Name: Trenton Smedley
Location: Olathe Public Schools, USD 233, Olathe, KS
Class/content area taught: Agriculture
What are you most excited about with your new career? Developing a new agricultural education/CTE program.
What you enjoy most about teaching: Showing students something they’ve never seen before or helping them make connections between agriculture and things they see and/or use every day!
In what ways has your school/district supported you? I have a building-level mentor to help me navigate through this school year. I also work with an instructional coach weekly to help me identify ways to engage students and assess their progress. The school district has also allowed me to participate in professional development with the Kansas Association of Agricultural Educators.
What are some specific things you believe KSU especially helped prepare you for your new career? Identifying and incorporating lesson essentials—review/preview/bell work, content delivery, student work/processing, assessment, closure, etc. In the College of Agriculture, I was given several opportunities to see different types of agriculture and how production is connected to other enterprises that eventually make commodities into a useful product, which has enabled me to think about how I can give my students similar experiences.
Suggestions/encouragement for new teachers: We all want to be prepared, organized and have lessons planned for the next two weeks. Don’t be afraid to leave at 3:30 (or whenever your contract time ends) as long as you are ready for the next day. Spending multiple hours every evening in your classroom won’t make you a better teacher. Some days you need to get out to clear your mind; don’t burn yourself out. It’s more important to be there for your students right now than to worry about what is happening next.
Bonus question, thanks to the Pandemic: COVID-19—How has the Pandemic shaped your classroom—the environment, safety precautions, etc.? How has it affected you as a new teacher? We have been in a remote learning environment more than we have been in-person. Videos have been helpful in demonstrating lab-type experiments. As an agriculture teacher, I have found several ways to get students outside and away from their computer if even for a few minutes. As a first-year teacher, I think I have an advantage over the experienced teachers. Everything I plan for this school year is specifically for the environment we are learning in. I am not adapting anything I’ve done before or comparing student progress to previous years. I think it makes it easier for me to approach teaching and learning with a growth mindset. If students know more in December than they did in August, it’s a win!