The Joys and Discomforts: Week #4

What a wonderful week it has been! I still feel like I am in the "honeymoon" stage. Sure there have been some challenges, and sure I've pushed myself in many ways, but I feel empowered. My students are great and my cooperating teachers are inspiring. I am so lucky to be where I am at; I truly believe this. Even though things have been going well, I am learning a lot and continuing to adapt and grow. I feel in all honesty that teaching is where I belong.


Now that I've got that off my chest, I can begin to really talk about the blessings and challenges of my week.

Welding students working on safety posters

Rolling with the punches

I believe I've been doing pretty well with flexibility so far despite my mental need for order and organization. However I find that a lot of my plans are changing. Some of this is due to things out of my control. For example many students are still out due to sicknesses and sports, etc. This has brought several classes down to half their size (no exaggeration!). Also, on Tuesday, there was a two hour delay, so two of my classes were cut out from there. This not only pushed everything back, but in Plant Science, I decided to move around a lesson to today rather than split a two-day lesson over the weekend.

Party Host E-Moment learning about weed pests

The other changes have come from my personal decisions. There were some projects or lessons that I thought were really neat while I was planning it, but looking at it now, 1) we don't have time, 2) I feel like they aren't a good idea anymore, or 3) the students are above or sometimes even below the level at which a certain assignment/activity is set at.

Small engines students demonstrating the function of engine parts

All of these factors combined can make it really challenging to follow a lesson plan let alone a unit plan. I know that it's all part of the experience, however, and adjusting to the needs of my students is of the utmost importance. The detail-oriented side of me is hoping for my plans to follow their original intent so I don't have to change so much!

A fourth classroom

I have two cooperating teachers, and then I work with the shop instructor, Mr. Statler, to teach welding. So I usually jump around 3 different classrooms throughout the week. However, this week, I had the opportunity to teach Life Skills students in their learning support room. These students are normally in my 3rd period Agriscience class, but due to the rigor and nature of the lessons and experiments the students in that class were doing, Mr. Clark thought it would be best to have separate lessons for them.


The topic is on alternative energy and fuel. I joined them in their learning support room and did little lessons with them every day this week. I had an aid with me who was a great help, but I was pretty much on my own as far as facilitating the lesson goes. I was up for the challenge!

Personal Tree Cookies

I had such a great time with these students. I think they really enjoyed me being there and enjoyed the lessons I was doing with them. On Monday, I taught them about chemical bonding. They got to make chemical bonds out of toothpicks and gum drops. Tuesday, we didn't have this class, but Wednesday, we talked about renewable energy and fossil fuels, and we did an activity with recycling and composting vs throwing things in the trash. Thursday, they did something completely different involving reading tree cookies to determine the age of trees, and talking about some by-products of trees. And today, Friday, I showed them a bunch of animal pelts, skulls, and footprints, and had them figure out what the animal was and feel the materials.

Making chemical bonds out of gum drops and toothpicks

There were a lot of things I noticed from observing them and working with them in the Agriscience class, and Mr. Clark shared some input on how he manages them. I also got to meet with the special needs coordinator this week who was able to give me insight on teaching with these students. Even though I did not have the experience or expertise working with students in that situation, I felt very comfortable with teaching them.

I don't always know if they've retained the information the next day, but I am confident that they are learning something, and that they enjoy some of the hands-on activities I am doing with them. They really are quite a joy to work with! I will be working with them for a few more days yet, and then we will be back in the classroom with the rest of the students. I feel like this is exactly the kind of experience I need and want to have so that I can better understand my students in years to come. And I look forward to working with them every day!

"The joys and discomforts of agricultural life..."

Just as the FFA Creed says, I hope to exert an influence on my school and community which will stand solid while I perform my duties during student teaching. I may not always know what the next day will bring, but I know that it brings me great joy to see my students and work with the teachers and staff at Greenwood High School.

Next week in Plant Science, I am excited to start the week with my problem solving approach lesson on Integrated Pest Management. This is the lab I did at Penn State, and now with some refining and a real class, I can try it out for real. I'm nervous but mostly excited, and I think this will change the pace compared to what we have been doing so far. The rest of next week, we will get into pest management and pesticide safety.


In Small Engines, the students are going to take the parts identification quiz, and they are even going to get their hands on a little inquiry as they try to assemble an entire engine based on what they know so far about the parts. They won't necessarily be putting it together using the tools and measurements, rather, they are going to try and see if they can figure out how the parts fit together and really visualize the functions of those parts in one whole engine. They will get started on energy conversion principles as well.


In Agriscience, I will still be with the Life Skills students, and we will be making butter, making plastic from corn, and making a potato battery.


In Welding, students will finish up on their discussion about safety, and get into tools a little bit, and then they will take their safety exam.


I am also picking up Food Science next week, where I will be starting on the Methods of Food Preservation unit.


My goals for next week are to work on planning in time for review of objectives/reflection at the end of the period. I try so hard to keep track of my time and I want to squeeze as much as I can into the class period but before I know it, the bell has rung. I need to work on stopping instruction earlier even if we aren't done yet in order to review.


Another goal, which is perhaps a long term goal, is to create lessons that are more student centered rather than teacher centered. I believe it is my need for organization that prevents me from planning lessons where I don't have direct control over what the students are doing. But I know that it is so important for their learning and beneficial for their problem solving skills so I agree fully that this is a necessary change (and a good change). I hope to overcome this challenge though!

Leaving Thought

"Do small things with great love" -- Mother Theresa