Toni Rasmussen, Agricultural Education Instructor at Wayne High School, was awarded the Teacher Turn the Key by the Nebraska Agricultural Educators Association (NAEA) at the NAEA Virtual Awards Ceremony held on June 9 at the Nebraska Career Education Conference. Award winners are nominated and selected by their peers.
Teacher Turn the Key recognizes NAEA members who are working to meet the growing demand in the field of agriculture education. As a means of encouraging young teachers to remain in the profession and to encourage and recognize participation in professional activities, National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) offers the Teachers Turn the Key Scholarship to attend the NAAE Convention the same year they are selected as the state winner.
Rasmussen believes that the learner must be involved in a process or concept in order to completely understand, whether it be through interactive classroom learning or in a laboratory setting. She does this through hands-on learning with hands-off teaching, guiding only when necessary, allowing for students to learn information by truly interacting with and pioneering their knowledge gain.
Rasmussen began the program at Wayne and instructs students in a variety of labs, as well as works closely with the local community, to help build students into stronger agriculture advocates and educated consumers.
NAEA is a professional organization consisting of 200 agricultural education instructors from across the state with membership also in the National Association of Agricultural Educators."
