Progress, not Perfection: Week #11

If you're looking for Week #10's blog, it doesn't exist! Unfortunately, due to the State Legislative Leadership Conference (SLLC) on Monday, 3 days of no school because of really bad snow, and our PSU workshop seminar on Friday, I was not in school at all during week 10. However, I can reflect on SLLC a little to make up for that. 

SLLC

This is one of my favorite conferences to go to as a member. There is so much to learn and do and it really is a great time to network with legislators and other chapters. Unfortunately, the conference itself was cut short because of the weather warning. But it was great to see the students get to work and experience the same things I did when I was a member. I enjoyed passing on my knowledge and experiences.

The ag teachers got to help with evaluating proficiencies. Even though it was a really slow process, I was glad to go through it and see what judges look for. There are so many components to SAEs and the AET system that I know I need to learn but having a fundamental understanding of it really helps. And of course, it was neat to see the unique SAEs students have and to keep those in mind for when my students need my ideas in the future. 

On the way home from our short trip, we stopped by the famous Huckleberry plant that is native to Perry County. From what I gather, it isn't very common and I think the only remaining Huckleberry is in the Perry County area. So we got to see a little bit of tradition together!

Semester Motto

Student teaching is filled with its up and downs. I have such a great placement and amazing students and everything I could have asked for. But the only thing that presents challenges for me is.. well, me. I continually strive for perfection, but when I'm met with a challenge I can't figure out or something goes wrong, I get stressed out. I am my biggest critic. I know this is a time of learning and growth as I figure out this teaching gig, but I wish each lesson was amazing and I could stretch and excite students with each lesson. That doesn't always happen unfortunately, but I need to remember to roll with the punches and try my best.

So my motto that I am going to really try to stick to is Progress, not Perfection. I've heard it numerous times in different ways from many people. But my determined, sometimes rather stubborn, and perfectionist mindset doesn't allow me to think of myself as anything less. However, this whole teaching experience has taught me more about myself and what it means to really push myself but also accept that not everything is meant to be perfect. Some things are simply better off being learned from the struggles. The line from the creed: "in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggle of former years" comes to mind. I know E. M. Tiffany wasn't talking about teaching when he wrote this, but I think I'm in the "former years" part of my life. I need to keep pushing, keep learning, and keep trying to get to those "better things". I can do this! Here are somethings I'm learning from, not struggling from this eleventh week of student teaching.

 

Lab procedures

This week, I had my students do a cheese lab where they got to make cheese with an acid (vinegar or lemon juice). Not having done the lab before myself, I was a little unsure of how to walk my students through the lab. The other challenge was trying to set up for a lab when there is another class going on before that one.

Needless to say, the lab could have gone a little better and I could have prepared for it a little better. But the students were still able to make the cheese and I think they enjoyed making food!

Wrapping curds in the cheese cloth

A lot of the time, I get discouraged when I realize that I wasn't as prepared as I could have been or when I miss or forget something. But from each of these hurdles come learning experiences that now I will be able to adjust when I do the lab again in the future. 

On a happier note, in my plant science class, we've been doing quite a bit of hands-on stuff. I've had my students make compost, and had them add fish to their hydroponic systems. We are testing our systems to see if a hydroponic system with fertilizer works better than an aquaponic system. I'm excited to learn with them as we work through our little experiments!

Additionally, one of my areas for improvement is connecting and networking more with the community and teachers. Conveniently, I needed to go get the fish were to use for the system, so I got to meet the pet store owner that my cooperating teachers frequently go to. Now I know I have a helpful resource for any of my fish/aquaponic needs. 

Little moments

There were a few little things that happened throughout the week that I wanted to share that made me feel a little more like a teacher and a little less like a student. On Wednesday, I attended the Greenwood FFA Alumni meeting which was really neat to see because my home chapter doesn't have an alumni. It was neat to see what types of things an alumni can do and hear the support they give by means of scholarships, donations, or just giving of their time to make the chapter a success. It was also a great way to meet others in the community who are from or support the chapter.

Another super cool thing was that I got to say the advisor role while students were running through their opening ceremonies in preparation for the contest! The chapter has a student advisor so for any of the club meeting days, the student said the part. Some of my freshman students in my Agriscience class are participating in the Ceremonies LDE, so they needed to run through it for class. The student who normally says the advisor role wasn't there, so I got to step in. Not only was it a really cool way for me to give feedback to the speakers and then for me demonstrate what it should look like, but I got to say the part! Super cool. Oh and I didn't mess up! (but I did have to look over it once to make sure I had it right). 

Plans for next week

Next week in plant science, I am wrapping up my hydroponics and alternative plant uses unit (we'll still be checking our plants though) to begin the agronomic crops unit. 

In small engines, I will be finishing with the fuel systems and moving onto compression.

In agriscience, we will finish up with the public speaking unit, and eventually move onto parliamentary procedure.

In welding, I am having my students start to work on their final welding project.

In animal bioscience, this is my last week with them. I am finishing up our discussion on dairy products and hopefully ending the unit with making ice cream!

In food science, we will be finishing up our lessons on food additives and have student work on their research project.

In leadership, we just began talking about the Milk Quality and Products CDE, so we will carry that through until the end of the week. 

Leaving Thought

"Progress, not perfection"

Music to my Fears: Week #9

From the Greenwood students performing in the musical The Sound of Music, to making songs in animal bioscience, to listening to some tunes to get work done, we brought the music this week!

Greenwood students in The Sound of Music

Caught in action

I am so loving having my students do these hands-on activities and labs. Not only is it good for them to actually see and practice what they've been learning and reading about, but it's nice for me as I try to lesson plan. Less of me talking and more of them doing. I also think they really like this change of pace.

Risk BOLDLY

One of my expectations of my students is to risk boldly. I know that sometimes this is easier said than done, but I want to push my students to step outside of their comfort zones. So I try to plan activities where they're not always reading or listening to me lecture. 

I was nervous to try it because I knew I would get some push back, but I had my students try to make a song which included the parts of the udder anatomy. This was to help them with their anatomy quiz they would have the next day. There was some initial push back, but there were some really fun songs made. And I think my energy and excitement about this activity made them a little more excited. There were still some that spoke the lyrics rather than sang them, but I was happy to see them get in front of the class and perform. 

There were other groups that really got into it and even brought their guitar to play! It was fun and I think they enjoyed it. 

Anatomy of the udder performance

I had made the comment that I would join them singing if that would make them feel better. I like to live by the idea that I won't make them do something that I wouldn't do myself. One of my students said that this ideology is what makes a great teacher. I really appreciated his comment because I wasn't looking to try and be great... I was just being me. It comforts me to know that who I really am with students is received well and that they appreciate my efforts and support.

I did end up singing with one of the groups which made true my promise to my students. It shows me that it's not about having great lessons or being the best and most knowledgeable about the topic (I completely butchered the initial explanation of the anatomy of the udder to begin with). It's about showing students that you care and want them to succeed and you will do what it takes to get them there. It made an activity that I was hesitant about initially which stemmed from a lesson that originally crashed and burned seem worth it to see and hear the students' feedback. 

FFA participation

This weekend, we are at the Farm Show Complex for the Truck and Tractor Pulls. The blue jackets are being put to work helping with tickets, raffles and other odd jobs. They also get a chance to see the event!

Plans for next week

So next week, I'm going to be gone for three days. It stresses me out not being there just because of the nature of the lessons in several of my classes. There are presentations and labs and things that are coming up but I need to be there to assess them so I have to push things back even further. I fear that I am going to have to either start cutting out lessons that I wanted to teach (which I've been doing already) or cutting out whole units because I can't get it all done before the end of student teaching. But I am hopeful that it will all work itself out and when I have my own program I will be able to plan better for these events. 

In brief, I am having my students in the greenhouse, doing some work on engines, preparing for speeches, doing a careers assignment, making cheese, and discussing food additives. 

Leaving Thoughts

"The key to success is playing the hand you were dealt like it was the hand you wanted"

Shifting Some Gears: Week #8

This week, I am still pushing through some of the challenges of the previous week, but I think some new gears have been shifted and I'm hopeful they're in my favor.

New units and changing techniques

I am finally done with my unit on pest management, and I am moving onto alternative uses for plants. This unit includes my hydroponics project, so students have been doing much more hands-on learning by making their hydroponics system. I think they enjoyed this and I have really been trying to think of ways to make my lessons more hands-on and student centered. I find it hard to do sometimes, when the content I want them to understand is so specific, so I am thankful for projects like these where I can let them take the stage. I also had my students do a discussion on the uses of hydroponics in developing countries where I told them I was going to step back and let them discuss. They're a quiet class and being the first class of the day doesn't work in my favor so I was was worried that this discussion wouldn't go well, but once they got going, it actually went better than planned and I think they enjoyed it!

I tried this in my food science class as well. Other than introducing the topic of food irradiation, I didn't talk much about it at all. Instead, I split them into two groups and had them do some research on it, and then had them create a debate on the pros and cons of irradiated food. This is my talkative and energized class, so I think it was a great fit for them. Again, I didn't anticipate the debate taking very long at all, but they spent the entire class period on it, and they had some really great arguments for and against it. 

Food science debate on food irradiation

I know I can't rely on this all of the time, but I now know what it looks like to try a less teacher centered approach.

Into the shop!

I'm also excited because I'm getting students to actually start working in the shop. In welding, I gave them a demonstration (which went pretty well despite some of my fears!) and they got to practice with their welds. I have some challenges with students being uncomfortable welding, but I am hopeful that the ones who are motivated will get the opportunity to practice and make something neat. I know that flexibility is key for the other students, but it does make it a little challenging to essentially plan two different lessons for the same class period. It is also a challenge because I want to make sure I am watching for safety of the students welding and I don't want to have my attention divided. But I know that each student is important and I have to make that commitment to educate each of them. 

I don't have my small engines students in the shop yet, but next week, I'm going to get them working in there. They haven't said so yet, but I think they're itching to get their hands dirty (I know I want to see them in action!). So I think that will make planning those lessons a little easier.

The pressure is on

Public speaking exercise

Before, I felt that I had a lot of time, but now I am starting to feel some of the pressure of deadlines. I really want to take my time with my public speaking unit, for example, but many of them are also competing in the speaking contests and they must hand in their manuscripts by next week. This means I need to speed up some of my lessons or remove some completely. Again, I know that flexibility is key, but I also hate rushing students when I feel they need more time. It just means I need to be more efficient with my lessons. 

Another public speaking exercise on tone of voice with children's stories!

I also feel some pressure in making sure I complete all of my units before the conclusion of student teaching. Everything has taken much longer than I anticipated and everything has had to be shifted to later dates. I am working through some ways to be more efficient without leaving the students wanting more, so hopefully this will work itself out in the end!

In the world of FFA 

Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and Representative Mark Keller at the Farmer's Breakfast with Perry County FFA members and State FFA officers

On Friday, we attended Representative Mark Keller's breakfast. This breakfast hosted by Mark Keller introduced several different speakers and organizations that contribute to agriculture and growth in the county. It was neat to meet some new people, and become a little more connected with the county. 

Plans for next week

In plant science, students will continue working with their hydroponics system and will learn a little about aquaponics as well.

In small engines, I am getting students in the shop and having them disassemble engines.

In agriscience, they will continue to work on their speeches.

In welding, Mr. Statler will not be there, so I can't have them working on the equipment. Instead, they will work on a career exploration project.

In animal bioscience, we are going to finish with the anatomy of the udder and then we are going to talk about milk components. 

In food science, we will cover food packaging, and finish up our unit on food preservation. I anticipate moving onto the next unit by the end of the week.

In leadership, students will continue working on their speeches for the public speaking unit. 

Leaving Thought

"When it rains, look for rainbows. When it's dark, look for stars" -- Unknown

Halfway There; Living on a Prayer: Week #7

So this week I think Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer comes to mind. I am halfway through student teaching, and with this week being National FFA week, as well as my official full load, I've been pretty busy and a little overwhelmed with all of the responsibilities I have with student teaching, my own school work, and trying to apply for jobs at the same time. Despite some of these challenges, I have the wonderful support of my cooperating teachers, great students, and some answered prayers to get me through. 

National FFA Week

This week, we had a dress up day for each day of the week. We also attended Meet Your State Officer at Hoss's night. It was nice to chat with some neighboring ag teachers and eat some good food! 

Meet Your State Officer at Hoss's Night

We also had a teacher appreciation breakfast on Friday morning before classes started. The FFA students stayed after school on Thursday and came in early Friday morning to help with the preparations for the breakfast. This teacher appreciation breakfast also brings in some people from the community so it was nice meeting some other community members. I got to talk to one woman who was one of the first female agriculture teachers in Pennsylvania. She shared with me her story and the struggles she had to face. Others who joined us gave me some great advice or otherwise were a joy to talk to. 

PA One Stop Erosion and Soil Conservation Management Planning

Students being trained on the program

My community based unit of instruction project was working in conjunction with Penn State to train students to use the PA One Stop program. The students would then work with local farmers on using the program and creating a conservation plan for their farms. On Wednesday, the students were trained and then the farmers came in. They were each able to help out a farmer and give support and assistance when needed. It was a neat experience and I think the students benefited from it by not only providing a service, but by knowing how to use the program to manage their own family's farm. 

Farmers joining us for the training

Reflection on my classes 

Testing pH of foods in Food Science

Other than that, this week, classes have been going on as usual (not that there is really a normal day). The students in my plant science class had their first exam. Some of them scored really well and others didn't score as nicely as I would have hoped. I wish we had longer to review the day prior, and I wish I had told them sooner about the study guides that were posted in their online course management system (we use Schoology). But I think the students also needed to put in some extra effort outside of class time to study. What I've gathered from many of them, they didn't really study even though they knew well ahead of time that this week was the exam. I can't help feeling like there might have been something more I could have done to help them, but again, I think part of it was a motivation on their part to put in extra work. 

Making jam in the canning lab

In my agriscience class, the Life Skills students I had previously worked with are now in the classroom with me and the rest of their peers. When it was just me and the Life Skills students, I felt I could fill their needs, but now that there is a wide range of learning abilities, I am finding it really challenging to meet the needs of the Life Skills students as well as the strong academic students. Especially since the unit I'm on is public speaking and there really isn't a way to make that hands-on other than having them present speeches (which most are naturally scared to do). 

Having Animal Bioscience outside!

Plans for next week

In plant science, we will be starting the next unit on hydroponics and alternative plant uses.

In small engines, we will be using micrometers and learning how to measure with them.

In agriscience, we will continue talking about how to write and structure speeches.

In welding, we are going to start discussing techniques for how to weld. 

In animal bioscience, students are going to finish learning about dairy cattle production and are going to begin learning the anatomy of an udder.

In food science, students are going to learn about food dehydration and some other methods of preservation.

In leadership, students are going to continue writing their speeches and will be given time to write their speeches.

Leaving Thought

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." -- Psalms 23:4

ACES as an Advisor

I have attended ACES many times; as a member, as a State Officer, as a Penn State Avenger, to assist with the FFA Alumni and help chaperone, and this time, as an FFA advisor. It was such a great experience and I enjoyed getting to see my students outside of the school setting where they could have fun and grow as leaders. 

 
Upon arrival, I got to attend the teacher workshop where we heard about some cool classroom tools and resources. I slipped out to take pictures of my students in their workshops. I was able to find all fourteen of my students dispersed throughout the workshops. It was neat to see them participating and engaging. While taking pictures doesn't sound significant, I recall the many times I was in workshops and the teachers would walk around to take pictures of me and my peers. Now I'm the one doing this. It feels like I've been passed the baton and now I'm running the race. It's just a little piece of the greater picture of what teaching involves.

I helped chaperone the dance where there weren't any issues. I was also on courtesy corps. So after going to each room and checking in our students (one of which unfortunately had to go home due to feeling sick), I joined the other ag teachers in patrolling the halls. There really weren't any issues save for a few rooms that were a little loud. Other than that the night was quite peaceful. If anything, I was glad to see the process of courtesy corps and how the teachers handled the situations. 

I have no bad things to say about my experience at ACES. My students are GREAT and I love being able to mentor, advise, teach, and care for each of them. 

Full Load; Full Week: Week #6

So technically speaking, I don't have a full load... yet. But the only class I haven't taken over yet is the Agriscience class. Instead, I have been doing a few more additional lessons with the Life Skills students. Because of this, I consider that to be a class in which I am teaching so basically a full load!

Past the honeymoon stage?

This week was interesting. Perhaps it's because my students are comfortable with me or perhaps I've been getting a little too relaxed. No serious behavior issues yet, but some of my newer classes I find that the students are a little more... charismatic and a little more social than what I find acceptable. Cell phones have been a bit of an issue. Some students are constantly on their phones. It wasn't an issue before except for maybe one student. Now it's a couple more. It doesn't bother me too much and I have them use their devices to find information so I feel that it is hard to regulate. 

The issue is actually that students might be on their phones but when I ask them a question they can still answer me! Maybe their answer isn't always the deepest answer, but I can't even catch them off guard. My cooperating teachers say they have similar issues too, which isn't entirely a bad thing (at least they are still following along), but I try to emphasize that it is not professional. I did say on the first day that I don't mind the use of phones for educational purposes but if I find that it is becoming an issue, we will have a conversation. So I did establish that expectation. Perhaps not clearly enough. Ms. Kane is going to have to get a little more serious!

One thing I've tried is to kind of make a light-hearted joke out of it. It doesn't always make them put it away but I think it shows that I do notice them on their phones. And the way their desks are setup, there's really not much hiding it anyway. Additionally, there have been a couple of times where conveniently enough, a respectful student asks a question that I don't know the answer to so I turn to whichever student is on their phones (gotchya!) and ask them to look up that information. I'm sure there are better methods to handle this situation, but we'll see how the following week goes.

A conditioned response

Another struggle that I found this week came out of assigning group projects. My cooperating teachers don't normally start with a bellwork or anything, but the students have normally all been very good about getting into the habit of completing bellwork. However, this week in several of my classes, they were working on group presentations. It's as if they completely forgot that bellwork was a thing.. instead they just walk into class and log onto the computer and begin to get to work. I'm happy that they're eager to get working, but it is so hard to reel them in and get them to hop off of the computer to do the bellwork. This has happened in several of my classes, and I think it's because they are used to just walking in and getting to work from before I arrived. Not a bad thing necessarily, but I was still a little taken off guard and had to adjust.

Chapter Degree Recipients

Greenhand Degree Recipients

Reciting the Creed

Chapter Officers

Greenhands and sandwiches

This week was also very full because there were several FFA events taking place. Students made sandwiches for their fundraiser which they were going to use the proceeds for their hunger awareness event. That same day, we had our Greenhand Degree ceremony combined with our Chapter Degree ceremony. I loved being able to help students out prior to the event with editing their speeches. I was also happy to see my students receive their degree. I tried to put myself out there and met some of the parents so that was really nice too. 

Goals and lessons

As I continue with my full load, I hope to continue to keep my head above water. I love teaching and I think that makes any challenge much easier to handle. A personal goal of mine is to be more on top of grades. I wish I didn't have to worry about grades... just engaging students in the learning! 

This week in plant science, we will have students finish their presentations and then we will review for their pest exam and then they will take the exam.

In small engines, we will finish talking about engine classifications and some of the systems.

In agriscience, I begin teaching the entire class and start with public speaking.

In welding, we just finished talking about safety and we are going to get into talking about welding techniques.

In animal bioscience, students are going to present their posters on dairy cattle breeds and get into selective breeding and later into dairy cattle production.

In food science, we are going to talk about pH in foods and do a neat lab with this which will lead us into how pH affects the method of canning, and then we will probably get into cold preservation methods at the end of the week. 

In leadership, we are going to continue talking about public speaking and styles of speeches.

Leaving Thought

"If there is no way, create one" 

All Hands On Deck: Week #5

This week we switched gears a little bit. It was a short week because we had a snow day on Thursday, and on Friday we regrouped with the cohort and University Staff at Penn State. But either way, there was a lot of hands-on action happening which was a little different from what we had been doing.

Making butter!

First... the problem solving approach

One of my areas of improvement was having the students do some more hands-on or student centered learning. In plant science, I was introducing Integrated Pest Management. I actually performed my lab that I did with my cohort members in the fall with a few adjustments per their feedback. You can check out my blog on this lab here.

Students had just learned about the pests and were starting to be introduced to the idea of pest management. I gave them a scenario and they were given the task of solving this scenario. I led them through the steps of IPM without telling them what IPM was or that they were doing it. Once they solved the pest issue and figured out how to best manage the pest, I told them that what they did was essentially IPM. 

I thought the lesson went really smoothly. The only thing that I wish went differently was that I didn't already introduce them to the pest earlier in the Pest ID lessons. Most of them caught on quickly that the pest they needed to find was the Bean Leaf Beetle just by looking back at their notes. I didn't want to trick them but I also didn't want it to be so easy! I still had them find a resource that backed up their claims so they still had to do some research. They did have to do more work later on, though, as they followed the other steps of IPM so it wasn't like they were just sitting around. Point is... I need to make it a little more challenging for them!

Second... Inquiry Based Instruction

Students in my small engines class have pretty much just been in the classroom. While I think they've enjoyed it so far, I think some of them were itching to actually start working on engines. This was my worry as I was planning my unit because of how much content needs to be understood. Yes, they could tear down engines at essentially any point, but either way, there is quite a bit of content to discuss so that they fully understand the functions of an engine. 

Assembling parts of an engine... no tools and no manual!

My cooperating teacher and I decided it would be nice to have them spend a day in the shop. They had just learned about safety, tools, and parts. They had the base knowledge to be able to go in the shop and tinker around with the engines. So I split them into groups and told them to try and assemble the engine based on what you know about the parts and how they function together. They were not going to worry about using tools; just try and see where everything fits.

This was also a great time for me to check on their safety. I thanked them for following safety procedures and remembering those rules. 

I really enjoyed this activity and I think they appreciated something a little different too. It was a great opportunity for them to try and put together the parts just off of prior knowledge. I had to tell some of them to picture themselves as a little three year old putting the round block in the round hole, and the square block in the square hole. If you look close enough, some parts are shaped in such a way that it logically only fits in one place. 

Another thing that was really cool was that I was able to ask them questions about how they knew something went in a certain spot. How do they know the exhaust valve goes in one hole vs. the other? Knowing what the carburetor is, where do you think it goes? 

Third.... hands-on laboratory lessons

Making a battery with pennies and salt water

With my group of Life Skills students, we continued doing fun labs and activities. This week, some of our labs included making butter, making plastic out of corn starch, and running a potato battery and a penny battery. Some worked better than others, but I think either way there was a lesson for them to take away. I think they really enjoyed doing these mini lessons with me and I so enjoyed working with them. Now they are back in the classroom with the rest of their peers, and soon, I'll be taking over that class!

Penny battery circuit lab

One thing that I must say that I really enjoyed was being able to teach them applicable lessons in measuring and mathematics. Some of the labs I did with them needed specific measurements so I would tell them that amount and they would show me how much that was or we would look at it together and see if that was enough. I liked this because I went into it thinking I was only going to be teaching about corn to plastic, for example, but the result is that they walk away with practice of some everyday skills. They may never make anything into plastic from corn starch again, but they will certainly use measurement and mathematics and other problem solving skills in their future. It's an educational win!

Heating up the corn starch mixture

Upcoming plans

In Plant Science, we are going to finish with our discussion about pest management and then I am going to have them work on and present presentations about Pest Management and Control. 

In Small Engines, we are going to finish talking about energy conversion principles and start talking about engine classifications.

In Welding, we are going to finish up our conversation on safety and tie in any more pieces of equipment necessary, and then they will take their safety exam.

I am starting Animal Bioscience on Monday so I will begin the unit on Dairy Cattle Production talking about breeds of cattle and getting into anatomy.

In Food Science, we are going to finish up talking about the history of food preservation and then we are going to get into heat preservation.

I am also planning on starting Leadership next week, so I will begin with having them work on public speaking in preparation for the speaking CDE. The lessons won't be specific to the CDE, but rather how I can prepare them for speaking in life (which will subsequently prepare them for the CDE). 

Next week's about to get a whole lot busier for me... I hope I can manage it all!

Leaving Thoughts

"And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst" --Zechariah 2:5