The Final Act: Who Do I Aspire to be as an Educator?


On the journey to becoming an agricultural educator each student is required to complete a 15 week student teaching internship. During those 15 weeks we will work with a cooperating agricultural educator at that school. In order for each individual student and cooperating teacher to have the best experience possible it is important that each of us create a positive connection prior to student teaching. One way Mr. Curt Turner and I are working to establish our working relationship is through reading Juggling Elephants by Jones Loflin and Todd Musig. 


Just as there is more to the ring master than a long red coat and a top hat, there is much to be said about an agricultural educator beyond the lab coat. The last few chapter of “Juggling Elephants” really had me saying “yes!” this is the kind of teacher I want to be. I will challenge myself to be the master of three very important rings (the three-circle model that is). While I am still trying to figure out who exactly I want to be an agriculture educator, I’ve picked up some pretty important lessons thus far. I aspire to be and do so much in hopes to be the best educator I can be. Here is some of what I aspire to be:

I aspire to be…. a mentor with positive relationships with my students. “The relationship between the ringmaster and the performers affects the success of the circus.” In order to have a positive learning environment for all students in the classroom I will strive to first have a positive relationship with each one of my students.

I aspire to be…. engaging. “Every member is important and has to be fully engaged on the right acts to make the team successful.” I will provide engaging lessons and activities to attract the interest of my students in the current topic. I vow to put in effort into developing my lessons and to understand where each one of my students is at in the given topic. Each class will work as a team, and will succeed together.

I aspire to…. Provide positive reinforcement. “Constantly offer positive reinforcement for good behavior, and consistently give constructive feedback for negative behavior.” I will be a cheerleader and offer my students praise for positive behavior and not overlook the negative. I promise to be consistent in helping shape out negative behavior by offering constructive feedback.

I aspire to be…. understanding. “People have needs that extend beyond the obvious ones.” Through developing positive relationships with my students, I will understand the needs of each student to be successful.

I aspire to be…. personable. “People sometimes need to laugh, relax, and not take themselves so seriously.” I will always be professional as an educator but I also believe in the importance of be transparent. In order to be the best educator that I can be I will develop a relaxed and enjoyable learning atmosphere by being real with my students.

I have a long way to go as I develop who I want to be as educator but to start I have realized a classroom is not much different than a circus. Overall, I aspire to be the best ring master to that circus!

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