This past weekend was a busy one for me, though not for the same reason as most other Penn Staters (congratulations to everyone who was involved with THON this past weekend…I am so proud of you!). On Saturday and Sunday, I traveled along with my student teaching mentor teachers and a group of 45 high schoolers to an FFA conference in Harrisburg, PA. This was my first opportunity to chaperone a field trip and get an inside glimpse at the monumental – yet awesome – task that it is to coordinate a positive experience for a large school group. I’ve attended this conference for seven years now as a student and facilitator from the FFA side of things, but now I got to experience things as a teacher and FFA advisor, bringing students of my own to the experience. It’s safe to say I like this perspective on things.

Overall, our trip went very well. I found myself needing to be reminded of the weight of this experience for many of the students in our group. For some students, this was their first time being away from home/their families for a night – let alone staying in a hotel. It’s a somewhat significant responsibility ag teachers have in working with teenagers who are still figuring out a lot of things in life, and its a responsibility I’m learning so much from on a daily basis over these past six weeks. This weekend really allowed me to get to know a lot of my students much better than I did before, especially those who are generally more quiet or reserved in the classroom in the regular school setting.

In the midst of the special and happy parts, there’s some truly difficult things too. I’ve learned the importance of taking along extra money to help make sure every student can eat on a trip – not every student has enough money to afford the lunch stop at McDonalds. Even though the students are packed four to a hotel room, the prospect of having a nice, comfortable bed to sleep in for the night might be more than they’ve ever experience before. Students bring very real and difficult challenges from their home lives into a weekend like this, and it sometimes can be impossible to know how to best make sure every student is cared for in the best way possible.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the final reflection, where students shared what they’ve taken away from the weekend. In front of a room of over 500 students, I was proud to see so many of my kiddos stand up and share awesome things and hopes they have for leaving things a little bit better than they were before. Life as “Mr. Bixler” is a season that challenges me, stretches me, and teaches me more and more every day. Now after a good bit of sleep to catch up from a weekend with very little of it, I’m grateful for the perspective I’ve gained and all that I still have left to learn.