This week at Shaver's Creek was a hectic and busy time for everyone at the center. The Maple Harvest Festival was upon us, and this was one of the largest festivals Shaver's Creek puts on for the public throughout the year. Just dropping into Shaver's Creek two weeks ago, I was able to participate in the tail end of the preparation, and its many aspects, to help produce a successful weekend.
My role throughout the week was varied, from handling orders to preparing many different items for the festival, and then helping out with the RPTM Maple Harvest Class. On Monday, I was able to attend my first staff meeting at the center. It was different from a school faculty meeting, but I did see some similarities. I could tell about all who were in charge, and the tasks that each one had to complete. I was formally introduced to all of the staff, and I recognized numerous faces from previous time spent at the center. I was ready to get the week going, and setting up the week's plan from our faculty meeting was a good starting point for me.
On Tuesday, I was able to put my teaching skills to use. This day was a practice day for the many students who were participating in the RPTM Maple Harvest Class. These students would be facilitating different stations along the trail and providing information to the public about the Maple Sugaring process. Their audience was interesting as well, being the local elementary school from Juniata Valley. Each station was going to have 20 minutes, and they had to produce an appropriate lesson with the proper components. I was going to be a supervisor of the facilitators, and provide feedback through my observations. I really liked this opportunity because I was able to see the other side of teacher, in the evaluation aspect. I incorporated iPads into my critique by taping the facilitators during one of their 6 times teaching throughout the day. I gave out feedback I learned in the classroom about student management to the college students. I was busy all day with those students, and the training went very well.
On Wednesday, I received another perspective of teaching that I usually do not complete. I was given the opportunity to grade the lesson plans of the college students who were facilitating the maple harvesting stations. As I graded, I could not help but chuckle when I thought about the difference between formal and non-formal lesson plans. The ones for my classroom were very detailed, to specific words and questions I was going to answer. But, the non formal ones I was grading had nothing when compared to the other ones. They did have similar essential components, but I could have definitely written a novel in the feedback section on each lesson if they were in a real classroom. It was nice to grade the lessons, and not have to worry myself on how someone else was grading them. I really liked doing this, and added some creative ideas to the lessons.
On Thursday, I did a great deal of preparation for the festival. I was all around the center helping to clean, prepare, and just help whatever needed to be done. I was able to sit down with the coordinator, Laurie McLaughlin, for a bit and pick her brain about the festival. I thought it would a good idea to understand the different aspects that could relate to me compiling a future FFA fundraiser or event. She gave me so much good information and provided me the behind the scenes look at truly what needs to happen to make the Maple Harvest Festival a success.
Friday was another amazing day along this experience. I participated in our cohort professional development. We were able to work through some lesson tuning, and then focus on the DELTA experience. I had no idea what this was, and let me tell you, it was a handful to complete. We ran around to different stations throughout the afternoon, completing mock discussions, interviews, and scenarios that a classroom teacher would have to deal with on an everyday basis. I was flustered throughout the whole thing, but managed to keep myself calm enough to bring up valid points and produce good answers to what was being asked of me. When I was finished, I was so much more confident about the knowledge I obtained in my classes and other experiences. But, after Friday's workshop I wasn't done, I had the whole weekend of Maple Sugaring ahead of me.
Over the weekend, I was able to complete many items during the Maple Harvest Festival. I was there helping out wherever I was needed, and I was even able to teach and interact with children of all ages. Throughout the festival, I managed the trail and the students who were teaching the stations, provided support to the presenters throughout the day and even helped them to teach. I branched out by teaching very young children about some really old, yet fun, games from different cultures that the one presenter brought. It was a really fun to do, and it was nice to not worry so much on content and focus on the experience/activity itself. I would be lying if I said I didn't have any pancakes with maple syrup on them, but hey that's the best part of the festival! The festival was overall a great experience that allowed me to use my teaching skills and pedagogy in different ways this week, and I really enjoyed it.
Educators do all sorts of teaching, and it can be on any subject. I was excited to see that what I had learned in my agriculture teaching classes could also connect very easily to a non formal setting and akso an evaluator setting. This week was hectic, but fun, and totally worth it all in the end.
It was a pleasure to write for you.
