Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Analyssa Gonzalez
As an ag teacher I have the privilege of spending many hours outside the classroom with
my students through practices for Career and Leadership Development Events, SAE visits and
van rides to and from conferences and competitions. I utilize these opportunities to get to know
my students and build significant relationships with them. I incorporate home visits into my
schedule so that I have an opportunity to see students’ home lives and also form a connection
with their families. These relationships create a team of caring individuals who work together
towards the success of each student. My classroom environment is one where the student feels
empowered to take risks for the potential of their own personal growth and development. They
can rely on routines and structure, something that is often missing in their personal lives, and
they are involved in their own learning process. They also take ownership over their achievement
in a rigorous classroom environment. Students trust that I will be fair and that my classroom is a
safe space for them to fail forward. I adjust instruction throughout my lesson to meet the needs of
my students and I recognize when students are struggling. Not all students learn in the same way
or at the same time but all students can be engaged in learning on some level. This principle has
motivated my classroom and lesson development throughout my teaching career. Because of the
investment that I make in relationships I have been able to create and utilize content that is
accessible to all students and implement various instructional strategies which reach not just my
high achieving students but also my students with unique learning needs and challenges. The
trust I have established with students has led them to step out of their comfort zones to strive for
higher achievement, not just in their academics but in all three circles of Agriculture Education.
By establishing significant relationships with students early on and and taking the time to
foster those relationships, I can identify the interests and talents of my students. I utilize the
backgrounds and cultures of my students to create real, relevant learning opportunities. Even
with their diverse experiences the students in my classroom find common ground in the essential
focus of agriculture in society. Students learn to appreciate the impact that agriculture has on
their daily life and answer questions focused around feeding a growing, urban population.
Students invest in the idea of agricultural sustainability and use that phenomena to drive their
learning with the intent to solve essential questions being asked of agriculturists each and every
day. I believe that students learn best by doing and thus the three circle model of Agriculture
Education is the backbone of my teaching development. Through hands-on labs and real world
scenarios, I can make the concepts in my classroom applicable for students in their future. In
utilizing inquiry based instruction and allowing room for my students to think critically
throughout my curriculum I nurture their natural curiosity and create lifelong learners as well as
members of society that will make informed decisions for their future careers and endeavors.
From my classroom, to their career, I seek to help students find the next step for their
future. My goal is for my own successes to be reflected in the successes of my students and that I
will always stand as a role model for students to rely on as they continue to grow and develop as
individuals. Through my teaching and my relationships with students, I believe that the young
people that leave my classroom will have gained the experiences needed to continue to follow
their passions and leave an impact on agriculture and society as a whole. In my classroom sit the
scientists, policy makers and teachers of tomorrow and I believe that I can shape and influence
them to carry out the promise of agriculture for future generations.