The Second Week is in the Books! (Ag Science book that is)

As my second week of student teaching comes to an end, I feel I have done much  more with my students. I feel that I am becoming part of the faculty, community, and school as a whole. This week seemed to go by pretty fast, and I was actually able to get into a routine with my classes, lessons, and then everything else in my life! The first week of teaching seemed to be a bit of a struggle in some areas, but this week seemed to even out a bit and I was able to view different perspectives and gain new knowledge.

This week was pretty much the same as the first week, but I could feel the students becoming more acclimated to my presence and teaching methods. They are more understanding of what the routine is in class and how each day is supposed to work. One of the items that is now becoming a ritual in my classes is bell work. It seemed like everyday last week I had to really pester the students to do the bell work, but this week, on Monday and Tuesday, I only had to mention it a few times to students who were late to class. I realized that collecting the bell work, which I did on Tuesday, and allotting points for the work is crucial to keep the students in check to complete it every day.

"So, what did everyone put for question #1 of the bell work?"

Towards the end of the week, I was able to see some actual lesson comprehension and hands-on activities. On Thursday, while being graced with Ms. Allison Hoover observing me, and taking all of these wonderful pictures, I tried a new strategy with my Horticulture 1 class. This class is very small, only 8 students, and I was not sure how this was going to turn out. I had the class debate about Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction. To my surprise, the students used iPads very well and debated each other with great facts. I was able to wrap up the debate by revealing that there is not one right way to reproduce plants, with every situation calling for a specific method to create the intended outcome.

Discussion was fierce as I mediated the debate.  

I was proud that this technique enriched my lesson and I could try something to create an effective outcome. I was also able to get out into the greenhouse on Friday to discuss plant propagation. This was my first time teaching the material, and managing students outside of our little classroom. To say the least, I was nervous. I had a mix of students and their engagement. Some were very excited, and I had one class that didn't want to go out there at all. I was shocked that they didn't want to participate, so I had to put my foot down and make sure they knew this was worth participating in. After that short little discussion, most of them came around to participate.

The second week, overall, was a good one. I am starting to become more comfortable with my students and the rest of the faculty at Cowanesque Valley High School. Each lesson I teach gives me that much more experience to further my growth as an educator. I am interested to see what the new month of February will hold for me, especially because it is very busy and there are new experiences on the horizon. 

I would just like to once again thank Allison Hoover for her contribution of photos. I am considering hiring her full time just to take pictures and market my program!!!!

It was a pleasure to write for you.

The First Week

I can really only express my first week in one sentence.

"Dive in head first." 


Wow, you're still reading this blog? I said I could only describe it in one sentence….

Seriously, stop reading!

(Just kidding keep reading!)

I feel a little humor is always a good way to end a week that has thrown you into a new classroom, apartment, and life to say the least. A way of life that is completely opposite of what I've always known.

I could have had all of the training in the world, but that first day in the classroom is something no one can TRULY explain it or teach you how to handle it. I only say truly because their can be scenarios and teaching labs done, but it really is not a true first day. Everyone has their own experiences and stories, and very few are similar. Like I said in my one sentence description earlier, I dove in head first to student teaching. I was given the task of taking on the full course load of classes that I would be teaching in my formal high school setting. This only happened because of my split semester completing half of the time in a formal setting, while the other half in a non formal setting. I had no time to think, just react and teach.

Overall, my first week was exhausting, but only because I had never done this before. I had some good classes who seemed interested, but had others whom I knew were going to be a tough time. I realized how much teachers, well at least caring teachers, have to do during the day just to keep their students on task, get others caught up, and a million other things that happen during a school day. In one of my classes, I got interrupted by the phone  
5 TIMES! I was almost at the point of unplugging it, but I kept calm and just tried to keep the lesson going. We all face challenges the first week, and I know some of mine were keeping students engaged and producing lessons that could be handled by students of multiple levels of intelligence. These practices only come with experience and repetition, but right now its still hasn't hit me on what I am currently doing and how to fix it.

I was able to get some great feedback from my cooperating teachers throughout the week, and they said many of my feelings and emotions were normal. There was no way I was going to come into the classroom and be a stellar teacher. They saw that I was doing my best, and produced advice to further help in the coming weeks.

Hopefully, this experience will allow me to change in certain ways, developing my future career goals and producing something I will never forget. I have many family members who speak about their student teaching experience, so I decided to create a journal with a log of all my days just to capture some memories. This will be a great addition to look back on and maybe laugh, or just say "wow."

I look forward to what is going to come about in the future weeks of teaching, and what my outlook will be when I reach the final week of this experience.

It was a pleasure to write for you.