By Teachers, for Teachers

For over 25 years I've served as a middle school agriculture teacher by choice, not by chance. From experience, I have found that there is a big difference in teaching students that are 10-14 years of age versus high school students. A middle school teacher is not only an educator, but also an entertainer. Middle school students are in constant motion, physically, mentally and emotionally. A teacher must be able to incorporate a fast paced, hands-on curriculum, not only to educate, but to entertain these young learners. To create and manage this type of teaching, a middle school teacher is indeed a unique individual. There are many rewarding opportunities that arise for middle school teachers. Middle school teachers have the opportunity to begin the agricultural career of students, to start their FFA dream, and be the nurturing force to encourage them to continue their agricultural pathway. A middle school agricultural program is the first unique step to their agricultural career. Knowing that teachers are always looking for ways to improve themselves and their program; from lesson planning and teaching strategies to new ideas for projects and activities; we understand the need for professional development. The challenge in creating professional development experiences is the need to commit time and effort to planning and implementing the events. However, when you are designing a conference where participants use teaching resources from fellow colleagues attending a conference that has a specific purpose, you can easily find many individuals who are willing to help make a conference successful. Since we know that agricultural education teachers are very talented and unique individuals, why not capitalize on those talents to develop a relevant and engaging conference? We have all heard the saying about reinventing the wheel and we all know that the wheel had to be invented by an agriculture teacher, so why not capitalize on the uniqueness of those who are successful in our own teaching field to create a successful professional development conference. All we have to do is ask. Realizing the importance of professional development, eight years ago I had a brainstorm. Why not hold a conference for middle school agricultural education teachers only, to meet the specific needs of middle school agricultural education instructors? This conference would be held on topics unique to middle school teachers. Who would know better what middle school teachers need than middle school teachers? Logistics of the conference... the WHO was easy, middle school agricultural education teachers only. WHERE? A central location in the state, in a middle school department, with affordable lodging, and great food! Meals would be catered and brought into the school (and I am not talking about boxed lunches). This conference has been held at Beverley Manor Middle School in Staunton, VA, where we have great resources for lodging and food, as well as an active agricultural education department willing to organize the event. …