The Hard Work Comes First! (STB#6)

This past week was the week before National FFA week and that means lots of planning! We have been having a rough start getting students involved in FFA and having the motivation to participate in events outside of school. However, with National FFA week just around the bend it gives us the perfect opportunity to ignite that spark for FFA during school.

I have been working closely with the chapter officers to plan and prepare for a week of events. Although I have been working hard to organize meetings with them and spark interest in planning, it's the students that have brought creativity to the forefront. The most rewarding part is seeing them engaged and recognizing that they will be proud of what they have accomplished. The schedule for the upcoming week of events is as follows:

Monday -
Apparel: Pink Day (breast cancer awareness)
Activity: FFA and Ag Trivia Competition

Tuesday-
Apparel: Plaid/ Flannel day Day
Activity: Meet your state officers at Hoss's

Wednesday-
Apparel: Chevy vs. Ford Day
Activity: Handball Competition in the Gym: Chevy vs Ford

Thursday-
Apparel: Camo Day
Activity: Truck Show! (teachers and students judge FFA members vehicles)
                Brunch: Those who participate are welcome to join us in our FFA brunch
Friday-
Apparel: FFA Apparel Day
Activity: Freshman Friday! Ice cream social for the freshman

I am so very excited to see how this week turns out. I am hoping that this week makes FFA members more appreciative and proud to be part of their FFA chapter!

                                           Collecting our supplies for National FFA Week!

As far as teaching  this week I only had 1 and 1/2 days. It was not a full week but probably one of my most stressful weeks. I had applications to fill out and submit, a school tour to prepare for, letters to write and paperwork to complete. It was more than exciting because I am preparing for a potential job; however, it was a reality for me in realizing all the additional work that still needs to be managed while teaching. It's a lot of work but the results yielded make it worth it.

This week was a good learning experience for both me and my students. I think together we are learning that how much you put into something is how much you will get out of it. Yes, the hard and stressful work comes first but seeing the lives that are positively affected by your work influences you to continue doing what you're doing. Along the way we build our own professional and organizational skills. This week has been busy but I am excited to see that hard work pay off next week!

Teaching is... real, motivational, hard, tiring, fun, what we do! (STB#5)

This past week of student teaching was both empowering and exhausting. The other cooperating teacher in the Ag program was off for three days out of the week and had asked if I would like to teach her classes while she was gone. I figured this would be a great opportunity for me to experience a loaded day of classes as I taught her classes in addition to mine. I learned very quickly that a loaded day also equals an exhausting day. I returned home and realized how physically tired I was and that I still had papers to grade and materials to gather.

It was a very realistic scenario and a good glimpse into the everyday life of an Ag teacher. Why might this be empowering? Well because I made it through and survived! I realized that I can do it and that has inspired me to keep going. On top of this week's situation, the sub that I had at first complained about, actually became my advocate for the week. He was bragging about me to other teachers in the hallways and to students, and proud of what I was doing. I honestly don't know why, I was just doing my job, but the support definitely encouraged me throughout the week.

I also had a huge breaking point in my Animal Science class this week that has positively changed the dynamics of the classroom. I had graded their lab reports from a lab the week before and found that many of them didn't fill them out or meet the standards that I was expecting. This had greatly disappointed me because many of their grades and dropped significantly because of it. So Monday I came to class with a serious speech about setting higher standards. I told them I want each and every one of them to be successful not just in my class but in their lives and that I am going to push them to reach their true potential. I wasn't so sure my speech about life would make a difference; however, the rest of the week went great! The students were focused and they turned in completed work in complete sentences. I was shocked but I think that they took what I had to say to heart. One student told me after class one day, "I feel like you are ticked with us." I responded, "I'm not upset with you, I'm upset for you. You guys don't realize just how great you are and can be. Your decisions to not put the time or effort in my class effects your success in the future." I think that my message reached many of them and I hope that is carries with them to their other classes.

  

Just like students depended on one another to hold each other up, so do organisms in the soil rely on each other for composting purposes.

The Week of Realizations (STB#4)

This week was an interesting week of student teaching. I feel that I made progress with my students in moving them forward with the content and diving into the inquiry lessons that were engaging. I very much so enjoyed bringing in hands on materials that helped engage students in the lessons. Although I enjoyed teaching my lessons, my students put up a bit of a challenge.

I heard many complaints from my students about having to complete a lab. In lab they had to create the digestive system of a pig from the given materials in their groups. I was super excited for this lab and students were super interested in the materials that I brought to class; however, once I gave them materials and told them the task for the day, the complaining began. The complaints at first were hurtful because I took them as I am failing as a teacher. This week, however, I came to a realization. I am not a teacher to make my students happy. I am a teacher to help my students learn and achieve higher levels of educational success. It seems that as soon as any sort of work is assigned the complaining begins. So perhaps the complaining is a sign of students being pushed to think which should be encouraged because that is how our students achieve such success.

This is still the beginning of my student teaching experience and I am learning that my students are taking a bit longer to be conditioned into a new teaching style. My teaching style just so happens to push students to think through the activities that are asked of them. I'm not ready to lower that standard due to the complaining. I believe my classroom is not a study hall, nor is it a time socialize. It is a time to engage, learn and build cognitive thinking skills. That standard I must keep high and with engaging and enthusiastic materials I believe my students can achieve success.

This week was also a week of realization for me. I often times find myself reflecting on my day on my car ride home. One particular day I began crying on my way home. It wasn't because it was a rough day or because I didn't feel successful but rather my heart ached for my students. I started thinking about each of them and the situations that many of them go through. Some of them deal with extremely difficult situations and I see their lack of respect for their education. Some seem to have given up and don't care if they fail. Some don't take school seriously and others choose to engage in unwise activities. These things make me sad because I care about my students. I see them making bad choices rather then dedicating their time to things that will help them rise above their difficult situations and become successful. Their poor choices only encourage a pattern of low standards. My tears came because these students don't realize their potential to be successful. They don't realize just how great they can be. If they could just make this realization for themselves I think it would change their whole attitude about life and school. Their situations in life tell them that they can't but I hope as their teacher I can help them realize that they can.

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

Tis the Season of.... Creativity?

After talking to one of my awesome cohort members, Jill Gordon, we decided that these blogs sound more like steps of a Pinterest craft. However, we promise that if you keep reading it is surely no Pinterest craft.




Today we had our very last AEE 412 lab ever (sad!). The instructions for this lab was to bring one of your favorite unit plans and your creative juices. We really had no idea what to expect for lab. I thought for sure we were working in groups to create better unit plans or some creative activity; however, I was wrong! Instead we were all herded out to a big old white van and shipped away to the land of $1 (aka dollar tree). This also happens to be one of my favorite stores. Not because I am cheap (well maybe a little) but rather because there are tons of inexpensive craft ideas and teaching materials there! In fact, this was exactly why were headed there.


The creativity aspect of this lab was taking a field trip to dollar tree and finding 5 items that would enhance a unit or lesson plan. Our advisors were kind enough to buy our creative finds. I was truly amazed at all the awesome ideas my peers came up with. They are some very thoughtful and creative individuals! I am truly blessed to be apart of this cohort.


I chose my 5 items based on a swine unit that I will be teaching during student teaching. I found pink paper plates, stretchy socks, brown paper bags, shaving cream, a dog toy and a military play set. I may have been that one person that chose 6 items instead of 5. Oops! Anyway, I was pretty excited about my finds. I will utilize my pink paper plates during an ear notching lab. Students will decorate their plates according to a breed of pig we learned about in class. They will attach ears on to their pig and then practice their ear notching skills.


The stretchy socks will be used to learn about the digestive system. Students will construct the parts of a pig's digestive system. I did this as my inquiry lab earlier this year and loved it! Of course, there are other materials that I will need for this lab; however, when I tried it out in lab I didn't have the right kind of socks. So I am excited to see how this lab turns out by utilizing other materials.


What is so special about a brown paper bag? Lots of things! There are a variety of activities that you can do with a brown paper bag. Specifically in my swine unit I will use these bags to "build a pig" and during review sessions. The students will use the bag as the pig's body. Which can then be attached to the pink plates which represents the pig's head.


The shaving cream will be used for students to draw the different parts of the pig out with. They will each have their own stations and they will use the shaving cream to demonstrate the different parts of the pig. That was my initial thought, however, there are many other activities that shaving cream can be used for.


The dog toy and the military set were two random ideas. The dog toy is actually a pig with two ropes as its ears. It will serve as a hall pass for when students need to use the restroom. It's cute and it fit my unit well. How could I resist? The military play set on the other hand was not so cute, but I had this idea of using it in a problem solving learning lesson. I am hoping to use the different objects in this play set up a game of Clue. The problem will be presented and they will have to solve the mystery in order to find a solution to the problem.


This was hands down my favorite lab. I love thinking outside of the box and trying to bring those creative features into my lessons. Dollar Tree is the place to go for cheap little teaching aids. I think this goes to show that adding these creative features to our lessons are not only necessary for student achievement but they can also be inexpensive.