A Whole New World by Victoria Herr

Wow! Can you believe that we’re already a quarter of the way through this semester? So crazy to think about but also a good time to pause and reflect on what the past four weeks have entailed. 

AEE 216: Practical Parli Pro, or #AgEdParli, is a class like no other! Not only does the structure of this course vary greatly from that of a typical Penn State class, but the content is equally foreign. Coming into this, I thought that I was knowledgeable on Parliamentary Procedure, or at least knew enough to make it through a fair share of FFA meetings, I definitely had no idea how much there was to know though. Learning Parli Pro is almost like learning a new language but I would say it’s more like being thrown into a whole new world. There are so many new things to grasp and master and every word matters, seriously, every word. 

While I’m still a bit uneasy trying to get to know Robert’s Rules and become a member of the Parli Pro world, I’m confident that Dr. Foster will be a great tour guide! As we adventure into this great new world, Dr. Foster is Aladdin, the members of our class are Jasmine, and RONR is the magic carpet! (Just maybe without the whole romance bit)

So join along on our adventure as we experience a whole new world of Parli Pro!

Guest Blogger:

Victoria Herr

2019 Student Teacher Candidate

@Victoria_Herr

#TheAgTeachHerr

Organization Example of Roberts Rules Basics by Julie Worst

Great Example on a individual organizations Robert's Rules Basics. A key to having people use Parli is having them being comfortable with it. #AgEdParli

Blogger:
Julie Worst
PSU Class of 2017
Agscience Major

Welcome 2017 AEE 216 Class!

Welcome!

As you instructor, I am stoked to have you in this practical parliamentary procedure class because I know it will equip you to maximize your leadership impact with specific skills. The class is designed as if the term "parliamentary procedure" was heard for the first time on the first day!

By the end of 15 weeks, we have three big goals:

1. Be confident in using parliamentary procedure in organizations as positive change agent in communities.
2. Have command over content to capacity of earning the accredited parliamentarian credential from the Society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians. 
3. Be capable of leading students in purposeful instruction and/or competitive youth events in parliamentary procedure.

With that said, I predict that success in this course will be obtained by attending class sessions, completing assignments, and dedicating one hour of work to the class per week outside of class. This means from August to December you can anticipate needing to allocate 60 hours to complete those three tasks (attend, complete, prepare).

Day 1 Tasks!

• Please come with a great attitude! 
• Complete the emailed readings[Hint: the first task will be answer the prompt, What struck you about the readings?]:
• 5 pages – Reflections on Public Misunderstanding of Parliamentary Procedure by Henry Martin Robert, III (Great Grandson of HMR)
• 1 page – Chronology of the life of HMR
• Please review the syllabus (attached) and contemplate if you have questions.

Unique Opportunities

Be thinking about if you would like to attend the National FFA Convention and assist with the National Parliamentary Procedure Event. The Convention commitment would be from Tuesday, October 24 to Saturday, October 28th. By enrolling in this class, you will be given preference to attend (but you will also need to be a dues paying member of either TeachAgSociety or CFFA). For $100, we will provide transportation, lodging, registration, and most meals. I will need to make these decision before we depart for Labor Day Holiday.

See you on Tuesday!

Dr. Foster

Three Strikes You're Outta Here

It's the bottom of the final inning of the last game of the world series. This is the time of year to show off all their hard work and determination, hoping it pays of. The players line up in the dugout for their last chance at a grand slam for the season. The first player takes their place at the plate waiting for that perfect pitch.

In reference to our Parliamentary Procedure class this seems quite fitting for this point in the semester. This fall has been a learning experience for all the agricultural education students on our team. We learned the fundamentals and then it was our turn to sharpen up our skills to practice our knowledge. We tested our skills in Parli Pro demonstrations and learned new educational games like base ball to prepare us for the next round. We won a few games and lost a few on our practice exams learning from our mistakes, and spending a little extra time with our coach Robert (Rober's Rules that is) to make sure we were ready for the next one.
This is it the final game of the world series, tomorrow our team members will take their spot at the plate in hopes of that grand slam. Tomorrow we will be trading in our field for the classroom, switching our bats up for pencils and be prepared to take a swing at the society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians accreditation exam, with our final goal of hitting that grand slam and becoming registered parliamentarians.

New to blogs, old to National FFA Convention!

"I'm new! I don't know what to do!" -Joe Dirt  #Blogging

Every time I go back to the National FFA Convention it breathes new breath into my passion for agricultural education and the National FFA Organization. It also gives me different perspectives each and every time I visit the convention. Starting back when I was a slightly smaller freshman, attending convention blew me away with the shear size of the organization and opened my eyes to my future that I was going to pursue in the FFA. A few years later, I had the opportunity to experience the convention by competing in a National FFA CDE and as a State Officer! Whoa!!! However, I am now an old college student without the blue jacket. Instead, I have replaced it with an Penn State and National FFA polo!

 

Just a small taste of the almost 69,000 FFA members at convention!

Being involved in the National FFA Convention on the collegiate level opened my eyes to different opportunities. Reflecting back to my first Penn State National FFA Convention, I remember working the Penn State expo booth and assisting with the Food Science CDE. However, this time my experience was different. I was working briefly with the Novice Parliamentary Procedure CDE! Assisting with the novice event gave me insight to how students across the country take pride in their knowledge of parli-pro and are not afraid to show their talent off! Their demonstrations, personally motivated me to become better in our own AEE297 parli-pro class! Not only was it astonishing to see the students excited but it was also rather interesting to see Dr. Daniel Foster in full parli-pro nerd mode! 

The most of my time was spent volunteering with the National FFA Organization at the Educational Resource booth. This is were Michala Kuhlman, Miranda Kane, and I educated teachers, student teachers, State Officers, and FFA members about several new initiatives that the National FFA is offering. The first item we promoted was the new Habitudes book by Dr. Tim Elmore. The new Habitudes book is specifically directed and designed towards FFA members to develop their leadership, communication, and personal growth through stories that relate to students and pictures that captivate them. We provided teachers over 600 copies of these books when they signed up for the pilot program to implement the book into their lessons! 

During the expo, we also gave everyone insight to the tools available through National FFA's "My Journey." The best experience during the convention is the interaction we had with FFA members! Each day, we would get a cameraman and go out and interview FFA members and Advisors about their experience in the FFA! Hearing their stories were diverse and illustrated how passionate FFA members are for their organization! It also gave me an opportunity to take a MEGA SELFIE!

Overall, the experience of volunteering, CDE's,  expo, career show, sessions, NAAE workshops, and more are irreplaceable! Can't wait for the years to come!

From Left to Right: Tyler Claypool, Miranda Kane, Nathan Briggs, and Nathan Repetz.

 

Shine Greatness

The event of the year has come and gone just as quickly as it arrived, National FFA Convention. Throughout convention we saw student's from across the nation "Shine Greatness," as the retiring National FFA Officer Caleb Gustin proclaimed during session. FFA members have a way of shining their greatness where ever they go. Each and everyone of them chose to go above and beyond what is expected of them in the classroom to better each of their lives. Some individuals chose to better develop themselves in; livestock evaluation, some public speaking, and for a very select group parliamentary procedure.

This select group of students have chosen to exemplify the meaning of shining greatness. They have worked extremely hard to finally reach the big stage at national convention where they are able to put their skills to the test. It is truly inspiring to witness both the novice and senior parliamentary events. It is evident that each student not only practiced regularly with their teams but have also gone above and beyond to prepare for the event.

As these students grace the stage for the finals round, it is their time to shine greatness. A time to demonstrate all their hard work. A time to recognize all their dedication has finally paid off. Each state has amplified their reason for making it to the finals.

I was able to learn so much about teaching parliamentary procedure as well as well as how the career development event is run. Not only did I get to experience the novice event first hand I was able to be inspired by the students participating in the senior event. I cannot wait to take what I learned through these experiences to help my own students develop these skills and shine greatness.

Another Year, A New Experience

This being my fourth National FFA Convention, I was certainly familiar with the process. However, each year, I have played a different role and have had different duties. This year was no different.

I first started by assisting with the time keeping of the Novice Parliamentary Procedure event. I was able to watch a bunch of teams compete. I learned so much about what the judges look for in the contest and how to set up the contest room. I also picked up on some common themes such as average time limit (for their 13 minute debate, most finished around 9-11 minutes), norms and common colloquial, and what things the teams struggled with the most. 

I ended up taking a bunch of notes which can all be viewed in my last blog: A Slice of Parli. 

The rest of the time at convention, I helped National FFA at the Educational Resources booth in the expo hall. I told advisors about the latest book in the Habitudes series written by Dr. Tim Elmore and also about My Journey which is offered through ffa.org.

 It was a great experience and I got to meet some really great ag advisors. I even learned that an alumnus of the Puerto Rico FFA Association is working toward ways to translate the Robert's Rules of Order to Spanish, and is looking forward to implementing formal lessons on how to use Parliamentary Procedure in Puerto Rico. 

When I had some free time and wasn't waiting in long lines at the food stands, I was able to walk around the shopping area and expo hall. I would say that while I walked around for personal leisure, I also had my teacher radar up. I began looking at different booths as resources for my future in agricultural education. We discussed some of those booths in class, but I took some pictures of the resources for Parli Pro that I found which I would hope to purchase one day as an ag teacher.

          

In addition, I came across the CASE curriculum booth where they had Penn State University's Teach Ag! flag hanging up!

While I was working at the booth, I also had the unique opportunity to interview sponsors, advisors, and members. It was really great hearing what was happening in their programs. I was especially interested to hear the advisor's interviews because I enjoyed hearing their perspective. One of the questions that was asked was "what advice would you give to your fellow teachers?" I really enjoyed listening to their responses and hope to keep in mind some of their tips and ideas. 

As if convention isn't exciting enough, I thought I'd share one fun tidbit. Despite working long hours at the booth, it made my day seeing this little guy roaming around the expo hall!

Yes, that is a flamingo.