This was my first time every attending SLLC. I never went as a student, and now I got to experience it as an agricultural educator. It was a really cool experience, really tiring! I thought I was going to have downtime to work on lesson plans and the grading I brought with me....nope, it was basically go go go!
I really enjoyed talking with the other teachers, which can be found in my other blog about the professional activities that I attended.
The community service was an interesting experience. My bus had a lot of musical talent, courtesy of Mike's cooperating school, Cowanesque Valley. A lot of the boys had been in a musical together so they kept breaking out into songs from that as well as a variety of country songs. One of the boys, is actually the younger brother of a friend of mine from college. I asked him if she was his sister and he gave me the weirdest look, it was quite comical. He then introduced himself. I said my name was Ms. Case, then I said, Jeanne, then I was not really sure as to what I should call myself. I never know if I should call myself Ms. Case or Jeanne when introducing myself to students that aren't mine. Mike and I also got the job of washing the stairways.
I was thoroughly impressed with the speed of service at Hoss's. We were lucky to have been the first bus that got there and we got out of there in record time as well. On the bus, I tried to get one of my girls to sing along with the boys, but she was not into that. The dance was fun. I enjoy having my own little dance party in the back of the room with the other student teachers. SLLC was really different from ACES in this regard because all of my PSO friends were not there to dance with and the students that I brought are not the ones that enjoy when I make a fool out of myself and dance with them. So instead Cassidy and I line danced by ourselves in the back of the room.
After the dance and reflections, I helped out with courtesy corps again. It was a good experience, working with seasoned ag teachers and hearing stories of different teaching experiences. It is also good to hear how to correctly tell students to be quiet.
Tuesday morning was fun as well. I got to see some of my Farm Bureau Friends again, and it was great to watch the students interact with the legislators. The room was packed with blue jackets. It was wonderful. I actually sat with Abby's group of students since mine was full and I got to talk to them about the FACE conference and ag ed since one of the girls will be going to Del Val for it.
The truly great thing, was talking with the girls about what they got out of the experience and what they learned. They really got a lot out of it and can see how what they learned related to them. The one girl wants to get so involved now. She wants to run for the state officer nominating committee this year, state officer later. She wants the Dover chapter to start doing more community service. It was great! She got good things from the conferences and this is what the conferences are all about, what they are for.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Week 8 - Phew I'm tired.
Monday and Tuesday at SLLC
Wednesday - I'm tired. I'm mentally tired. My brain hurts.
Horticulture - So, I actually stayed in this class today. The first half we went over the jeopardy game. I wanted the students to know what will be on their exam. After our game was done we went out to the greenhouse and started working on more plug trays that the students had picked up and we were planting. I love being out in the greenhouse because all of the students work the whole time. They even get started on their different jobs without me having to nag them about it.
Leadership - I can't decide if I liked how class went today. I went over the creed speaking scores, did my interest approach, and had them work on their project researching the different commodities across the country. The students on task. I called students up one at a time and we went over their grades, how students thought the class was doing, if they had any questions about the class. I also encouraged some students to compete in the CDE for the creed. They told me they would think about it. So many students in this class actually work hard and try to do a good job, however, some of the students really just feed off of each other and enjoy the attention they get from each other. I am going to change seats again Monday to get other groups to work together. My goal this week is to really make my class relevant for one of the students, that isn't a bad kid, but doesn't understand the that these soft skills will actually be helpful to them.
Ag Mechanics - Well, turns out some of the videos that I left them didn't work. And only three of them completed the worksheet. So, we finished the worksheet then did a demonstration on how to test our spark plug. After we went over the steps to follow as we take apart the engines we went out to the shop. I think class went okay today. It is just so hard to get some students to work sometimes. Students that completed the worksheet I had go around and teach their peers. And they legit did teach, they wouldn't just give them the answers. I went around as well and helped the students figure out the formulas. I really need to study up on engines.
Thursday -
Horticulture - this class is seriously my favorite. And..... I'm pretty sure today was my last day with them... forever... So sad. But, I told them they could come visit me in Mrs. B's room and I will be conducting an SAE visit at the one girls farm this Sunday, and another girl confirmed that Monday is the FFA meeting. I gave them their test for the hydroponics unit and a rubric for them to grade themselves. I also gave them a couple open ended questions for them to answer about how they liked the different activities/ what they think could be improved. I am really interested in reading them, but I am going to wait until I have all their grades submitted like I promised. After everyone was done with their test and their papers were handed in, we went out to the greenhouse. Everyone works together so well. These students may never work together again in another class or even during the classroom portion, but out in the greenhouse, everyone is working and they are working together. I love it. I am going to be sad switching to 8th grade, but I will be able to keep track of the progress in the greenhouse when I visit after my other class periods or during 5th period. I really want to start one of the girls that comes in on the weekend to water with a practicum skills SAE book. Time are good in horticulture class. :)
Leadership - my brain is not working as fast. I know in my other blog that I said I had developed teacher eyes, but they are gone. I have not been picking up on things as fast and the students are starting to get rowdy. I need to start being more assertive and firm. There needs to not be as much side chatter. We made an awesome map of the agronomy crops across the country to get an idea of how diverse the subject is. Tomorrow we will work on committees, I will have more time to work on classroom management during this time.
Ag Mechanics - well, it went well. Didn't go as planned, but it went well. I had the students do their bellwork and we were working on filling out one of the worksheets that had all of the specs on it...I walked out of the classroom to help a student find their make and model engine on their number then all of the students trickled out and started working on their engines. When I was in the classroom, I noticed that a lot of them were done already anyways so they were going to be allowed to go out soon regardless. Mr. Stollar and I just ended up walking around and helping students with their engines. I am still having problems getting two individual students to complete their work. I emailed a professor at Penn Tech that teaches in the area that one of the students is interested in majoring in. I think if I get proof that it is important to do your work that I will get a better response rather than just telling that individual that they need to do it. I also don't know if I should even fight the battle in the classroom of making them listen. They work much better in the shop when Mr. Stollar and I work with them. They ask questions, they listen, the converse about the subject. In the classroom I get hostility. It is interesting.
Friday -
Exploratory Ag (8th Grade) - Today I just observed the 8th grade students finish a test and start working on their animal science terms. I will start to teach next Tuesday. This will definitely be an interesting experience because I get to teach the same thing back to back! I am looking forward to the new opportunity.
Leadership - today things went a lot better. I explained that some of them need to redo their manuscripts for the speeches because they did not include resources or a cover page or other aspects that were easy points on the rubric that they had for a long time. I also reviewed the class expectations with the students to make sure they are refreshed on what I want from them. We then had a committee meeting and the students got to practice PARLI PRO!! This took a while, but it was one of the first times, and it will get faster with time.
Ag Mechanics - I told the students if they actually listened the first part and did their bellwork that we would be able to go out to the shop sooner. This actually worked. They stopped talking and listened while I reviewed what we were going to do for the day. I think this will start to be my approach. EVERY ENGINE IN OUR SHOP IS DIFFERENT! Like, really different. Like different types of engines, different models, different everything. One engine is so old that the armature was inside of the flywheel. This will be a very educational experience for me, but it will also be really hard. I also prefer working with the students in smaller groups rather than in front of the whole class.
5th period - (FFA) - I allowed two students who did poorly on the creed redo it so they could be passing. I then went to the end of the officer meeting since we will be having an FFA meeting Monday. I wish I could have been at the whole meeting but duty calls.
Wednesday - I'm tired. I'm mentally tired. My brain hurts.
Horticulture - So, I actually stayed in this class today. The first half we went over the jeopardy game. I wanted the students to know what will be on their exam. After our game was done we went out to the greenhouse and started working on more plug trays that the students had picked up and we were planting. I love being out in the greenhouse because all of the students work the whole time. They even get started on their different jobs without me having to nag them about it.
Leadership - I can't decide if I liked how class went today. I went over the creed speaking scores, did my interest approach, and had them work on their project researching the different commodities across the country. The students on task. I called students up one at a time and we went over their grades, how students thought the class was doing, if they had any questions about the class. I also encouraged some students to compete in the CDE for the creed. They told me they would think about it. So many students in this class actually work hard and try to do a good job, however, some of the students really just feed off of each other and enjoy the attention they get from each other. I am going to change seats again Monday to get other groups to work together. My goal this week is to really make my class relevant for one of the students, that isn't a bad kid, but doesn't understand the that these soft skills will actually be helpful to them.
Ag Mechanics - Well, turns out some of the videos that I left them didn't work. And only three of them completed the worksheet. So, we finished the worksheet then did a demonstration on how to test our spark plug. After we went over the steps to follow as we take apart the engines we went out to the shop. I think class went okay today. It is just so hard to get some students to work sometimes. Students that completed the worksheet I had go around and teach their peers. And they legit did teach, they wouldn't just give them the answers. I went around as well and helped the students figure out the formulas. I really need to study up on engines.
Thursday -
Horticulture - this class is seriously my favorite. And..... I'm pretty sure today was my last day with them... forever... So sad. But, I told them they could come visit me in Mrs. B's room and I will be conducting an SAE visit at the one girls farm this Sunday, and another girl confirmed that Monday is the FFA meeting. I gave them their test for the hydroponics unit and a rubric for them to grade themselves. I also gave them a couple open ended questions for them to answer about how they liked the different activities/ what they think could be improved. I am really interested in reading them, but I am going to wait until I have all their grades submitted like I promised. After everyone was done with their test and their papers were handed in, we went out to the greenhouse. Everyone works together so well. These students may never work together again in another class or even during the classroom portion, but out in the greenhouse, everyone is working and they are working together. I love it. I am going to be sad switching to 8th grade, but I will be able to keep track of the progress in the greenhouse when I visit after my other class periods or during 5th period. I really want to start one of the girls that comes in on the weekend to water with a practicum skills SAE book. Time are good in horticulture class. :)
Leadership - my brain is not working as fast. I know in my other blog that I said I had developed teacher eyes, but they are gone. I have not been picking up on things as fast and the students are starting to get rowdy. I need to start being more assertive and firm. There needs to not be as much side chatter. We made an awesome map of the agronomy crops across the country to get an idea of how diverse the subject is. Tomorrow we will work on committees, I will have more time to work on classroom management during this time.
Ag Mechanics - well, it went well. Didn't go as planned, but it went well. I had the students do their bellwork and we were working on filling out one of the worksheets that had all of the specs on it...I walked out of the classroom to help a student find their make and model engine on their number then all of the students trickled out and started working on their engines. When I was in the classroom, I noticed that a lot of them were done already anyways so they were going to be allowed to go out soon regardless. Mr. Stollar and I just ended up walking around and helping students with their engines. I am still having problems getting two individual students to complete their work. I emailed a professor at Penn Tech that teaches in the area that one of the students is interested in majoring in. I think if I get proof that it is important to do your work that I will get a better response rather than just telling that individual that they need to do it. I also don't know if I should even fight the battle in the classroom of making them listen. They work much better in the shop when Mr. Stollar and I work with them. They ask questions, they listen, the converse about the subject. In the classroom I get hostility. It is interesting.
Friday -
Exploratory Ag (8th Grade) - Today I just observed the 8th grade students finish a test and start working on their animal science terms. I will start to teach next Tuesday. This will definitely be an interesting experience because I get to teach the same thing back to back! I am looking forward to the new opportunity.
Leadership - today things went a lot better. I explained that some of them need to redo their manuscripts for the speeches because they did not include resources or a cover page or other aspects that were easy points on the rubric that they had for a long time. I also reviewed the class expectations with the students to make sure they are refreshed on what I want from them. We then had a committee meeting and the students got to practice PARLI PRO!! This took a while, but it was one of the first times, and it will get faster with time.
Ag Mechanics - I told the students if they actually listened the first part and did their bellwork that we would be able to go out to the shop sooner. This actually worked. They stopped talking and listened while I reviewed what we were going to do for the day. I think this will start to be my approach. EVERY ENGINE IN OUR SHOP IS DIFFERENT! Like, really different. Like different types of engines, different models, different everything. One engine is so old that the armature was inside of the flywheel. This will be a very educational experience for me, but it will also be really hard. I also prefer working with the students in smaller groups rather than in front of the whole class.
5th period - (FFA) - I allowed two students who did poorly on the creed redo it so they could be passing. I then went to the end of the officer meeting since we will be having an FFA meeting Monday. I wish I could have been at the whole meeting but duty calls.
Professional Events - ACES and SLLC - It's not just for the kids!
As I traveled with my chapter to Harrisburg for the conferences, ACES and SLLC, I got to see the "teacher" side of things. Instead of attending workshops and meeting people in blue jackets, I sat in a conference room, meeting other teachers and learning about various things that could help me out in my teaching career.
At ACES conference we learned more about AET, a new record keeping process, that will not go away and will start to faze out the Pennsylvania Record book. This was very beneficial since I am teaching my leadership class how to use it as we start to plan our SAEs. I also plan to use it eventually when I have my own chapter and will have all of my students on it rather than using two different record books. Mike Woods also gave a presentation on National Chapter awards and how to be successful with them. This helps to advertise your program and get recognition for all the AWESOME THINGS YOUR CHAPTER DOES! It was also just a great professional experience to talk to the different teachers from across the state and figure out what they do with their chapters and AET. There is always something to learn from someone.
At SLLC I helped with grading the proficiency awards. I helped Mrs. B and one of our students fill out his in specialty crop production, but it was really beneficial to see other applications. In Pennsylvania there are a lot of opportunities that are not taken advantage of with proficiency areas that do not have any applicants in. Now, I can take this knowledge that I have learned and help my future students gear their SAEs to different proficiency awards, for them to get recognized and awarded for their hard efforts.
Another professional activity was a discussion with the teachers about where we want Pennsylvania Agricultural Education to be in the next five years. It was really interesting to listen to the different opinions of the new teachers and the ones that have been teachers for more than fifteen years. I also got resources for soils from a teacher that was grading and had extra packets with her.
Later, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sent a representative in to inform the teachers about Student Learning Objectives (SLO). These are becoming a requirement that school districts are starting to have their teachers do. She gave us resources that we can access on-line to help us out with forming them for our classes. She talked about having students complete a mock customer interaction and sales presentation where they earn at least a 75%. This aids with the students professional growth especially if they are staying on the farm. I frequently remind my freshman that are in my leadership class that they need to know how to talk to their customers on the farm if they are going to take it over. It is important to be able to show what we are teaching in our classes and how we are evaluating our students.
Through the professional development experiences I have learned a lot more about Pennsylvania Agriculture Education. It was also interesting to talk to Mr. Stollar about what we learned at SLLC because even he, who was at the old guys table, still learned more from just talking with other agricultural teachers. I think that just really goes to prove that there is always something to learn no matter what.
At ACES conference we learned more about AET, a new record keeping process, that will not go away and will start to faze out the Pennsylvania Record book. This was very beneficial since I am teaching my leadership class how to use it as we start to plan our SAEs. I also plan to use it eventually when I have my own chapter and will have all of my students on it rather than using two different record books. Mike Woods also gave a presentation on National Chapter awards and how to be successful with them. This helps to advertise your program and get recognition for all the AWESOME THINGS YOUR CHAPTER DOES! It was also just a great professional experience to talk to the different teachers from across the state and figure out what they do with their chapters and AET. There is always something to learn from someone.
At SLLC I helped with grading the proficiency awards. I helped Mrs. B and one of our students fill out his in specialty crop production, but it was really beneficial to see other applications. In Pennsylvania there are a lot of opportunities that are not taken advantage of with proficiency areas that do not have any applicants in. Now, I can take this knowledge that I have learned and help my future students gear their SAEs to different proficiency awards, for them to get recognized and awarded for their hard efforts.
Another professional activity was a discussion with the teachers about where we want Pennsylvania Agricultural Education to be in the next five years. It was really interesting to listen to the different opinions of the new teachers and the ones that have been teachers for more than fifteen years. I also got resources for soils from a teacher that was grading and had extra packets with her.
Later, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sent a representative in to inform the teachers about Student Learning Objectives (SLO). These are becoming a requirement that school districts are starting to have their teachers do. She gave us resources that we can access on-line to help us out with forming them for our classes. She talked about having students complete a mock customer interaction and sales presentation where they earn at least a 75%. This aids with the students professional growth especially if they are staying on the farm. I frequently remind my freshman that are in my leadership class that they need to know how to talk to their customers on the farm if they are going to take it over. It is important to be able to show what we are teaching in our classes and how we are evaluating our students.
Through the professional development experiences I have learned a lot more about Pennsylvania Agriculture Education. It was also interesting to talk to Mr. Stollar about what we learned at SLLC because even he, who was at the old guys table, still learned more from just talking with other agricultural teachers. I think that just really goes to prove that there is always something to learn no matter what.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Week 7
Monday -
TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE FREAKING DAYS! We had a two hour delay, I left to get at school really early to get a lot of things done.... but the roads were covered so I had to drive really slow. I felt unprepared for classes and my students didn't want to work. AND, did I mention, it was my first day teaching a full load??
Horticulture- Today, a bunch of my students did not come, and those that came didn't have very much energy. I take my vibes off of my students a lot, so I didn't have a lot of energy. And our classes were cut to only an hour. And I forgot what time class ended. And we were in the greenhouse. So, my students were late to second period because we all lost track of time. The students were starting to plan how to create their hydroponic systems. They started recording their materials, hypothesis, and title. Tomorrow, I hope to be a little more mentally organized and to have more energy!
Leadership- I have given my students weeks and weeks and weeks to complete their speeches. Did I mention weeks? Today, I gave them time to do the finishing touches on their speeches and really get to the nitty gritty parts of the speeches. Did they do that? No. They stared at me and said they weren't ready. Instead of using the time that they had to work on their stuff they just complained and tried to write petitions about how unfair it was. Some students actually used their time wisely and I spent extra time with them helping them out. I told the students that refused to work that it is really easy to grade a zero.
Ag Mechanics. - this class went well. I explained the bellwork procedures as well as the rules for the classroom. We then went over the four strokes of an engines and did the exercise that Dr. Ewing uses with the three students representing the intake valve, piston, and exhaust valve. Some of the students really got it while others did not catch on as fast. We then worked on horsepower and used an activity that I found on CoP. The students carried medicine balls 100 feet across the shop while they were being timed. This got them out of the classroom. (I didn't want to cold shock them by having them in the classroom for the whole period when they were use to welding the whole period). It went well and one of the students that is really good at math, went through the different steps on the board to help his classmates. Overall I think it went okay for a first day.
Tuesday - Today we went over a quick mini lesson about plumbing so the students would have a basic knowledge of how to create their hydroponic systems, we then went to the greenhouse for the students to actually start creating their hydroponic systems. The majority of the students were engaged and working, I had to keep directing a student back to working with his group. The individual kept getting distracted by their phone and headphones. A lot of students kept asking a lot of questions and "what if we try this?" or "I have an idea..." which I thought was really great since they were getting into the lesson. I feel like it could have been a bit more structured....but today I just also really wanted them to get a jump start on their projects. I feel like I am learning right along with them, which kind of stresses me out since I don't know the answers to everything.. but the students are really forgiving and we are learning together. Friday will be my last day with them since I will be at SLLC Monday and Tuesday. This kind of bums me out since they are a great group of students and I will not see a majority of them in other classes.
Leadership - class went well today. I laid out the ground rules for the public speaking in the class. The students drew at random to decide order that they would go in. All the students gave me their best, a lot aggred that they could have done better. Two made it through the whole speech, which really made me happy, because I was scared for a while with how they had been talking in class. I had them write a reflective piece on it afterwords to tie in what they learned. Tomorrow the prepared public speakers will be going.
Ag Mechanics - So today we were doing tool part identification. For my interest approach I started pulling parts out and asking them to tell me what they were. They could not tell me what a majority of them were, which was the desired reaction. And I was like okay, so I guess we need to learn about this today. We then watched a video about the different parts of the engine and went through a powerpoint while pulling out the different engine parts out of the bucket. The students then decided to pick on me and test what I knew. Now, I know about engines.....but I am not a fast thinker with them and I was kind of stumbling a little bit, but then it switched it on them. They were asking me questions that they knew, so I made them answer and explain. Which they did, with joy. I also jumped off the sinking ship of tool id and started on a worksheet they will be completing the next couple days. I again had two different students explain on the board how they got the different formulas for horsepower and peer teach. So, this class stressed out, but I talked it over with Mr. Stollar and Mrs. B, but they said I was fine, and the students are nice. It is definitely easier knowing that the students do respect me and that they were just good naturally teasing me rather than being nasty about it. I AM going to have to really be on my toes for this class and do my research so I will remain on top of the information and stay prepared.
Wednesday -
HUMP DAYYYYYYYY!
Today we operated on a two hour delay schedule...except in the morning since the students were being dismissed two hours early.
Horticulture - we continued working on our hydroponic systems. We reviewed what we need to have on them as a class before going out to the greenhouse. In the greenhouse, the groups got to work and stayed on task. They kept working together and helping each other out with their different strengths. Class was only an hour today, so I wanted to make sure we got to work on the hydroponic systems. The next two days will be half time in the classroom and half time in the greenhouse.
Leadership - today we started the prepared public speeches. The students did well. We did not get to finish everyone today due to the shortened schedule but we will finish the last three tomorrow. The students did a really good job at listening and asking questions. I told the students that they could get bonus points for good quality questions.
Ag Mechanics. My brain does not think fast with ag mechanics. Like really slow. And math is not my strong suit. The students like to test me to see how much I know. This is causing a problem. I get flustered with my lack in math knowledge and technical skills, especially when they keep asking me. I believe if I was working with them one on one it would go better because I would have more time to think. However, I don't because I am in front of the class with everyone looking at me. The student that is really good at math and everything is the one that keeps bombarding me with questions. Previous to me starting this class, I got along with him. I think he is frustrated with my lack of knowledge. I feel like I need to have a one on one conversation with him to see if he would be willing to help me with the technical portions of the class. I need to work my butt off for this class. I wanted this challenge, it is one of the reasons I picked this school, but now I need to step up to the plate.
Thursday - Today in horticulture class we learned about indoor pollination. I made guided notes to make the powerpoint go a little smoother and to not have to wait a lot for the slower writers. After we finished the lesson in class we went out to the greenhouse. Some of the students were finishing up their hydroponic systems, so they started on seeding other plants. I like to keep everyone working. Some of the students were discussing different ways to run their hydroponic systems so it was good student collaboration.
Leadership - We finished more of the speeches before lunch. One student did not complete their speech or bring it with them so they introduced themselves to the class and said that they would have it tomorrow since they were unprepared. After lunch we worked on committees and they got a lot of stuff done. I floated around a lot and worked with the different groups.
Ag Mechanics - Last night, I prepared a lot, I did all the math homework, I had a friend from college double check my math and micrometer readings. I wanted to be prepared today. The student that I had talked about yesterday came up to me before class started and apologized about yesterday. Apparently his math teacher said something do him ( I have never met this teacher as far as I know, and we speculate another student mentioned something). Anyway he seemed really genuine and I explained where I was coming from and that I was worried that I was frustrating him and he said he just wanted to make sure the other students didn't get confused. The end result was that we were cool and everything was fine. I attempted to go over the micrometer worksheet on the board but I feel like I never have their attention, so I ended up just traveling around the classroom and teaching in groups of three or so. This worked so much better because I was able to take my time and make sure that they really understood it. The students wanted to do well, they kept coming up to Mr. Stollar and I to make sure their answers were correct. Next, I have them a list of things that they had to use the calipers on in the shop. I had them work in groups of two. I traveled around to different groups and made sure they understood how to use the calipers correctly. The student that is really good at math, pointed out that I asked for the width of the table and asked if I wanted depth instead. I thanked him for my typo and went around to the different groups and told them about my mistake as well. I get so frustrated with myself when I mess up. I really need to work to make sure he doesn't think I am frustrated with him because I should never get frustrated at a student for being intelligent. I should promote him so much for that. Which I did, I had him do the ag mechanics CDE, which was his first CDE, and he got first place. As I traveled around to the different groups I got to get a lot of rapport with the students and really work on them with that one on one basis. At the end of class I was not as anal about them gathering around the door and instead went up to them and talked to different groups of them. Hopefully tomorrow will be like today and go well.
Friday - Horticulture went well today. I had the students read an article about global hydroponics then we had a discussion about it. It was good to have the global part because a lot of students did not even know what continent England or Israel were on. We then went to the greenhouse to plant plug trays as they came in today. All the students were on task and the operation ran smoothly.
Leadership - my students seemed extra squirrely today and like they did not get along. I don't think I did a good enough job of connecting the content with our activity of building towers out of spaghetti and marshmallows. Mr. Frederick sat with one of my most active freshman boys, which I think was good for him, since he had an authoritative figure with him constantly.
Ag Mechanics - Today went better again. I met with Mr. Stollar before school started that day and went over my math problems again. I also had them out in the shop for a little bit to test the compression on their engines. In the classroom I went over the piston displacement formula on the board then assigned them a problem. I traveled around the room and made sure that all the students understood what was going on. I then handed out a quiz for them to complete. It was to show me what they had learned throughout the week and it was the end of the introductory unit. I want to start tearing our engines apart next week. I think that this class will be much better when I can work with the students in smaller numbers.
TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE FREAKING DAYS! We had a two hour delay, I left to get at school really early to get a lot of things done.... but the roads were covered so I had to drive really slow. I felt unprepared for classes and my students didn't want to work. AND, did I mention, it was my first day teaching a full load??
Horticulture- Today, a bunch of my students did not come, and those that came didn't have very much energy. I take my vibes off of my students a lot, so I didn't have a lot of energy. And our classes were cut to only an hour. And I forgot what time class ended. And we were in the greenhouse. So, my students were late to second period because we all lost track of time. The students were starting to plan how to create their hydroponic systems. They started recording their materials, hypothesis, and title. Tomorrow, I hope to be a little more mentally organized and to have more energy!
Leadership- I have given my students weeks and weeks and weeks to complete their speeches. Did I mention weeks? Today, I gave them time to do the finishing touches on their speeches and really get to the nitty gritty parts of the speeches. Did they do that? No. They stared at me and said they weren't ready. Instead of using the time that they had to work on their stuff they just complained and tried to write petitions about how unfair it was. Some students actually used their time wisely and I spent extra time with them helping them out. I told the students that refused to work that it is really easy to grade a zero.
Ag Mechanics. - this class went well. I explained the bellwork procedures as well as the rules for the classroom. We then went over the four strokes of an engines and did the exercise that Dr. Ewing uses with the three students representing the intake valve, piston, and exhaust valve. Some of the students really got it while others did not catch on as fast. We then worked on horsepower and used an activity that I found on CoP. The students carried medicine balls 100 feet across the shop while they were being timed. This got them out of the classroom. (I didn't want to cold shock them by having them in the classroom for the whole period when they were use to welding the whole period). It went well and one of the students that is really good at math, went through the different steps on the board to help his classmates. Overall I think it went okay for a first day.
Tuesday - Today we went over a quick mini lesson about plumbing so the students would have a basic knowledge of how to create their hydroponic systems, we then went to the greenhouse for the students to actually start creating their hydroponic systems. The majority of the students were engaged and working, I had to keep directing a student back to working with his group. The individual kept getting distracted by their phone and headphones. A lot of students kept asking a lot of questions and "what if we try this?" or "I have an idea..." which I thought was really great since they were getting into the lesson. I feel like it could have been a bit more structured....but today I just also really wanted them to get a jump start on their projects. I feel like I am learning right along with them, which kind of stresses me out since I don't know the answers to everything.. but the students are really forgiving and we are learning together. Friday will be my last day with them since I will be at SLLC Monday and Tuesday. This kind of bums me out since they are a great group of students and I will not see a majority of them in other classes.
Leadership - class went well today. I laid out the ground rules for the public speaking in the class. The students drew at random to decide order that they would go in. All the students gave me their best, a lot aggred that they could have done better. Two made it through the whole speech, which really made me happy, because I was scared for a while with how they had been talking in class. I had them write a reflective piece on it afterwords to tie in what they learned. Tomorrow the prepared public speakers will be going.
Ag Mechanics - So today we were doing tool part identification. For my interest approach I started pulling parts out and asking them to tell me what they were. They could not tell me what a majority of them were, which was the desired reaction. And I was like okay, so I guess we need to learn about this today. We then watched a video about the different parts of the engine and went through a powerpoint while pulling out the different engine parts out of the bucket. The students then decided to pick on me and test what I knew. Now, I know about engines.....but I am not a fast thinker with them and I was kind of stumbling a little bit, but then it switched it on them. They were asking me questions that they knew, so I made them answer and explain. Which they did, with joy. I also jumped off the sinking ship of tool id and started on a worksheet they will be completing the next couple days. I again had two different students explain on the board how they got the different formulas for horsepower and peer teach. So, this class stressed out, but I talked it over with Mr. Stollar and Mrs. B, but they said I was fine, and the students are nice. It is definitely easier knowing that the students do respect me and that they were just good naturally teasing me rather than being nasty about it. I AM going to have to really be on my toes for this class and do my research so I will remain on top of the information and stay prepared.
Wednesday -
HUMP DAYYYYYYYY!
Today we operated on a two hour delay schedule...except in the morning since the students were being dismissed two hours early.
Horticulture - we continued working on our hydroponic systems. We reviewed what we need to have on them as a class before going out to the greenhouse. In the greenhouse, the groups got to work and stayed on task. They kept working together and helping each other out with their different strengths. Class was only an hour today, so I wanted to make sure we got to work on the hydroponic systems. The next two days will be half time in the classroom and half time in the greenhouse.
Leadership - today we started the prepared public speeches. The students did well. We did not get to finish everyone today due to the shortened schedule but we will finish the last three tomorrow. The students did a really good job at listening and asking questions. I told the students that they could get bonus points for good quality questions.
Ag Mechanics. My brain does not think fast with ag mechanics. Like really slow. And math is not my strong suit. The students like to test me to see how much I know. This is causing a problem. I get flustered with my lack in math knowledge and technical skills, especially when they keep asking me. I believe if I was working with them one on one it would go better because I would have more time to think. However, I don't because I am in front of the class with everyone looking at me. The student that is really good at math and everything is the one that keeps bombarding me with questions. Previous to me starting this class, I got along with him. I think he is frustrated with my lack of knowledge. I feel like I need to have a one on one conversation with him to see if he would be willing to help me with the technical portions of the class. I need to work my butt off for this class. I wanted this challenge, it is one of the reasons I picked this school, but now I need to step up to the plate.
Thursday - Today in horticulture class we learned about indoor pollination. I made guided notes to make the powerpoint go a little smoother and to not have to wait a lot for the slower writers. After we finished the lesson in class we went out to the greenhouse. Some of the students were finishing up their hydroponic systems, so they started on seeding other plants. I like to keep everyone working. Some of the students were discussing different ways to run their hydroponic systems so it was good student collaboration.
Leadership - We finished more of the speeches before lunch. One student did not complete their speech or bring it with them so they introduced themselves to the class and said that they would have it tomorrow since they were unprepared. After lunch we worked on committees and they got a lot of stuff done. I floated around a lot and worked with the different groups.
Ag Mechanics - Last night, I prepared a lot, I did all the math homework, I had a friend from college double check my math and micrometer readings. I wanted to be prepared today. The student that I had talked about yesterday came up to me before class started and apologized about yesterday. Apparently his math teacher said something do him ( I have never met this teacher as far as I know, and we speculate another student mentioned something). Anyway he seemed really genuine and I explained where I was coming from and that I was worried that I was frustrating him and he said he just wanted to make sure the other students didn't get confused. The end result was that we were cool and everything was fine. I attempted to go over the micrometer worksheet on the board but I feel like I never have their attention, so I ended up just traveling around the classroom and teaching in groups of three or so. This worked so much better because I was able to take my time and make sure that they really understood it. The students wanted to do well, they kept coming up to Mr. Stollar and I to make sure their answers were correct. Next, I have them a list of things that they had to use the calipers on in the shop. I had them work in groups of two. I traveled around to different groups and made sure they understood how to use the calipers correctly. The student that is really good at math, pointed out that I asked for the width of the table and asked if I wanted depth instead. I thanked him for my typo and went around to the different groups and told them about my mistake as well. I get so frustrated with myself when I mess up. I really need to work to make sure he doesn't think I am frustrated with him because I should never get frustrated at a student for being intelligent. I should promote him so much for that. Which I did, I had him do the ag mechanics CDE, which was his first CDE, and he got first place. As I traveled around to the different groups I got to get a lot of rapport with the students and really work on them with that one on one basis. At the end of class I was not as anal about them gathering around the door and instead went up to them and talked to different groups of them. Hopefully tomorrow will be like today and go well.
Friday - Horticulture went well today. I had the students read an article about global hydroponics then we had a discussion about it. It was good to have the global part because a lot of students did not even know what continent England or Israel were on. We then went to the greenhouse to plant plug trays as they came in today. All the students were on task and the operation ran smoothly.
Leadership - my students seemed extra squirrely today and like they did not get along. I don't think I did a good enough job of connecting the content with our activity of building towers out of spaghetti and marshmallows. Mr. Frederick sat with one of my most active freshman boys, which I think was good for him, since he had an authoritative figure with him constantly.
Ag Mechanics - Today went better again. I met with Mr. Stollar before school started that day and went over my math problems again. I also had them out in the shop for a little bit to test the compression on their engines. In the classroom I went over the piston displacement formula on the board then assigned them a problem. I traveled around the room and made sure that all the students understood what was going on. I then handed out a quiz for them to complete. It was to show me what they had learned throughout the week and it was the end of the introductory unit. I want to start tearing our engines apart next week. I think that this class will be much better when I can work with the students in smaller numbers.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Week 6
Monday - Horticulture class went well. There was a student that did not want to participate again, but we worked through it. The students conducted hydroponic water tests and we analyzed them to see if they are suitable to grow our plants in hydroponically. We had a good discussion that tied in everything that we have been talking about thus far.
Leadership - today I had a work day, the students peer reviewed each others speeches, learned how to work echalk and worked on other homework for the class. I gave them ample opportunities to ask me questions or voice concerns about the class that they may have. I did not receive any type of those things. My student teaching time has been pretty easy since my students have not been hanging in their homework. They are going to get a glimpse of mean Jeanne tomorrow so they know that I ma serious about making my assignments count and if they do not hand them in, they will fail the class.
Ag Mech went well. The students continued to work on their welding and we started reminding them to bring engines in to work on for next week.
Tuesday - Horticulture class went really well today. We had a inquiry-ish lesson today. We were creating primitive hydroponic systems like that the Aztecs did. I gave them directions, but I changed some of the supplies based on what we had available in the shop. Some of the students followed the directions, some of them tried their own version of the project. The students were a little frustrated initially that it was not all laid out for them, but as the class period went on they got more creative and I believe were really enjoying the work. Only about a third of the groups finished, so we will be finishing it up before class another day this week. I think it was really good for them to be able work through the problem themselves and complete the trial and error since that is what they will have to do in the real world. They need to learn how to figure things out for themselves.
Leadership - Today I had to be a little grumpy with the class and put their nose to the grind. I am having problems with students completing their homework at home. They just don't hand their assignments in and thus, are doing bad in the class. I have them their grades today, which lit the fire under some of their butts. I told them that I would work with them during homeroom or during 5th period, but that they had to schedule it with me and that I would not hound them down to make sure they had everything. They are in high school and they need to have that own personal responsibility to make sure they are passing their classes.
Ag mechanics went well. One of the students said I was cool. I keep teasing two of the students telling them that they better pay attention to my small gas engines lessons so they will be able to get first place in the small gas engines career development event.
Wednesday - In horticulture class we went to a local nursery. At the nursery students were able to learn about potential job opportunities and see what what we are talking about in class REALLY does relate to the outside world. We recently talked about pH in class and the nursery owner asked questions and talked about how important it was for them to keep track of pH in their operation. I will discuss with my students tomorrow about what we learned there. I really want them to see that connection and why, I do what I do. The students behaved really well during the trip. I kept track of who asked questions about what and how many times they spoke.
Leadership - we went over the POA today and created committees in class. For the powerpoint introduction for the POA I had one of my squirmy students be my clicker to change slides. This really helped him out, however, I did have to actually yell in class today because the individual kept taking his friends stuff and was out of his seat when he was not supposed to. I am going to have a chat with him tomorrow to let him know that it is not acceptable behavior and he will get morning detention if he does not shape up.
Thursday - Horticulture - Apparently today was the day to miss. I had four students missing. Today we reviewed what we learned from the field trip and talked about how what we are learning in class related to it. After that we headed out to the greenhouse for some students to finish their chinampas (Aztec hydroponic systems). Groups that finished early work on transplanting the geraniums that we got yesterday from Trail Nursery. They learned how to properly prepare the soil for transplanting, making sure it was moist but not too wet, how to break up the bottoms of the plug trays then transplant them into the larger pots. I taught a set of three students how to do all the steps first. I then traveled around the room and worked with various groups of students at different stages. Later in the class period I heard the first group that I taught explain to another group how to transplant.... and they did it perfectly. It make me really happy how well they were listening. The class went well, they followed all the procedures correctly, cleaned up, and had three minutes remaining before the bell rang. We went over what we were going to do tomorrow, and if they finished their class work efficiently then we would have more time in the greenhouse.
Leadership: Today we finished the reading of Wilber and Orville Wright. The students took their last quiz and most of them finished it in two minutes (they're crazy). We then had another Socratic seminar. These are really interesting because it forces the students to answer the round robin questions. There was not as much individual participation, but that will come with time I guess. I am thinking about assigning other reading assignments so we can have more class discussions and see if we can get more people to participate.
Ag Mechanics - I worked more with the students on their welds and discussed what they did wrong and correct. I think that I am gaining good rapport with them despite not being their main teacher. I am glad that they have opened up to me a little more as the weeks have gone by since I think that will make it easier to transition to being the teacher next week.
Friday - Horticulture- today we went over different hydroponic systems then went to the greenhouse. I assigned groups today so the students could get use to working with other people. I did not have many issues while they were working with each other. One student did not really want to participate but I will keep working on him. After the students presented with their groups about the different systems, we went to the greenhouse to continue transplanting. One student was just kind of standing there and I asked him if he wanted a job. He said that he did, so I sent him back to work with another student and fill pots. That was the first time that the student seemed actually interested to be in class. I am hoping that it will continue as class goes on and he becomes more engaged and will eventually become active in FFA.
Leadership class - today we messed with AET. I really should have spent some more time on the system before trying to explain it to the students. We got a decent amount accomplished, but I did not feel as prepared as I could have been. I also wish that I would have talked with my teacher a little more about what she wanted them to complete or leave alone. One of the students thought it was "cool" that I was not even facing him and still saw that he took some thing from one of his friends. I told him to give it back and he is like but, uh what? How did you see that?? You were not even facing my direction!. Muahahaha I have teacher eyes now, so he better watch out. Only three students sent me their speeches for me to review, so I hope that everyone else is prepared for Tuesday and Wednesday next week when we will be going over speeches in the class. Ohh and a student made me so proud today. I asked one to help one of their table group mates with AET and he did! Without complaining! And he was really nice about it! That is something that really makes me happy.
Ag Mechanics - the students started to bring in their engines today. Others have again been showing me their welds and talking about them.
Leadership - today I had a work day, the students peer reviewed each others speeches, learned how to work echalk and worked on other homework for the class. I gave them ample opportunities to ask me questions or voice concerns about the class that they may have. I did not receive any type of those things. My student teaching time has been pretty easy since my students have not been hanging in their homework. They are going to get a glimpse of mean Jeanne tomorrow so they know that I ma serious about making my assignments count and if they do not hand them in, they will fail the class.
Ag Mech went well. The students continued to work on their welding and we started reminding them to bring engines in to work on for next week.
Tuesday - Horticulture class went really well today. We had a inquiry-ish lesson today. We were creating primitive hydroponic systems like that the Aztecs did. I gave them directions, but I changed some of the supplies based on what we had available in the shop. Some of the students followed the directions, some of them tried their own version of the project. The students were a little frustrated initially that it was not all laid out for them, but as the class period went on they got more creative and I believe were really enjoying the work. Only about a third of the groups finished, so we will be finishing it up before class another day this week. I think it was really good for them to be able work through the problem themselves and complete the trial and error since that is what they will have to do in the real world. They need to learn how to figure things out for themselves.
Leadership - Today I had to be a little grumpy with the class and put their nose to the grind. I am having problems with students completing their homework at home. They just don't hand their assignments in and thus, are doing bad in the class. I have them their grades today, which lit the fire under some of their butts. I told them that I would work with them during homeroom or during 5th period, but that they had to schedule it with me and that I would not hound them down to make sure they had everything. They are in high school and they need to have that own personal responsibility to make sure they are passing their classes.
Ag mechanics went well. One of the students said I was cool. I keep teasing two of the students telling them that they better pay attention to my small gas engines lessons so they will be able to get first place in the small gas engines career development event.
Wednesday - In horticulture class we went to a local nursery. At the nursery students were able to learn about potential job opportunities and see what what we are talking about in class REALLY does relate to the outside world. We recently talked about pH in class and the nursery owner asked questions and talked about how important it was for them to keep track of pH in their operation. I will discuss with my students tomorrow about what we learned there. I really want them to see that connection and why, I do what I do. The students behaved really well during the trip. I kept track of who asked questions about what and how many times they spoke.
Leadership - we went over the POA today and created committees in class. For the powerpoint introduction for the POA I had one of my squirmy students be my clicker to change slides. This really helped him out, however, I did have to actually yell in class today because the individual kept taking his friends stuff and was out of his seat when he was not supposed to. I am going to have a chat with him tomorrow to let him know that it is not acceptable behavior and he will get morning detention if he does not shape up.
Thursday - Horticulture - Apparently today was the day to miss. I had four students missing. Today we reviewed what we learned from the field trip and talked about how what we are learning in class related to it. After that we headed out to the greenhouse for some students to finish their chinampas (Aztec hydroponic systems). Groups that finished early work on transplanting the geraniums that we got yesterday from Trail Nursery. They learned how to properly prepare the soil for transplanting, making sure it was moist but not too wet, how to break up the bottoms of the plug trays then transplant them into the larger pots. I taught a set of three students how to do all the steps first. I then traveled around the room and worked with various groups of students at different stages. Later in the class period I heard the first group that I taught explain to another group how to transplant.... and they did it perfectly. It make me really happy how well they were listening. The class went well, they followed all the procedures correctly, cleaned up, and had three minutes remaining before the bell rang. We went over what we were going to do tomorrow, and if they finished their class work efficiently then we would have more time in the greenhouse.
Leadership: Today we finished the reading of Wilber and Orville Wright. The students took their last quiz and most of them finished it in two minutes (they're crazy). We then had another Socratic seminar. These are really interesting because it forces the students to answer the round robin questions. There was not as much individual participation, but that will come with time I guess. I am thinking about assigning other reading assignments so we can have more class discussions and see if we can get more people to participate.
Ag Mechanics - I worked more with the students on their welds and discussed what they did wrong and correct. I think that I am gaining good rapport with them despite not being their main teacher. I am glad that they have opened up to me a little more as the weeks have gone by since I think that will make it easier to transition to being the teacher next week.
Friday - Horticulture- today we went over different hydroponic systems then went to the greenhouse. I assigned groups today so the students could get use to working with other people. I did not have many issues while they were working with each other. One student did not really want to participate but I will keep working on him. After the students presented with their groups about the different systems, we went to the greenhouse to continue transplanting. One student was just kind of standing there and I asked him if he wanted a job. He said that he did, so I sent him back to work with another student and fill pots. That was the first time that the student seemed actually interested to be in class. I am hoping that it will continue as class goes on and he becomes more engaged and will eventually become active in FFA.
Leadership class - today we messed with AET. I really should have spent some more time on the system before trying to explain it to the students. We got a decent amount accomplished, but I did not feel as prepared as I could have been. I also wish that I would have talked with my teacher a little more about what she wanted them to complete or leave alone. One of the students thought it was "cool" that I was not even facing him and still saw that he took some thing from one of his friends. I told him to give it back and he is like but, uh what? How did you see that?? You were not even facing my direction!. Muahahaha I have teacher eyes now, so he better watch out. Only three students sent me their speeches for me to review, so I hope that everyone else is prepared for Tuesday and Wednesday next week when we will be going over speeches in the class. Ohh and a student made me so proud today. I asked one to help one of their table group mates with AET and he did! Without complaining! And he was really nice about it! That is something that really makes me happy.
Ag Mechanics - the students started to bring in their engines today. Others have again been showing me their welds and talking about them.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
ACES - Paving the Way
ACES has always been a conference near and dear to my heart. It was a place where I actually got to meet and interact with other chapters from across the state and get to hang out with my cousins chapter. This weekend was the first time since high school that I have been back to the conference and it did not let me down.
The maturity of my students will never cease to amaze me. Knowing what my adviser had to deal with along with horror stories from other teachers, my students are very well behaved. Earlier in the week my leadership watched an etiquette video that was created by a national officer. I heard the students in that class educating their fellow chapter members about the proper etiquette for the dinner -- this made me excited that they were actually paying attention in class :p! Some of the gentlemen needed a little extra prodding and reminding that the napkin goes on their lap, but they complied with my and my fellow teachers wishes and did what we asked. They do not understand it now, but the soft skills of proper manners that they are learning will be so beneficial to them later in life. Whether it is a dinner or lunch meeting with a boss or clients, or sitting down with their significant others families for the first time. Knowing how to properly conduct ones self is vitally important and something that is not typically taught in the classroom. This is one of the many advantages of FFA.
I also saw the maturity at the dance. I never felt like they were not conducting themselves properly. Some of the students had wanted me to teach them how to line dance but they did not feel comfortable going to the front of the dance floor where I was with the past state officers, so I found them later after talking to Mrs. B. They also played a swing dancing song where I taught two of the gentlemen how to correctly spin a girl in a circle. When I was checking the students into their rooms later that night, a comment was made that "the boys actually danced this year!!". I am happy that the students enjoyed themselves at the dance and got a kick out of that comment.
The students then continued to impress me at breakfast the next morning. Only one comment was made for them to put their napkins on their laps then one of the older gentlemen started policing the rest of them, which was most likely to tease Mrs. B and I, but hey it got the point across. They were also really good about paying attention to the state officers and not being on their phones the whole time. It is these little things that really makes a student more employable.
Besides being thoroughly impressed with the students I worked with, I also learned some other things while I was there.
1. Other teachers are always there to help (i.e AET record books) I already knew this fact, but it was reinforced over the weekend.
2. When students know your expectations, great things can happen. All of our members conducted themselves in a manner that made me proud to call them mine.
3. It is okay to dance like a fool. I drug a past state officer with me into my group of students to dance to gangnam style. I heard my students go "look at Ms. Case, look at Ms. Case" which really made me laugh.
4. Ya snooze you loose with getting seats at dinner or breakfast - either have a plan to all sit together or force the students to practice talking to people they do not know and meeting new friends.
ACES was a really great experience and I will have the members who went talk about it in class and promote it to the younger students for next year. Now, I am looking forward to SLLC in two weeks at it is my first time going!
The maturity of my students will never cease to amaze me. Knowing what my adviser had to deal with along with horror stories from other teachers, my students are very well behaved. Earlier in the week my leadership watched an etiquette video that was created by a national officer. I heard the students in that class educating their fellow chapter members about the proper etiquette for the dinner -- this made me excited that they were actually paying attention in class :p! Some of the gentlemen needed a little extra prodding and reminding that the napkin goes on their lap, but they complied with my and my fellow teachers wishes and did what we asked. They do not understand it now, but the soft skills of proper manners that they are learning will be so beneficial to them later in life. Whether it is a dinner or lunch meeting with a boss or clients, or sitting down with their significant others families for the first time. Knowing how to properly conduct ones self is vitally important and something that is not typically taught in the classroom. This is one of the many advantages of FFA.
I also saw the maturity at the dance. I never felt like they were not conducting themselves properly. Some of the students had wanted me to teach them how to line dance but they did not feel comfortable going to the front of the dance floor where I was with the past state officers, so I found them later after talking to Mrs. B. They also played a swing dancing song where I taught two of the gentlemen how to correctly spin a girl in a circle. When I was checking the students into their rooms later that night, a comment was made that "the boys actually danced this year!!". I am happy that the students enjoyed themselves at the dance and got a kick out of that comment.
The students then continued to impress me at breakfast the next morning. Only one comment was made for them to put their napkins on their laps then one of the older gentlemen started policing the rest of them, which was most likely to tease Mrs. B and I, but hey it got the point across. They were also really good about paying attention to the state officers and not being on their phones the whole time. It is these little things that really makes a student more employable.
Besides being thoroughly impressed with the students I worked with, I also learned some other things while I was there.
1. Other teachers are always there to help (i.e AET record books) I already knew this fact, but it was reinforced over the weekend.
2. When students know your expectations, great things can happen. All of our members conducted themselves in a manner that made me proud to call them mine.
3. It is okay to dance like a fool. I drug a past state officer with me into my group of students to dance to gangnam style. I heard my students go "look at Ms. Case, look at Ms. Case" which really made me laugh.
4. Ya snooze you loose with getting seats at dinner or breakfast - either have a plan to all sit together or force the students to practice talking to people they do not know and meeting new friends.
ACES was a really great experience and I will have the members who went talk about it in class and promote it to the younger students for next year. Now, I am looking forward to SLLC in two weeks at it is my first time going!
Friday, February 21, 2014
Week 5 - Happy National FFA Week
Monday - Horticulture went pretty well today. I had the students sit back in their assigned seats that Mr. Stollar had made earlier in the semester. I didn't run out of content today! I beefed up the lesson and added more group activities, and I even had a paper for them to read at then end of class if we got to it. The students behaved well, they answered questions and completed the lab. I just feel like we have not reached that sweet spot that I had the second day last week. Maybe it is due to the fact that we had a four day weekend and now they had to get up early again and it is their first period. I did have two students totally disengage today. That kind of bummed me out since we were doing hands on activities, however it is an interesting situation for the one student and the other is rather close to the first one. I will continue to watch them throughout the week and try to get them engaged in class. Sometimes there are outside factors that the students cannot control and I don't want to make them feel bad. However, if it becomes a regular habit, it will be addressed.
Leadership class went really well today. The students were engaged and when they were working on their speech outlines they were actually quiet and working on their work! Which, is to be expected, but I was still proud of them. I did not have as many problems with talking and phones today either. With the snow days, I reminded them that their outlines are due tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how many I get. They tried to pull well you only have us like 20 minutes to work on it in class, and I said yes, but you have had a lot of time to work on it at home and I expect it tomorrow. So we will see how it goes.
Ag Mechanics went well today. Some of the students like me to look at their beads and talk to me about technique, which I enjoy. A student that I typically talk to in that class seemed upset, or not their usual self, and they were not using the correct welding gloves, so I had to enforce the rules. By the end of the class the student seemed more like normal, which was good.
We finally had an FFA meeting today and it was good to see how the officers worked together and how the members reacted. I think that there can be a little more excitement and enjoyment about being there rather than just the facts, but I don't really know how to change it. I will think about how to jazz it up a little bit while I am here.
Tuesday - Today we had a two hour delay so my classes were only an hour long rather than almost 90 minutes.
Horticulture class went well. The students finished their labs from yesterday. The soil had settled and separated in the jars enough for them to be able to measure it and complete the math problems on it. I should have spent more time going over how to complete the math to make sure that the students really understood it. That is something that I will have to focus on the next time we complete an experiment that involved math. We then connected the experiment to what we were going to talk about for the day and that is the importance of pore space in the growth medium of plants, and then the different types of growth mediums for hydroponics. Each student had to research a different growth medium and create a poster on it; the students will then complete a gallery walk around the room. The two students that were disengaged yesterday were more engaged today. Instead of getting mad at them I would ask them to join a group, so they joined a group, but they didn't move yet, so then I went to another group and talked to them before coming back, then I asked them to please move, and I walked away again, and they moved. I think that by me not jumping down their throats that they were not as engaged in class as the other students and giving them there space that they were more receptive to me. The rest of class I did not have a problem with them and they were working on their projects just fine.
Leadership is always a fun time. Today we learned about how National FFA week was started, what the Dover chapter is doing this week, and the importance of official dress. I tried to incorporate different activities and facts into this to make it interesting and engaging. I really have not had any problems with them so far this week in regards to excessive chattyness and phones. I hope that this continues. We also went over how to talk to adults since they will be helping serve the lunch tomorrow to the faculty and staff at Dover HS tomorrow during the teacher appreciation lunch. I hope that it goes well and the students enjoy themselves and also learn more about the people that work at their school.
Ag Mechanics was fine. One student kept coming up to me to show me their beads. It is a work in progress and we discussed different techniques for him to try and to make sure that they kept their stick close to the metal when welding.
For National FFA week we had our own version of Hoss's night. Some students and parents joined us at a local Hoss's and we had dinner together. I found a floral shop close by and went there with Mr. Stollars wife and she helped me pick out flowers for the students to create boutonniere and mason jars that were going to be used tomorrow at the teacher luncheon.
Wednesday - Horticultural class went well, we spent the time preparing for the National FFA Week Teacher Appreciation Lunch. The students signed up for the different sections to help out with. One student helped with creating logos for the mason jars so the winner of the flowers would understand what is going on this week in the Ag Department. Some students helps to create flower arrangements in the mason jars. They learned how to create appealing arrangements with an odd number of flowers in the jars to make them appear nicer (its a floricultural rule). Then the rest of the students helped to clean the shop and move the shop tables away and set up nicer tables and chairs for the teachers to come down and enjoy lunch at during their lunch period. After all the mason jars were prepared then the students helped to decorate them with ribbon. Everyone was working on something at one time and all the students were engaged, especially some of the ones that are not typically engaged and I think I gained some ground with some of those students because they did a really good job.
Leadership did a good job today. I read the students the riot act and explained how I wanted them to behave. They acted very well and I was really proud of their behavior. A lot of the students were greeters for the teachers, while others served some of the food and informed the teachers about the flower center piece raffle. I will praise them for their good behavior tomorrow so it will happen again and they know what I expect.
Ag mechanics was spent cleaning up from the luncheon. The students helped clean up and I got to work more with the class in giving directions and directing them to help with different things.
Thursday - Horticultural class went well. I really need to find that sweet spot of balance between the academic students and the students that school is a little tougher for them. I was waiting for students to finish their posters on different growth mediums. I also had a problem when it took some of the students longer to write down what was on the posters than others and the academic students got really bored with the slow pace. I also forgot that my stuff from dropbox was moved yesterday and when I went to load my powerpoint it was not there and I had to improvise with a random powerpoint from off the internet. Phew. All students were engaged at least and I did not have any behavioral problems.
Leadership class went well. They took their reading quiz in about five minutes and most did not do well, maybe they will learn to read the book a little more closely and to actually take their time completing the quiz. We then talked about upcoming assignments and when their speeches are due. We also had a group collaboration about SAE ideas since they need to bring them in tomorrow. After lunch Mrs.B ran a Socratic Seminar. It went well since it was the first time for most of the students. It was cool to hear their different opinions and to dig deeper than the simplicity of the group.
During mechanics I helped a student in the office prepare for the interview CDE that she would participate in the evening. I helped her format her resume and cover letter. She ended up getting 1st place! The two students in mechanics class that I convinced to do the mechanics CDE spent their time brushing up on electricity.
We had CDE's at a neighboring high school. The students all had fun in their individual contests and learned a lot. I got to catch up with Tyler and Casi as well as meet other teachers in the area. One of which graduated from Penn State with my FFA adviser! I helped Mrs. B with the dairy products and evaluation CDE and plugged scores into the computer. I really need to prefect this whole excel thing while I am here because it will be really helpful when I am an adviser.
Friday - Horticulture: Sometimes I think my students just pay attention to me because they like me. Today is a 5th period day so the class was shorter and we had a fire drill so that took up time as well. I wanted to go over greenhouse procedures with them and to teach them how to plant seeds and the proper way to do that. I had various students help me with getting water and lifting soil into the bin, but I don't really think they got the importance of making sure there are not clumps in the soil and that it is at the proper moisture content. Granted, I don't think I really paid attention when I worked for my parents at that age and just listened to the directions without trying to understand the importance or why aspect of it. I then demonstrated how to plant seeds and had two other students demonstrate as well, but it is kind of hard to keep everyone's attention during demonstrations like that. I don't know how to fix it. I do however, like the procedures that I set up for the greenhouse. There is a chart for the students to fill out in the greenhouse to keep track of what is being planted when and who is doing the planting. There is also a sheet for them to self grade their productivity, cleanliness and how well they worked with others. I will enjoy seeing how that works out for me. My goal for next week is to be REALLY prepared for class and to have it exciting enough to keep all students engaged and for them to learn and enjoy what is in the class. I am glad that I set up the greenhouse protocol today because a lot of planting needs done and the students that work fast can work out there and it will give me more time to work with some of the students that academic does not come as fast -- while keeping everyone happy.
Leadership - I did not accomplish everything that I wanted to. I am also having problems with students turning in assignments that I need them to. I mean it is affecting their grade negatively but they do not have that work ethic developed yet since a lot of them are freshman. We are going to be going over a lot of stuff Monday to review and make sure everyone is on the same page. I feel like the issue is stemming a little from my clarity and a little from their work ethic/ lack of organization. I want to help them to become more organized so all of us will have a better time in class with out all of that frustration.
Ag Mechanics - Went well. Some of the studnets keep coming up to show me their welds and we dicusss what they can improve and how to do that. I talked with another student about bringing in an engine for the next unit that I will be teaching. It is important to remind them a lot about that now so they will remember to bring the engines in. He asked if he should bring a tractor engine in and I said ohhh nooo. SMALL gas engines, SMALL! :)
Today was a 5th period day so all of the FFA students were in the ag end. I got to meet some of the other members that I have not met yet and talk to them about the different career development events coming up in the spring and trying to spark their interests.
This week was over all a good week and next week will be better. Cheers to the first full week of school!
Leadership class went really well today. The students were engaged and when they were working on their speech outlines they were actually quiet and working on their work! Which, is to be expected, but I was still proud of them. I did not have as many problems with talking and phones today either. With the snow days, I reminded them that their outlines are due tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how many I get. They tried to pull well you only have us like 20 minutes to work on it in class, and I said yes, but you have had a lot of time to work on it at home and I expect it tomorrow. So we will see how it goes.
Ag Mechanics went well today. Some of the students like me to look at their beads and talk to me about technique, which I enjoy. A student that I typically talk to in that class seemed upset, or not their usual self, and they were not using the correct welding gloves, so I had to enforce the rules. By the end of the class the student seemed more like normal, which was good.
We finally had an FFA meeting today and it was good to see how the officers worked together and how the members reacted. I think that there can be a little more excitement and enjoyment about being there rather than just the facts, but I don't really know how to change it. I will think about how to jazz it up a little bit while I am here.
Tuesday - Today we had a two hour delay so my classes were only an hour long rather than almost 90 minutes.
Horticulture class went well. The students finished their labs from yesterday. The soil had settled and separated in the jars enough for them to be able to measure it and complete the math problems on it. I should have spent more time going over how to complete the math to make sure that the students really understood it. That is something that I will have to focus on the next time we complete an experiment that involved math. We then connected the experiment to what we were going to talk about for the day and that is the importance of pore space in the growth medium of plants, and then the different types of growth mediums for hydroponics. Each student had to research a different growth medium and create a poster on it; the students will then complete a gallery walk around the room. The two students that were disengaged yesterday were more engaged today. Instead of getting mad at them I would ask them to join a group, so they joined a group, but they didn't move yet, so then I went to another group and talked to them before coming back, then I asked them to please move, and I walked away again, and they moved. I think that by me not jumping down their throats that they were not as engaged in class as the other students and giving them there space that they were more receptive to me. The rest of class I did not have a problem with them and they were working on their projects just fine.
Leadership is always a fun time. Today we learned about how National FFA week was started, what the Dover chapter is doing this week, and the importance of official dress. I tried to incorporate different activities and facts into this to make it interesting and engaging. I really have not had any problems with them so far this week in regards to excessive chattyness and phones. I hope that this continues. We also went over how to talk to adults since they will be helping serve the lunch tomorrow to the faculty and staff at Dover HS tomorrow during the teacher appreciation lunch. I hope that it goes well and the students enjoy themselves and also learn more about the people that work at their school.
Ag Mechanics was fine. One student kept coming up to me to show me their beads. It is a work in progress and we discussed different techniques for him to try and to make sure that they kept their stick close to the metal when welding.
For National FFA week we had our own version of Hoss's night. Some students and parents joined us at a local Hoss's and we had dinner together. I found a floral shop close by and went there with Mr. Stollars wife and she helped me pick out flowers for the students to create boutonniere and mason jars that were going to be used tomorrow at the teacher luncheon.
Wednesday - Horticultural class went well, we spent the time preparing for the National FFA Week Teacher Appreciation Lunch. The students signed up for the different sections to help out with. One student helped with creating logos for the mason jars so the winner of the flowers would understand what is going on this week in the Ag Department. Some students helps to create flower arrangements in the mason jars. They learned how to create appealing arrangements with an odd number of flowers in the jars to make them appear nicer (its a floricultural rule). Then the rest of the students helped to clean the shop and move the shop tables away and set up nicer tables and chairs for the teachers to come down and enjoy lunch at during their lunch period. After all the mason jars were prepared then the students helped to decorate them with ribbon. Everyone was working on something at one time and all the students were engaged, especially some of the ones that are not typically engaged and I think I gained some ground with some of those students because they did a really good job.
Leadership did a good job today. I read the students the riot act and explained how I wanted them to behave. They acted very well and I was really proud of their behavior. A lot of the students were greeters for the teachers, while others served some of the food and informed the teachers about the flower center piece raffle. I will praise them for their good behavior tomorrow so it will happen again and they know what I expect.
Ag mechanics was spent cleaning up from the luncheon. The students helped clean up and I got to work more with the class in giving directions and directing them to help with different things.
Thursday - Horticultural class went well. I really need to find that sweet spot of balance between the academic students and the students that school is a little tougher for them. I was waiting for students to finish their posters on different growth mediums. I also had a problem when it took some of the students longer to write down what was on the posters than others and the academic students got really bored with the slow pace. I also forgot that my stuff from dropbox was moved yesterday and when I went to load my powerpoint it was not there and I had to improvise with a random powerpoint from off the internet. Phew. All students were engaged at least and I did not have any behavioral problems.
Leadership class went well. They took their reading quiz in about five minutes and most did not do well, maybe they will learn to read the book a little more closely and to actually take their time completing the quiz. We then talked about upcoming assignments and when their speeches are due. We also had a group collaboration about SAE ideas since they need to bring them in tomorrow. After lunch Mrs.B ran a Socratic Seminar. It went well since it was the first time for most of the students. It was cool to hear their different opinions and to dig deeper than the simplicity of the group.
During mechanics I helped a student in the office prepare for the interview CDE that she would participate in the evening. I helped her format her resume and cover letter. She ended up getting 1st place! The two students in mechanics class that I convinced to do the mechanics CDE spent their time brushing up on electricity.
We had CDE's at a neighboring high school. The students all had fun in their individual contests and learned a lot. I got to catch up with Tyler and Casi as well as meet other teachers in the area. One of which graduated from Penn State with my FFA adviser! I helped Mrs. B with the dairy products and evaluation CDE and plugged scores into the computer. I really need to prefect this whole excel thing while I am here because it will be really helpful when I am an adviser.
Friday - Horticulture: Sometimes I think my students just pay attention to me because they like me. Today is a 5th period day so the class was shorter and we had a fire drill so that took up time as well. I wanted to go over greenhouse procedures with them and to teach them how to plant seeds and the proper way to do that. I had various students help me with getting water and lifting soil into the bin, but I don't really think they got the importance of making sure there are not clumps in the soil and that it is at the proper moisture content. Granted, I don't think I really paid attention when I worked for my parents at that age and just listened to the directions without trying to understand the importance or why aspect of it. I then demonstrated how to plant seeds and had two other students demonstrate as well, but it is kind of hard to keep everyone's attention during demonstrations like that. I don't know how to fix it. I do however, like the procedures that I set up for the greenhouse. There is a chart for the students to fill out in the greenhouse to keep track of what is being planted when and who is doing the planting. There is also a sheet for them to self grade their productivity, cleanliness and how well they worked with others. I will enjoy seeing how that works out for me. My goal for next week is to be REALLY prepared for class and to have it exciting enough to keep all students engaged and for them to learn and enjoy what is in the class. I am glad that I set up the greenhouse protocol today because a lot of planting needs done and the students that work fast can work out there and it will give me more time to work with some of the students that academic does not come as fast -- while keeping everyone happy.
Leadership - I did not accomplish everything that I wanted to. I am also having problems with students turning in assignments that I need them to. I mean it is affecting their grade negatively but they do not have that work ethic developed yet since a lot of them are freshman. We are going to be going over a lot of stuff Monday to review and make sure everyone is on the same page. I feel like the issue is stemming a little from my clarity and a little from their work ethic/ lack of organization. I want to help them to become more organized so all of us will have a better time in class with out all of that frustration.
Ag Mechanics - Went well. Some of the studnets keep coming up to show me their welds and we dicusss what they can improve and how to do that. I talked with another student about bringing in an engine for the next unit that I will be teaching. It is important to remind them a lot about that now so they will remember to bring the engines in. He asked if he should bring a tractor engine in and I said ohhh nooo. SMALL gas engines, SMALL! :)
Today was a 5th period day so all of the FFA students were in the ag end. I got to meet some of the other members that I have not met yet and talk to them about the different career development events coming up in the spring and trying to spark their interests.
This week was over all a good week and next week will be better. Cheers to the first full week of school!
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