Monday, April 14, 2014

Introduction: Tyler, 2016 Penn State Student Teacher

What's up everybody?! I'm Tyler and I'll be one of your classmates going with you on this amazing trip across the globe.  

I'm currently a sophomore over here at Penn State going for a degree in Agriculture and Extension Education.  My ultimate goal is to become an Agriculture Educator and FFA Advisor somewhere at some point in time but we'll see where the future takes me.  
My decision to go on this trip was developed directly from my lack of any sort of international travel.  To be honest, the only time I have ever left the United States was when my Grandma wanted to go see a horse race in Canada.  Because of this, I feel like an international experience will not only help me develop my own opinions about the globe but will also allow me to share those experiences with my students.  

Another reason I wanted to go stems from my worst fear as an agriculture educator, that agriculture education will become too comfortable with itself.  By this I mean that I fear we, as educators, may fall into the philosophy that we are always teaching in the best way possible because we haven't seen all the amazing other options that exist.  I want to open myself to the very real possibility that there is a better way to do things, after all it has to be worth at least trying.  

Now, a little bit about me personally.  Though I'm not a world traveler, I will stake a claim to being well versed in the Eastern Seaboard.  I was born in Buffalo, NY and then lived in Scarborough, ME; Knoxville, TN; Nashville, TN; and finally Mechanicsburg, PA.  So far, I'm liking it here in Pennsylvania where my parents, two brothers, and one sister all currently reside (I'm the oldest).  Here in Pennsylvania, I became very involved with agriculture at the high school level and ended up taking that to the extreme when I was elected as a PA FFA State Officer, a position from which I derive many of my current skills and abilities.  At Penn State I keep up my involvement in various organizations including CFFA, Teach Ag Society, Ag Student Council, and The Fraternity of Alpha Zeta.  

Overall, though, I'm really looking forward to completing this class with all of you and participating in this international experience!

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