It already seems that the week has come and gone, and I can't believe that I am already three weeks into my student teaching experience. This week was a bit crazy, and there were some firsts and other events that I have never experienced before.
On Monday, I had my first little hiccup as a student teacher. I took the students out to the greenhouse, and when they got there they said it was locked. I didn't think twice and ran back into the class to get a key. When I got into the class, I realized that there was no key for the greenhouse. Rookie mistake #1. As I went back out there was a few students who were acting up. I realized I had left the class alone. Rookie mistake #2. It was literally gone for 20 seconds, and this was a slap in the face that anything can happen with high school students. I really didn't think anything of it so I moved on with the class. I taught the rest of the class and then at the end I asked for one of the students to stay behind. My cooperating teacher stepped in to help, because he got the full story from one of the aids that were with the class. We talked to the students involved and got down to the bottom of it. It was nice to both handle the situation because they saw the severity of the incident and also gave me a bit more credibility by helping handle the situation. Everything ended up okay, but it was an interesting situation that was very unexpected.
STUDENT TEACHER LESSON OF THE DAY: DON'T LEAVE YOUR STUDENTS ALONE!!!
Now, this situation gave me a lot to think about, and I realized just asking a student to run in and get the specific thing, or just simply trying the door myself would have not put me in this situation. I like to think you can trust all students, but that's not always the case. I was happy to have a great learning experience, but I am just relieved that nothing worse happened.
As I taught on Tuesday, I kept the students very engaged with a guided study worksheet. It was a great technique to get all of the information across, while engaging the students throughout class. I was pleased with the lessons of the day, and it was a nice, smooth day after my Monday incident.
On Wednesday I experienced my first SNOW DAY!!!!! There was about a foot of snow on the ground, and I was shocked at how much came down. I wish I would have taken a picture, but there was an enormous amount. It was nice to get some items finished up and relax for a bit, because on Thursday and Friday I was going back to State College to experience my first Record Book Judging Contest.
I was very intrigued to how this judging would go, since I had never previously done it before. I worked with my students a bit to get their books ready, but I was still a rookie. I walked in knowing nothing, and when I walked out, I was exhausted. Both days were full of many record books and just a pure get it done work ethic. It was amazing to see some great agriculture teachers and the system to grade all of the books. Although I was tired after both days, it was a good learning experience to see the winners chosen and broaden my horizon through this professional development.
It was a pleasure to write for you.
