Hosting an invitational! Us teacher candidates helped host a FFA invitational at the U of M Twin Cities. I don't have much experience with how these are run or what they are about so it was a great experience. For those who don't know what an invitational is let me explain. FFA chapters participate in Career and Leadership Development Events or CDE's as we call them. Chapters from all over MN are welcome to register and participate. It's similar to different events that occur in the Olympics, each athlete participates and an individual or a team in different events. I chose to help out at the horse CDE which you can see below. There were multiple stables and riding clubs that brought in horses for students to evaluate multiple concepts. The Horse Evaluation had students observe riding patterns, take time to observe and take notes of multiple groups of horses, and answer questions from our judge who made up questions as he observed and evaluated the same group of horses the students observed. I mingled with other educators to pick their brains about many different topics; the horses (very pretty), preparing their students for the CDE, registering, and many others. Everyone was willing to jump up and help run the competition and were happy to chat to each other. It was a good way to stay energized in the field meeting with other educators and talking. For me it's energizing to see so many students working or trying something new or even the stables that brought in the horses. I see that I have to learn a lot and quickly about CDE's so I can better prepare my students to participate in them.
