Mountains of Fun with Mr. McCabe

  Hey everybody! I hope everyone has had a good summer and is roaring and ready to jump back into the classroom!  I know I am pumped to kick off my senior year here at Penn State to get ready to finally be on the other side of the classroom. I am so excited for all the the future opportunities I'll get to do this Fall and I hope y'all can hang on and ride out this adventure with me! First day so you know what that means! First-day pictures, my favorite... but in all seriousness as I take my 17th first day of school picture I couldn't be more excited. After completing the PSU Ag Ed Bootcamp with my cohort and our professors and colleagues I feel ready to dive right in and make this semester the best yet.  And dive right in is what we did, here are some highlights of what has happened in our first few days in the classroom already. What Happened We were asked to individually select a Reflective Teaching Lesson (RTL) and then give a 10-minute lesson on the information provid...

   The Importance Of Outdoor Education It's Earth Day! One of the best days of the year becuase this is when Nature really gets its appreciation. Although it should be every single day in my eyes, I'll take what I can get. One of my favorite things about Earth Day is the recognition that local environmental centers and conservation centers get from their schools and the communities that surround them. Last year and this year I was able to take part in Shaver's Creeks Earth Day activities where local schools came to the center and we were able to bring the classroom outside and really get the kids involved in real-world outdoor education. All of the lesson plans are focused on what available ecosystems we have on-site and all of the native and non-native wildlife and plants. Seeing these studnets curiosity thrive when I bring out a frog, show them salamander eggs, or even get them engaged in a game of natural selection, you can see them learn firsthand how their backyard woo...

 My Great Journey Welcome back to another post highlighting my journey to becoming an agriculture educator! I have just finished what I called "My Great Journey" of touring the great state of Pennsylvania and visiting many schools, looking for a place where I would find myself comfortable learning and teaching for my student teaching semester next spring. My journey included places I have been before and places I haven't I was able to see schools in Dauphin, Lebanon, Lancaster, Erie, Mckean, and Deleware County. All of them were amazing and all had their own unique benefits that made it hard to pick a top three at the end.  I was lucky to have safe and easy travels, so on my almost 3-hour journey home from my last visit I was able to ponder and really think about where my top three schools are. I took into account the teacher, their experiences, their goals for the program, what they teach, how they teach, and what I could learn from them. It was difficult to filter all o...

 What I Want In My Cooperating Center For the spring of 2025, I will have the opportunity to teach within a classroom at a Cooperating school where I will share a classroom with another teacher. Below are some specific things that I would like to see at the school I end up going to. I believe they will help me the most in molding myself into the teacher I would like to become one day. All things listed here are narrowed down from my high school experiences and visits to other school FFA programs and environmental centers. Besides what you will read below, a few things I would like to see would be a multi-teacher program, a program that is heavily supported by the district, and a program that encourages kids to do SAE projects that are more than just the minimum.  1) A variety of curriculum  One of the bigger things I am looking for in a Co-op center is that they have a variety of curricula that include environmental science, plant science, animal science, and mechanical s...

  Introducing Mr. Gage McCabe January 30, 2024 Hey y'all!  I am glad to introduce you to my blog and hopefully, you'll stick around and follow as my future career unfolds. I strive to connect students and people to the outdoors and peak their interest in environmental sciences while also getting them involved in all the opportunities that FFA provides. My education journey has just begun and over the next few months, I look forward to connecting with teachers and students as I find my stride into becoming the best teacher and adviser I can be. I look forward to the highs and lows that come with this journey and ask that you follow along as I embark on this adventure as I share my thoughts, accomplishments, failures, and successes with you. For starters, my name is Gage McCabe. I was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and spent most of my younger years on a baseball field or ice rink. When I wasn't playing sports you could find me in the woods either fishing,...