Allowing Challenges to Change You (STB#3)

"If it doesn't CHALLENGE you, then it won't CHANGE you."

This is one of my favorite inspirational sayings. I used this quote as a confidence booster for this past week of teaching as well as for my students. I reflected back on the first week and realized that there were a few bumps that needed straightened out. This past week I made a few tweaks and changes and it ended up being a great week! Through all the personal learning that I have encountered in these first 2-3 weeks, I keep coming back to this favorite saying of mine. Some of the challenges I have had, I perceive as a negative experience. I often then put to much pressure on myself; however, my perception of these challenges changed this week into a positive outlook.

If I were to begin student teaching with no adjustments and no problems then I should be concerned. Of course there are going to be challenges at the start and that's OK because that is how we learn. It's how we change in becoming better teachers. That student in my animal science class that gave me a great deal of attitude on the first day, well I made some adjustments in how I respond to him and interact with him and this week he was golden! This CHALLENGE CHANGED me as a teacher because I recognized that there are different needs of my students and the way I react to these diverse personalities effect the dynamics of the classroom. For me it is about taking those challenges and learning from them rather than just getting down about them. Every person has a beginning in something and it's vital that we choose a growth mindset as we pursue each journey.

It's funny how we can learn from our own lessons. In my animal science course this week we were learning about the different swine breeds. I had what at first looked like a huge packet of information that they needed to fill out, but in reality they were going to work in groups to fill out only information for two breeds. Anyway, I had expected the students to at first complain about having to fill out all that information before I got a chance to explain what the assignment was. So I prepared for this by writing my favorite saying on the board and hoping that it would serve as a life lesson for challenges that we encounter in life. However, I was shocked when I heard absolutely no complaining at the beginning and at the end of the period every single student filled out all of the information. I was also a bit more energized that day and I think that my reaction and attitude encouraged them to fulfill the assignment. At the end of the lesson I realized that I didn't have to give a mini life lesson to my students and that perhaps that was a quote for me rather than my students. I left the quote up on the board as a reminder not only for my students to reflect on but also for myself as a beginning teacher to remind me that challenges can be positive! 

With that being said, this week went much better! I did a lot of work to prepare for my classes and yes it was exhausting; however, my students were engaged and it took care of some behavioral issues as well. The hard work and sweat was worth it! Although the work in preparing for classes can be tiring, I actually feel more energized for class because I know that I put a lot of time into preparing for an engaging lesson. If I am excited about a lesson then my students are also more excited about it. A former student teacher once told me, "invest in your students and they will invest in you." I have found that that could not be more true. Not only in preparing for engaging lessons, but also just getting to know students and discovering their likes and dislikes. It was one of my students' birthday on Friday and I didn't have that class on Friday but I happened to see him in the hallway and gave him a birthday Hi Five. He looked at me and said, "you remembered my birthday! I feel special!" I have realized that it's those connections that build respect and rapport between you and your students. A sense of community is being built inside the classroom and my students are starting to open and up and have fun with the lessons! As a result the teacher is enjoying her responsibility as well :)

Diving Into Student Teaching Creates Quite the Splash (STB#2)

Today marked a new day on this road towards my goals of becoming an agricultural educator. What made this day so special you may ask? Well, it was my first day teaching my agricultural sciences classes at my cooperating center in Chester County. Between school cancellations, early dismissals, 2 hour delays and me catching the flu, it felt like Christmas was going to come around again till I would finally be able to teach my first class. However, the day finally came and it happened to be today. As excited and fully prepared as  I was for this first day, I'm not so sure my students were as happy to see me. 

I created folders with printed out name tags. I created a introduction activity using postcards from Experimental Tools. I also planned a creative Go-Get-It E-moment activity that introduced the students to the units that we will be covering this semester. I really put a lot of time and thought into this lesson. So why was I left feeling disappointed at the end of class? 

            Can you guess what animal these by-products are from? My students can!

The students' initial reaction when they walked into class was "oh no, assigned seats!" They no longer could pile four at one table and sit with their friends. I also heard the worst complaining about the name tags. I heard one student say, "name tags, really? What are we in first grade? I don't get the point of this." To make matters worse students started asking Mr. Graydus to come back after I told them that I don't allow open notes during tests. At this point I was getting really discouraged. I could not believe that students were being so disrespectful. It was hurtful and it made me frustrated; however, I didn't let that get the best of me while in front of the students.

As the class period continued, the dynamic began to change as well. I explained the reasoning for the name tags and assigned seats and students began to realize where I was coming from. They enjoyed learning about animal by-products and they even filled out the tickets out for the day. This gave me a little boost of confidence that learning was occurring; however, I still felt discouraged that I was already unliked. I asked Mr. Graydus about the class afterwards and to my surprise the first thing he said was "I thought you did an excellent job with this class. It was great!" I thought for sure he was just trying to make me feel better, but he actually did like the lesson and thought it went well. It was at that point that I realized that I was being way too hard on myself. After school I talked to Ms. D (the other Ag science teacher in the program) and she told the same thing. She told me that these students don't handle change very well. No matter what the situation, the students are going to complain when something is different occurs in the classroom that seems like it changes their world. Change isn't bad for them and they will soon realize that it really isn't that bad. These students had Mr. Graydus all last semester for the same class, and now they have me as their teacher for this semester. I know that my teaching approach is much different from Mr. Graydus' and it made perfect sense why they didn't respond well to my structured class. It was different!

I remember going back to our discussion this past semester in AEE 295 and 412 about conditioning. It takes time to condition students to different classroom patterns. It's not something that will always happen on the first day, as I had expected. I was waiting so long for this day and prepared so much for it that I was left disappointed. Now reflecting back  I can see why the first day can sometimes be the hardest, but it took me to actually teach it to realize it. 

Ms. D. was a huge uplift for me for the day. She encouraged me that the semester will get better and that the students are just trying to figure me out and essentially avoid the change by complaining about it. She shared how the same thing happened to her when she student taught and during her first year teaching. She reminded that the important thing to remember is not to take it personally. This conversation with her was helpful for me to understand the dynamics of the school and classrooms. I made that dive into the big pool of student teaching this week and although there were a few splashes along the way, I can say with confidence that I am ready dive in again next week!

A Student Teacher's Perspective: Where is the "Warning Health Risks" Label for Student Teaching? (STB1)

This week was the first week that I spent at my cooperating center as a student teacher at Octorara High School. The school's marking period doesn't start till next week; therefore, my week was spent observing students and classrooms. Just through these observations I gained much insight as to the dynamics of the classes I will be teaching. Another thing I gained was sickness!

In the midst of lesson planning and gathering materials for my classes, I completely forgot about the health risks involved. My first day observing went great. I had a great time meeting the students and getting to know them; however, when I got home I began feeling sick. I must have picked up the stomach bug and spent the night .... well I don't need to go into too much detail!

 I woke up the next morning feeling better and decided to "climb back on the horse" and go back for the second day. I walked into my Ag classroom and was greeted by a not so nice substitute teacher. My cooperating teacher was out for the day and I was stuck with a rather grumpy substitute. As the day went on we warmed up to each other and the classroom dynamic got much better! What didn't get much better was my well being. Half way through the day I began sneezing and coughing. I came home again sick and spent another night with minimal sleep.

Despite catching a sinus cold, day two was a good challenge for me. It was my second day of just observing and because my cooperating teacher was out for the day he put me in charge. I had all of his classes by myself (plus the grumpy substitute) and it went great! It was a bit of a confidence booster in that it reminded that I can do this student teaching thing and I will make it through!

Because of minimal sleep from day two, day three only amplified my cold. The sneezing and watering eyes worsened and I felt bad for not feeling fully "there." Even though I wasn't feeling the greatest there were so many good connections that I made with students. Some of them just wanted to hang out in the classroom during a study hall or lunch. I made use of this time by asking them questions and getting to know them more. They must have not been too annoyed since they stayed. It was a great chance to get to know my students.

One thing that I have been hearing a lot is students getting thrown out of class, as if it is the thing to do or the norm. This greatly disappoints me. First, I don' think that sending students to the office all the time is beneficial for them. They miss the content in class and they will most likely return to class the next day more annoyed than they were the first day. That's not to say that certain situations wouldn't require an office visit. Secondly, it's important to understand why a student is acting out the way he/she is. From just talking to the few students that I did this week, I have come to understand that many come from some difficult situations. As teachers we often forget that there are difficult scenarios at home that effect a student's behavior in school. If students don't feel welcomed at home or school then that can really take a negative toll on their outlook on life.

My goal is to establish an organized and consistent classroom where rules are established and followed. If rules are not followed then consequences will follow; however, I want to be able to work out problems between the me and the student rather than immediately throwing the student out of class, as I have already seen.

Although I have had only three days of observing, there are many aspects about the Ag program that I have learned about. I have noted specific behavioral and organizational aspects that I really want to work on during my student teaching experience. These observations have most definitely helped prepare me for my first week of teaching next week. I have also learned that I need to continue to focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle so that I can be fully functioning in the classroom. I don't mean to come across complaining about being sick; however, it was something that I did not expect my first week student teaching. What I realized is that although you may be sick, your students still depend on you!

This week was a short week because school was canceled Monday; therefore, we did not go to the Farm Show. I observed Tuesday to Thursday and Friday there was no school. My schedule next week is as follows: (I start teaching one class, animal science, and will gradually pick up more classes as the semester progresses)

Monday- No School/No Farm Show
Tuesday - No animal science this day, Observe
Wednesday - Animal Science: Introduction to Ms. Graybill's classroom and Identifying Animal By Products
Thursday: Animal Science: Looking at the Value and Purpose of the Swine Industry in the US
Friday: Animal Science: Developing a Timeline of the History of the Swine Industry in the US