other trips I've gone on with my own chapter. But what was different this year was I made a point of looking through a multicultural lens when I looked back at my National FFA Convention experiences I had over the past week. 

As someone who comes from a pretty diverse FFA chapter, the lack of diversity that we see in the FFA is not that surprising to me; for me that was the most depressing part. While other members of my cohort are amazed at the lack of diversity that they can see when they look at FFA members I'm not. For me it's something I've been dealing with for the past 10 years, ever since I first put on my blue corduroy FFA jacket. 

However, when I look at convention through this multicultural lens, while I am depressed at the fact that I don't see more diverse FFA members, I am impressed by how much the National FFA is pushing the "We Are FFA" program and how National FFAand agriculture industry partners and supporters were pushing the "#myAgStory" in order to show FFA members and others, that agriculture is a very diverse field, and with a wide range of people working and living within this diverse industry. 

What was most interesting to me, was how the stories I would hear from advisors saying how their students really just need to get out of their county every now and then to learn that there is a great big world around them are not just stories, they're serious. There are students who need to travel outside their county in order to realize that there is a bigger, wider world out there. The funniest example I have of this is when we were traveling in our van back to Tri Valley, on the last leg of our journey home. We're on the homestretch and we were discussing with our students what they did and did not enjoy about Convention, what stood out the most to them and if there was anything they were really going to miss or were really excited to get home for, and right away one of my students said he was really excited to be home and not have to eat any more of that "city food." For me this was really funny and I asked him what he meant because I knew where they been eating all week and they had mostly just been eating convention food, which is mostly burgers, chicken tenders and fries and one night I made a point of taking them out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. 

This is when I learned some of my students really need to get out of Schuykill County every now and then because my student went on to say that he didn't like the city food because it was fried and it was Italian and Italia is a city and he was just really glad to be home for home-cooked food. Well we all had a chuckle at this when we reminded him that Italy is a country and not a city, so he couldn't put Italian food from the restaurant into that category of "city food." But it also made me realize why did they think convention food was city food when it was the same type of food you get at any fast food joint. While only one student made the comments the other students were nodding their heads  along with him in the van when he was saying this and so for me I know that I want to try to make it a point to find out from my students if there are any of these "city myths" that exist in the school and see if I can break down any of those barriers that already exist. 

This is really important for me, not only because I think it'll help my students get a better understanding of where I'm coming from but also because my students will be attending a leadership conference at my high school in the spring in the city, and I want to make sure they are both prepared for that experience of going to Philadelphia and then also looking forward to it and knowing that the students that they meet at that conference are not going to be any different than them even if they might look a little different. 

While those comments related to the "big city mouse, little country mouse" were quite interesting for me and I think that they're going to make for very interesting spring and lots of really great experiences with my students, what I was most impressed by was when my students went to the opening session and watched the motivational speaker Nick Vujicic. The motivational speaker was great and he used humor and real-life stories to show that everyone is the same and everyone should be loved and appreciated for what they bring to the table, even if they don't have any arms or legs. As soon as Nick came on stage and started talking my students' eyes were glued to him onstage and I understand why because I was the same way. Even though when we were reflecting later that night on what the speaker was saying most of what my students mentioned was the jokes and the funny stories he had I was impressed that they were still getting his message. 

They all seemed to understand the anti-bullying and appreciating everyone message behind his stories and I hope that when I'm with the students all the time in the spring that I'll see the evidence of it and see that they brought this message back to their school or at least that they are encouraging this message within their FFA chapter. 

Overall, I had a great time serving as the adviser for the tri-Valley FFA and I can't wait to get to work with the students on an every day basis and knowing how much work needs to be done and seeing that I think my students already have an open mind they just need to be exposed to more I'm really excited to see how much I can do with the students when I am with them all the time and see how much I can encourage them to grow when I'm exposing them to other sides of agriculture and culture that they may not be used to. 

Who is Amanda Leigh Forstater? Brown Bag Edition

In class this past week we started a series of activities called Multicultural Moments, various activities to help us understand how and why all kinds of diversity are important in our classrooms (and our lives), and to begin we had to pick words and/or phrases which describe ourselves and then talk with one another to learn about each other.

Now to take it one step further, our cohort is completing this Brown Bag scenario, where we can only choose three things to put into a (virtual) brown bag to give to someone else to explain who we are and so we are posting pictures of those things and an explanation of why we chose them and then writing about why it's important to do this activity to get to know our cohort. Hope you enjoy my answers, I'm enjoying reading my cohort's. Hopefully they post theirs on their blogs as well.

#MulticulturalMoment Brown Bag Edition:

Who is Amanda Leigh Forstater?

If I could only put three things into a bag to give to someone else to explain who I am this is what I would choose:

Showing my first market animal in my first FFA jacket

1. My FFA Jacket

My FFA Jacket is one of my most prized possessions and for me it symbolizes my roots in agriculture and where I come from. One of the traits that most people say I most have is loyalty and that jacket symbolizes where a lot of my loyalty lies - with the Philadelphia FFA Chapter and all the people who have influenced me and my family through that organization. For me that jacket symbolizes my connection to Saul, and my connection to agriculture, and knowing that I can help put similar jackets on future students keeps me motivated to keep on keepin' on.

Teddy, my old friend who took me to prom

2. A picture of my (sort of) horses

While my FFA jacket symbolizes my roots in agriculture, horses were my first passion and what really set me on my path into agriculture. I've loved horses for as long as I can remember and have the elementary school stories, poems, and drawings to prove it. While I have never actually owned my own horse (yet!), I have been fortunate enough in having access to several great ones, first through Saul's herd and then more personally with the lovely drafts giving tours in Historic Philadelphia. I've been lucky enough to be able to call over 30 different horses my dear friends over the past almost ten years and they've opened me up to a wonderful part of my city I had almost forgotten. I can't wait to one day own my own horses but these carriage horses will always hold a special place in my heart.









3. A picture of my family (extended version)

Just some of my extended family

I have a different definition of family than some people. Most people define family by blood or marriage but I define family as the people (and animals) who love and care about you and those who you also love and care about. I've been lucky to have a lot of people I consider part of my extended family, but it starts with my parents, my sisters, and my Mom-mom and Pop-pop. These are the people who have raised me (or been raised with me) and I know that while we fight we love each other. I also include my four-legged family members because I've been lucky to have many animals play a part in my life and especially the five wonderful dogs I was lucky enough to grow up with. And finally I have had lots of friends and mentors I've considered family members and the bulk of them have come from Saul and my fraternal family, Alpha Zeta.






So that is what I would put in a brown bag to describe myself, though I know that if I could choose more than three items there would be plenty more ways I could explain.

Why is it important to share these "Brown Bags" with each other?

Because we need to know each other. Some of us know each other better than others, some of us have known each since high school (or earlier), but no matter how well we already knew each other, we need to get to know all of us on a deeper level if we're going to get through this year (and beyond) together. A flock is not just a group of random geese flying all together at once - a flock is a group of tight-knit geese who are there for one another in times of need, and who keep in flight with one another and they can only do that because they all know how each other fly and how they fall, what will motivate each other, and what will take the wind right out of their feathers.

Yes, a flock works together towards a common goal just like our cohort is working towards surviving this next year. But a flock is also working together to keep the flight moving forward, both on this season's journey and next season's, and I think that's how a cohort works together - we work together to get through this year and to transition into the PA Ag Ed family and the National Ag Ed family, keeping each other flying forward towards our goals beyond May.

That's why I think it's important to really get to know each other, because our influence on each other will go beyond May, even if we join other flocks.

Supervised Agricultural Experiences: Schuykill County Fair

Thursday, July 31st, 2014: The day started out a little stressful - after sending the Gov. School scholars off to their class I headed to get my first car rental and start my solo road-trip down to the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds. After a relaxing (eventually) three hour car ride, I arrived at one of my first Pennsylvania county fairs. The familiar smell of fair food and livestock automatically confirmed that this was going to be a great day.

Display for the Tri Valley FFA Chapter in the family tent

I found Mrs. D (Mrs. Dingman but all her students affectionately call her Mrs. D) in the livestock barns right where I knew she'd be. Today was my SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) visit and it was also the Fair's sale day, so it was a big day for many of the FFA members busily milling about the barn. Mrs. D explained to me that a majority of her students have SAE projects, most of which are livestock which the students then show and sell at the fair. The first hour or so I was there, Mrs. D had logistics she had to handle as she is on the County Fair board, so she introduced me to several of her students and left me with them to show me around.

The livestock barns were filled with families - almost every student I talked to had several relatives also showing against them, either through the FFA or the local 4H club, which also meant I am going to have several sets of siblings and cousins in my classrooms. The students were represented in every species at the fair - rabbits, goats, sheep, beef and dairy-beef cattle, and hogs. After talking to the students for awhile I started talking to several of the parents and other family members that were in the barn, letting the students get back to preparing for the sale that evening. All the parents welcomed me into their school, and raved about Mrs. D's dedication to the FFA and her involvement in the students' lives. Many of the parents had grown up in the area and had gone through the agricultural education program (before Mrs. D arrived) and you could see the pride they had in watching and supporting their children in participating in the various FFA events, including showing livestock.

Mrs. D soon arrived back and we went over logistics of the fair and she explained her SAE policy. Students in her agriculture classes are encouraged but not required to have SAE projects, but her FFA members are, and most already come to the program with potential projects started because of livestock projects. To handle SAE visits, she has a form the students complete before the end of the school year, which has a list of dates the students can choose from where she will visit with them and check up on their projects. Most of her visits were earlier in the summer as the students were preparing for fair, and operated very similar to my experience with the parents in the barn - Mrs. D checks out the student's project(s) and then catches up with the student and their family, learning about how their summer is going and any life updates. SAE visits for her are very informal and she uses them mostly to stay updated and involved in her students' lives and keep in contact with the families. 

Working with other volunteers to register buyers for the sale

I had previously told Mrs. D that I wanted to be right by her side and experience everything she does as the agriculture teacher, so after going over her SAE process and grabbing some of the great fair food, Mrs. D told me that since she was on the fair board I would be helping her get the arena set up for the sale and then helping her, the 4H leader and several other volunteers keep records during the sale. I'd been to several sales before, mostly at the PA Farm Show, so I thought this county fair sale would be an easy night for me - boy was I wrong. After helping the FFA and 4H members set up the sale ring I began helping to register buyers, keeping track of all the paperwork and buyer numbers. I never expected so many buyers, over 200, for a fair of this size but I was happily mistaken. Community members from all over the county were there to help support the youth involved in agriculture, through their kind words and buying of animals.

The fast-talking auctioneer I had to keep up with

After registering all of the buyers came the hardest part - keeping track of sale prices and buyers of the livestock. Elbow to elbow with Mrs. D, the 4H leader, and several other volunteers, all our focus was on the auctioneer just a few feet away to make sure we kept accurate records. The next few hours flew by and after over eight hours at the fair, I finally had to start my journey home. It was a great day of being thrown right back into the livestock world, getting to meet future students and their families, and meeting key community members, like the 4H leader, that I know will be really helpful when I begin my semester there.

The view of the crowd from behind the sale arena

One of my students & one of his Grand Champion rabbits

I can't wait to work with those students more, especially during my animal science courses and getting to know them more through future SAE visits. My day ended with the sale continuing in my rear view mirror, my car filled with the smell of livestock and hay, and my radio blasting the local country station, and I could not have had a better way to end July.

Loved this FFA member's confidence as she walked into the sale arena!

Welcome to Tri Valley!

I have the pleasure of student teaching at Tri Valley High School this spring with Mrs. Gretchen Dingman. I will be using this page, Tri Valley Times, to document my journey and experiences at Tri Valley. To start off, here is a video describing my cooperating center:

(*Disclaimer: new to video creating, editing, etc...)