Supervised Agricultural Experience # 1: Teddy Krietz

Teddy Krietz- Beekeeping

When I first arrived at Bermudian, one part of the program that I was asked to help assist in was recruiting to the program. Being a member of the FFA on different levels, this was something that I was privileged to do. Then one day we were in the computer lab and the students were having an AET Recordbook day. This day would allow the students to update their records and be able to ask questions on their books. In Mrs. Jarema's classes you have to have a project or keep records on something because AET is part of the students overall grade. As I observed a student with a very distinct project caught my eye. I watched him as he uploaded photos of these white boxes. I finally went up to the student and asked " What are these boxes?" "What is your project?". Teddy finally responded with "Its beekeeping and those are their hives.". Never have I ever seen a students project be on bees! From then on I was interested and wanted to know more. So after figuring out schedules and agreeing on a time I was able to complete my first visit.
So my first SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) visit that Mrs Jarema and I conducted during my internship was with the ninth grade student named Teddy Krietz, whose SAE project was on Beekeeping. Teddy is in the Ag Mechanics I class and decided to start this project once they found out that he needed a project to keep records on. Teddy and his father toyed with the idea of started some hives before but with the cost of starting up the hives scared them away. Until they found this to be the prime opportunity and reason to  commit and go through with starting the beehives. While on the visit, Teddy showed me everything from the hives all the way to the tools and boxes that the bees are shipped in. It was so interesting and scary all at the same time. As long as I can remember I have always had this tiny fear of bees and it wasn't until this visit that my tiny fear was conquered. I knew that if my student could do it, I could do it and I am sure glad that I did. When we visited Teddy had just gotten in ~7 pounds of bees to start his hives. In order for the bees to adapt to their new home they must be coaxed into going in the hive. This is done by using food (sugar water) to lure them in there and once a drone gives the okay they will allow the queen bee in and begin the mating cycle. We were able to see this process after they have already adapted to their new hives. It was quite an amazing site to see the thousands of bees all over the hive just working. We were even able to spot the queen bee, which is typically hard because she blends in very well with the other bees. The only aspect that distinguishes her from the other bees is that she is a bit bigger than the rest, meaning she has a big bee-hind!
Teddy keeps his bees far away from his house in his backyard. They wanted to have the beehives close so they could monitor them and make sure nothing is snooping around that shouldn't be. This is good for Teddy because of being academically and extracurricular involved, this allows him the capabilities to take full on responsibility for this project. Teddy this year made the commitment of becoming a member of the Bermudian FFA and participated in his first public speaking contest this year!
By doing this project Teddy has opened the door for expansion in his project and by being a member of the FFA, he is capable of winning many awards for his project being different than a production animal project. This was definitely a new experience for me because I have never been or seen a honey bee operation before. Teddy has been a huge asset to the FFA program. By offering his information to being that extra helping hand, Teddy is a student that you can always count on. Especially when it comes to his updates about his honey bees!
Overall, I really enjoyed myself at this visit. It was so amazing to see how this operation works. Keep up the good work Teddy!

Week 12: Is It Really Getting To Be The END??

Week 12: A Full Load

As I have gone back through my blogs to see my reflections for the past weeks it dawns on me that we only have three weeks left before its over. I feel as through it was just a week ago I was so nervous to even go into the classroom let along think I would make it through 12 weeks of solid teaching and interacting with other faculty and the students. As we get closer I get sad and more sad because of the relationships that I have made with the kids, my host family, community, and most importantly my cooperating teacher. Everyday I think about a certain quote that pertains to my life right now and it goes something like this "I am enough of a realist to understand that I can't reach every child, but I am more of an optimist to get up every morning and try." by Preston Morgan. It is my life motto ever since I started my student teaching experience. I have had the ups and the downs but more importantly it is and continues to be a learning experience that I will never forget. A wise man told me once to "Take your notes!" and I would of never thought with student teaching I have filled almost an entire notebook in chicken scratch. The one thing besides the students that I love so much about this experience is the variety in subjects and teaching styles that I have for different classes. I am very fortunate to be able to teach to their personalities and hopefully have them to continue to learn something new each day I teach.
As I have said before my classes are very different in each way. I call my animal science class my sleepy class because it is the first period of the day and the students are just about waking up. I make my lessons engaging and try new strategies but they are the tougher of my classes when I want to be over exuberant. Some will play along but others will just stare at me like I am a bug or something. It will be my longing goal to make sure that I am utilizing every strategy and trick up my sleeve to get them excited to be there. Period 2 and 7/8th period they are very rowdy and like to try and advert me from my lesson. I have however caught on to their tactics and shut them down. However I try to keep the class light and motivating to continue through, because in all honestly I love how rowdy they are. Oh we do put their rowdiness to work and they have proven to me that they can get work done when they put their minds to it. Period 3 is getting sick of the planting and transplanting of plants. I think the idea of being in the hot greenhouse on these lovely days is burning them out. However I seemed to solve the problem by just simply playing some music. I must say I am very proud on how hard they work and strive to achieve their goal for their plant sale to the community. They are coming up with some great ideas. Then there is my two sections of Ag Mechanics II, what gems they are! They are really getting into making their boot scraper project. I just wish that they would slow down some. They are trying to get finished and be done with the project but then they wonder why their project is wobbly and not working right. Both sections have so much potential and I continue to let them know that they need to take to their time rather than try to finish first.
Overall the week has been another stellar week. My Students are continuing to amaze me and really make me see what good each and every one of them has in their body. How just a little attention can go for a long way. Hopefully next week will be even better! Until then stay tuned!

Week 11: Where Is The Time GOING?!

 Week 11: So Much To Do, Such Little Time

Oh My Lanta! This week flew by so fast. It was another busy week for me. Being out for two days and only staying at my host family's for one day, definitely made me feel like a gypsy. Even though I wasn't there for two out of the five days, I definitely had a better week then the last one. Even with the marking period ending and adding in yet another class I made it through. My Students made progress in every class and they really showed me that I could trust them with being out and getting their work down. I also realized that planning ahead definitely makes things go easier.
Animal science did well with the assignments I left and assigned them. When I was there we were able to finally get through the rest of the minerals section. They took a test to make sure they were obtaining the information and sure enough they did very well. We also began to talk about digestion. On Friday I left them a packet from the text book to read about digestion with different animals so we shall see how that goes on Monday and if they read it or not.
In Ag Environmental Awareness, we are still left with uncertainty of cooperatives and how they play a huge role in the Agricultural Industry. Since we are using our vegetable plants as a cooperative so they can get firsthand experience in one, they nominated a manager and co-manager. So next week we can vote and see what the outcome is. Overall though this class enjoys planting and really being able to get their hands dirty. Lets hope this sticks for we still have another week of planting and many weeks to come of transplanting. I am happy to say that I have some very dedicated students who come down eleventh period to help set up of the next day, make sure plants are sufficient enough with water, and to plant if not all planting occurs. They are great! Hopefully we see some growing numbers of plants!
When I micro taught last semester I was teaching small gas engines. This was great because I knew I would be teaching this unit when I student taught. So I am re-using the lessons I taught during micro teaching. I am having my students get into five groups and explaining one cycle of a four stroke engine. The fifth group and explaining the process of cooling and lubrication. I am then going to have them teach to the class what each cycle does instead of me always teaching. However I know I will have to step in to really get the class to understand the concept.
Oh boy have I seen a change in my Ag Mechanics II classes. I feel that they finally are understanding that I am not going to take the pushing my buttons. For that we have been in the shop and they come and ask me questions. Right now they are practicing ARC MIG and Oxy- Cutting to see where they are at and what they need to practice. Hopefully by the end of the next week they can get started working on their boot scraper. I should also add that they know before they can go down to the shop they must hand in their cell phones or else they cannot go down. I am however still having issues with a few of my students not wearing proper PPE. So I just make them do bookwork at one of the shop tables. I am hoping that they get tired of that and take it seriously that they can't be in the shop with shorts and sandals!
I picked up a Plant Science class that I am teaching floral design in. It is actually quite interesting to see the gender dynamics because there are only three girls and the rest are guys. They are a bit rowdy and since this is a short unit it is hard to really get their attention but I am going to continue to try. Hopefully we see some great arrangements.

Sebastian planting some Herbs

Matty and Ryan from Small Gas Engines

Planting Some Veggies

Week 10: Short and Somewhat Bitter

When Times Get Tough

Another week in the books, but this is one that if I could redo I would in a heartbeat! This was not one of the greatest weeks of my student teaching internship. It started off fair but ended with an uproar. My week was already shortened because of the SLLC Convention, so this meant I only had three not even full days with my students. Wednesday was the actual whole day we had that was shortened for the musical preview or an early dismissal.
The SLLC convention was a great experience not only for myself my students as well. It was my first time seeing how this convention was ran. I really enjoyed hearing some of the stuff that my students were saying. They told me about some of the legislation that was being discussed and what not. It was great to see how they were thinking and what their opinions were on certain topics. Another part I thoroughly enjoyed was doing community service at the Ronald McDonald house in Hershey. It was nice because my chapter and I were able to give back, even though it wasn't that much. We cleaned and sanitized different common rooms and picked up trash outside. We even had a nice littler helper who was there for is three year checkup of being cancer free. It definitely made me realize its the little things in life. I really enjoyed eating breakfast with our county representatives and legislators. I thought this was a great opportunity to see what was going on in our local and state government. However my favorite part was getting to go to the capital. I never though a building could be so darn beautiful and expensive! I loved knowing how it was jammed pack full of history and stories. Talk about taking a girl out of the North for a moment! It as amazing!
Animal Science was still working through the work that the sub gave them and then we moved forward but with the shortened classes made trying to get through things impossible. However we made it through vitamins and started into the importance of minerals and the difference between macro and micro minerals. I have noticed that this class is better when they work in groups and I am unsure why. I do not like putting them in groups especially when I do not assign them because then I have groups talking/gossiping rather than doing their work.  However they do get the work done rather than having them do the work on their own. I do have this one student who really upsets me because she refuses to do her work and then when I call her out on it she tells me she doesn't understand what is going on after I asked for questions as a group and individually. It is so hard not to get frustrated with her but I feel as though that just causes her to get attitude and defensive. I am still working with her but with the marking period ending next Tuesday I just do not see her having the ambition to come to me to get her assignments done. I guess we will how that goes next week. I just do not like turning students away.
In Ag Environmental awareness we started to plant some more vegetables. I really think my students enjoy planting, which is good because they will plant more and then transplant the plants into four packs to sell. They are grasping a little more concept on planning where to plant.  We are trying to show that in order to have a business they must have a plan. So in this case them planting and knowing when to plant and the sell date counts as a overall business plan. I touched on co-ops but with these shortened period is truly makes it impossible to get through the information for them to better understand this process.
I also picked up two sections of Ag Mechanics I. This was interesting because I picked them up on our shortened periods and it seemed to go well. I got a basic understanding of where they are at with small gas engines, and as I assumed they really do not know too much. However this did lead me and Mrs Jarema to a new finding. For my community-based project I am going to write an article in the town newspaper and create a flyer for the school to bring in lawnmowers for the students to repair and maintain. I was going to do a career fair but with little timing we decided to change it and open this unit to the community. Its great because it takes care of this assignment, but most importantly it helps the students really retain and understand how to repair and maintain a small gas engine. I am pretty stoked about it, but before we can get to the shop we have some class work to do first.
On top of this shortened week, one of my lovely sections of Ag Mechanics II decided that they really wanted to push my buttons to see just how far they could push before I would break. Let me tell you, they broke me. We were still doing safety demonstrations of the oxy-acetlyene torch and my students decided they were going to be extremely disruptive, disrespectful and just annoying to the one student taking his test. After countless times of talking the students I finally sent them up to the classroom to think about what they were doing. I should have known better because when I called on them they decided to shut me down by being disrespectful to not only me but the student who was struggling.  On top of that I had a student think it was absolutely necessary to be on his cell phone while he was in the shop! I lost it! I sent them up and literally couldn't handle my anger that I just started to weep, in front of the struggling student. Bless this student's heart, he knew what was going on that he was trying to keep me distracted, but being overwhelmed I just couldn't gather my thoughts in time. So we cleaned up and headed up to the room where the rest of the class was, and I decided to pull the one student aside and speak with him one on one. That backfired hard! He literally told me I was a terrible teacher, which broke my heart even more.
This is when I brought myself to a decision, I had to address this situation at the beginning of the next class, and so I did. I sat there and yelled (unfortunately the mean teacher side came out) and explained the reason the safety was taking so long. I also established a new rule that if we are going to the shop that they must turn in their cell phones at the beginning of class and I will hand them back out at the end when they are in their seats. Since it was only one day I am waiting to see what next week will be like, but it had to be done.
Overall this week was a tad crazy, but I made it through. I have realized that sometimes you just need to come on strong to deserve some respect, but also for the importance of the students learning. I can say that I am pleased with the way I handled things but I am sad that it had to come to this. Might I add that I appreciate all people who are in the profession of teaching, because it definitely isn't easy! I am still waiting to see what the next week brings, hopefully well-behaved mechanic boys and a better week.

Bermudan FFA Chapter at the State Capital Building

Giving a helping hand to the Ronald McDonald House 

Planting and Labeling Vegetables 

Week 9: So Much is Happening!

Week 9: So Much to Do in Such Little Time

Talk about a speedy week with loads of events, practices, new units and class on top of the work we have to do. What seemed like a calm week in my planner was the exact opposite of that. I am getting ready for the following week to add on another two sections of Ag Mechanics I. I will be teaching them Small Gas Engines and the way we have it set up is that the students bring in a small engine (lawnmower-push, rototiller) from home and then the "tune" it up. Also in my Ag Environmental class we are going to wrap up maple syrup and go right into Vegetables and Cooperatives. Also this week was our county public speaking contest, which means we had to revise, review, and get the speeches altogether. Sometimes I wonder how Ag teachers do it, and then I realize this is what I love about our profession, the way that it is always changing.
Even with a busy schedule we as Ag teacher still have to keep it together. I have found that I have issues sometimes with remembering what I had said to certain students about assignments. So I have definitely utilized the writing everything down technique. This has helped me out a ton, but still if I misplace my notebook then we are in big trouble. This week seemed to fly by, especially in my Ag Environmental Awareness class. Teaching two units can be a little tricky at times but it definitely is helping the kiddos get into a routine. However I will be ending the maple unit at the end of this week, due to SLLC being the following week and I would rather the students not get confused with the sub being there. However I am still trying to find a way to get these students really involved in the vegetable unit. They are really getting confused on cooperatives, so hopefully within the next few weeks they can really grasp this concept and continue to move forward.
Animal Science is going well, however how do you motivate the unmotivated. I feel as though I have tried everything and they just continue to give me the stare and refuse to participate. I guess this is why reflection is key when it comes to fixing these issues. Hopefully once we get out of feed and nutrition I will start seeing a turn around in the digestion section of this unit.
Ag Mechanics II still isn't in the shop and they are being difficult on getting through the material because they want to be down there. However I decided to try a different approach to them by hearing what they wanted and combining what I wanted them to get from the lesson. I decided to steal an idea from Dr. Ewing when I had shop class. I had my kiddos make a poster about the oxy-acetylene tank and label all of the parts. Once they finished with the poster they had to come up and present how to set up and tear down process of the oxy-acetylene tank. I think I really hit the creative bone in some kids and tested it in other kids. Being an all boy class I constantly heard the excuse of I can't draw and what have you, but I would like to say they actually did it all. The second part of this was to have the students go down and set up and shut off the oxy-acetylene tank. This was to show me that they could do it without a problem and safely. I had a grading rubric that graded them from proper PPE to the shut down process. It was interesting to see that my kiddos didn't know it all and the allowed me to help them. My students like to think they know everything until they are put to the test.
Overall it was a good week that ended in some of our students placing in the county public speaking contest to Mr. Frederick coming down for a second visit. Even though it seemed jam packed I had a great week and it definitely is helping me to learn and improve on time management skills. Even though my time is getting shorter and shorter I still have more to come.

One of my student's Oxy-Acetylene Posters

Studying the Maple Process: From start to Finish

My FFA Kiddos at Adams County Public Speaking Contest

Week 8: A Short but Sweet Week

Week 8: Time is Truly of the Essence

One major lesson that I took away from this week is that time is truly of the essence. I believe that is why everyone stresses on time management and being flexible. These two skills definitely go hand in hand because you need them both in this profession. For example the week started of strong with full-timed days and when Wednesday came along, it came with a vengeance because we had the rest of the week off. During these days off I was able to get papers graded and work on some assignments.  However I got overwhelmed with the thought of my classes all being behind, when I finally thought were we getting caught up. Overall with the two and a half short days my Ag Enviro class finally completed the forestry unit and Ag mechanics finished Arc welding safety and procedures. I picked up an animal science class and only got to spend one day with them before the week came to an unexpected halt. My mechanics sections are still testing me and somedays pushing me to the max but all in all this is part of the learning experience.
I thought in the beginning that this experience would be a breeze, not with the work portion but teaching portion. It seemed like my kiddos would be easy to teach, and I am telling you that I am finding that to be false. Not saying my students are "bad" but they do test my limits. In some classes it is clear of what I expect from them and what is to be done each day, but in my Ag Mechanics class they seem to constantly test me. They think they know everything there is but really they haven't shown me that they do. They want to be in the shop and I want them in the shop but I am unsure they are ready to be in the shop and therefore I will not let them go down until they can prove to me what they know about the machines and safety.
My Ag Environmental Awareness class finally finished up their forestry exam and might thank the good Lord because I thought we would never get through this unit. I definitely learned not to assign so many trees for the students to identify. I also need to continue to check in with them to see if they are understanding content more than I did. I feel that some students didn't grasp the concept as well as I would of liked them too, but you live, learn, and teach.
I picked up another class this week. Animal science period 1 was the class and only got to spend one day with them. This class will not be easy for me, because the kids just sit there and do not want to participate, and some of the girls are very catty and think they can give me attitude. I am still new to them so its definitely going to take time and work to see improvement with these students. I have quite a few students who want to work with animals when they get out of high school and college that this class will be good for them to test their knowledge and provide them with new skills and information for this career pathway.
Overall the week was short but sweet and I seem to re-evaluate where I am going with certain units and the classes. As well as improving myself and revamping my end goals. I know that I have struggled with the many skills that you need for this profession and I hope to achieve and improve on those skills so I can become an overall better agricultural educator. We will see what this next week has to bring, hopefully no cancellations!

Week 7: Its starting to get REAL!

How to Balance Everything?

Oh my lanta! What a week!! This week I added on two sections of Ag Mechanics II. Both portions of this class had all boys, so you could say that they constantly test me. On top of adding a new class it was FFA week, one of our biggest times for recruiting. We decided to have a spirit week with each day representing FFA. For instance Monday was camouflage, Tuesday was wear something representing FFA, Wednesday was sponsors of FFA, Thursday Blue and Gold Day, and Friday Flannel and Boots Day. Also on Friday some of the students went down to the middle school to put on a presentation for 8th graders since picking next years classes was coming up next week. Oh but let's not forget the after school events we had as well. I am really starting to see how much work it takes to be an Ag Teacher.
I still have my third period Ag Enviro class they are finishing up with tree identification and then we will be moving into Maple Syrup Production! I am excited because I think they will really enjoy this unit. They are being champs with all the trees I have had them identify. With this unit ending there are things I would definitely change. I do not think I would have them identify as many trees. We had almost forty different trees for them to identify. So with the review I did, I told them they only had to know a certain few so that way they didn't stress out over my mistake. However with this little bit of knowledge under my belt I realized that I am going to do the Maple Syrup Unit differently. I want to make it more hands on and interesting for the the students.
This week we added on two sections of Ag Mechanics II. This is a very tough class for me because the boys really enjoy testing me and not letting me get through my lesson. They think because they took Ag Mechanics I that they know everything, but when we were going through the safety lesson they do not understand why certain answers are that way. I explained to them that if they are not safe in the shop that they will get kicked out of the shop and have to do book work for the rest of the time that I am teaching them. I know that they really want to get in the shop and start working but I am not comfortable with them going down there yet. They also kept asking if I knew how to weld and if I knew what I was doing, so the one day during my prep I went to the shop and welded and brought up the weld so they could see I know what I am doing. They definitely have changed their attitudes a little bit. I definitely feel like now we can get somewhere so hopefully the next weeks to come they continue to give me that respect.
In conclusion to week I experience many different feelings of stress, panic, and then pure happiness. I have good students and with a little more structure and fun lessons these kiddos will do great! Also I feel that I need to put the hammer down with more organized time management strategies so that I can get more assignments and lessons accomplished. I am as always looking forward to next week!

Week 6: What An Eventful Week!

Week 6: Another Week in the Books!

As I continue on with my student teaching internship (which seems to be flying by) I am never not amazed by my students and their achievements. Whether it be big or small they are wonderful, strong students with a good head on their shoulders to truly achieve greatness. They are also making it that much harder for me to leave when my internship is over. This week was a very busy week for not just the students but for me as well, and the way they came together to make sure that business was being taken care of so we could continue to move forward was absolutely incredible. I finished my Global Ag unit with seniors and might I say they were very disappointed that I wasn't teaching them anymore. My Ag Enviro Class is finishing up tree identification and will be starting into Maple Syrup Production.
The week started typical with a two hour delay on Monday and a visit from my university supervisor that same day. Having quite the amount of anxiety I managed to do just fine with the visit and shortened amount of teaching time. Both of my classes were extremely attentive and respectful. I did enjoy being supplemented with an abundance of constructive feedback from my supervisor. This made me realize that I am doing okay and to keep pushing myself to improve each week. 
As I previously stated I finished up my Global Ag students. Even though they were disappointed that I would not be teaching them anymore, they did prove to me that they did learn something. They did current events on global agriculture and took information learned from class and found some really great articles. I would say that seniors are probably one of the hardest groups to work with because of graduation beings a few months away. I did in fact learn from them that they care and want to make some sort of difference, maybe not in agriculture but in the world. I know that I cannot push everyone into the Ag world but knowing that they are making or wanting to make differences makes me have hope for them to continue on and achieve greatness.
My Ag Enviro class is pushing through the gauntlet of finishing tree identification. What I did not realize is that because of the shortened class time because of delays has stretched this unit out longer than what was anticipated. Unfortunately I will not be able to get through the whole unit because there will not be enough time for me to finish the rest of my units if I would continue on with this unit. Overall the biggest take away I want the students to have is the tree identification portion so that if we have a day where its nice we could go outside and properly identify trees. So this next week I have to find a good stopping place so I can introduce maple syrup production.
On Thursday we hosted the AFY county winter skills day. We had over two hundred students and advisors come to participate in the various events. I was in charge of the Ag Mechanics portion. I had two teams compete and a portion of this contest was learning how to lay out a wall and with one day remaining before the contest I learnt and taught the students how to lay out the wall in one day. I was under the impression that my students didn't take it seriously and did not grasp the concept, but I was completely wrong. I had one student win the whole contest, another come in 6th and the other come in 12th. I could not be happier! Hard work truly does pay off.
We also attended the ACES conference this weekend and created so many memories with the students that I will never forget. At dinner they all expressed how they did not want me to leave and that they wanted me to come back and teach. I could never express how much my heart was touched by these kids. Who would have thought that they cared so much? The conference itself was absolutely amazing, reflections and the morning seminar really hit home for me and makes me want to do better both professionally and individually.
Overall the week was good and has me wanting to improve for the next week. I am truly blessed to be here and doing what I love to do: Teach! I hope next week brings in more joy since I will be picking up two classes. We will see!

Week 5: Another Week in the Books!

With the Good Comes the Rough

Another week down for the count. I feel that these past five weeks have gone by so quickly! This week definitely had it's ups and downs. My seniors are getting used to having me teach them and this is both good and bad, depending on the certain situation. My ninth graders are doing very well, but we are hitting a wall with tree identification. We are not sure where to go with it so that is fun for them and interactive to reach all the different learners I have. I am finding more students who like to cause problems but I keep telling myself I am not going to quit. This week has definitely tested and pushed me to my limits.
Seniors are doing well, but some are still not doing or putting the effort into the assignments that I give them. I have some students who just say they are simply not going to do the homework. By having the delays it has put my Global Ag unit behind and it has to get pushed into a few of the days next week. I have found out that the students are not willing to activities until you bore them enough that they want to get up and do something. However in my lessons they have been very interactive and there is always some activity they need to participate in. I like getting them up and moving because if they are not moving they are practically falling asleep from it being so early. I just do not understand how they can beg me to keep teaching the class, but refuse to do the work that comes with it. Hopefully next week they surprise me and enjoy the lessons I have planned for them.
My ninth graders are hard workers. They know that I have set high expectations for them because I only want them to be successful and strive to show off the potential that I know each of them have. I "borrowed" a lesson from CoP and adjusted to do a speed dating activity with them to help them in identifying the list of common trees of Pennsylvania. They really enjoyed the activity,  however they were not grasping the concept of them not just copying each other's tree page. That they actually had to pretend to be the tree that the chose and tell the other person about themselves. However the next time I do this lesson I know which parts I need to stress on and which parts could be adjusted to make the lesson great. 
This week also consisted of me holding an FFA officer meeting.  We have a lot coming up in the next two weeks and I just wanted to check in make sure that they are doing what they are suppose to be doing. We touched on how to make a meeting run more smoothly and how we could actually get through an agenda during a clubs period by using correct parliament procedure.  I will say it is just very hard to get through to students who show no interest. However I did create a system in which they need to come and check in with me every Friday to see where they are at with any jobs that they signed up for. This has gotten through with some of the officers but not all of them so when we have an officer meeting tomorrow I will be addressing this fact again. 
Even though this week was a struggle at some points and made me question myself I believe it definitely made me stronger as a person. I am ready to see how I can keep improving my teaching skills and style. As well as continuing to improve myself personally and professionally.

I brought the kids in candy on Friday for Valentines Day

Student using mechanics knowledge to grind down a barrel drum for band director

Week 4: Time To Buckle Down!

Week Four Recap:

What a week?! My students never seem to stop amazing me. I learn something new from them everyday. We only had one delay and then clubs schedule on Wednesday that again delayed some time spent in the classroom. I am finally moving forward with my period 3 students. We identified ten trees common to Pa at the beginning of the week and ended it with all of my students saying the FFA Creed completely. My seniors are working their way through the presentations on different aspects of global agriculture. 
With my week and workload increasing, I am starting to see what hard work and pre-planning pay off. One major problem I kept encountering is writing my first sub plan. I know that to most it may be the easiest thing, but I had to make a plan for two classes and I kept encountering issues of whether or not the sub would reiterate the concept to the students so they understood too. I had to create sub plans for Friday because Mrs. Jarema and I went go to participate in the record book contest in State College. Which was an adventure in itself. 
My global agriculture kids started the week out with working on and fishing their presentations. They began to presentations on Wednesday of this week. I am having issues with some of my student's and the quality of work they present to me. I hold my students at a high standard, not because I want to show them they are not as smart but because they can do it. They have the potential for greatness, but I am unsure how I can show them that. I feel that these kids have the potential but they are put forth that effort. I know they are seniors and all they are worried about is getting out of there, but how do I ignite the motivation spark to get the to give there best? I guess that will have to be one of my goals this week as I continue to teach them about global agriculture. 
On the other hand my Ag Environmental Awareness class is going pretty well.  I am so lucky to be able to experience the support from this class. We had a rough start in the beginning of the week because the students are not really enjoying having to know different tree species, but by the end of the week I had them excited to do the speed dating activity we will be beginning with on Monday. One part of this class that made me realize just how much I love teaching, is when my students all came together to learn the Creed so they would not have to take a pop quiz. They way they rooted each other on and should the support just melted my heart. I cannot wait to see what this next week brings me and the students in this class.
I did end my week on a new experience and knowledge gained note. I was able to participate in the state record book contest held in state college. I cannot believe the fun and new knowledge that I have accumulated by grading record books. Even though it is a long and tedious process I really enjoyed making the connections with other Ag teachers across the state, and seeing what it takes to have a good record book. 
With another week in the books I am learning and improving my teaching and student relationships. I will be picking up another class: Ag Mechanics II within the next week so I am excited to see what these students bring to the table. They are finishing up electrical and will be moving forward to welding. I hope to continue to improve with my teaching and assignments. Mrs. Jarema is definitely helping me by providing feedback and any suggestions to make a lesson stronger.

Week 3: Flexibility, A Teacher Must Have

Week 3 at Bermudian Springs

Who would of thought that I would learn and be exposed to so much! I am so blessed to be here and experiencing all sorts of things.  Another class was added, new connections with new students while still continuing with the old. I love my internship more and more with each passing week. I do not however love the continued cancellations or two-hour delays we continue to have.  Flexibility in teaching is something that I believe I am mastering in. You never know what the school day is going to bring.

Having this new class is both interesting and difficult at the same time. There are 25 seniors in the class, which is the biggest class I have had yet!   Since they are learning about Global Agriculture, I decided to start them off with a project. Each group was assigned a topic that dealt with Global Ag. Some of the topics were: The Green Revolution- Norman Borlaug, NAFTA, FAO, World Trade Organization, Free Trade Agreements, and World Food Programs. They will be creating a project and “teaching” the class about what they have learned. Also they are creating a ten-question quiz, which will help them in comprehending they information that their peers are presenting to them. So this week and some of next students will be going to the writing center to work on their presentations. However some of them are definitely catching senioritis in not wanting to do the work, but by threatening them with a failing grade they got back to work.

My Ag Environmental Awareness is still identifying trees for the week and the creed. This week paragraphs 1-4 were due. I am having trouble with some of my students not wanting to recite the creed. I cannot express enough how important it is for their grade to just get up and recite it, but they continue to not say it. So I am up to suggestions on how to fix this problem and move forward. This coming week paragraphs 1-5 are due and I keep reminding and stressing the fact that this is a huge chunk of their grade. We will see how it goes!

Before I even started my internship I said that it was going to make it point to get to know these students. I am still a little shaky on names but I recognize and make sure to go out of my way to say hello and speak with them one on one. I love my kids! They listen very well and are attentive in class.

Overall I had a great week with the kids, even with the delays and two cancellations we seemed to cover as much as we could. I have really been flexible with my teaching because of these cancellations or delays and prior scheduled assignments. I cannot wait to see what they next week brings. Hopefully a good week with lots of learning occurring!

Week 2: Lets Get Started!

                                                            Week Two: In the Books!

I cannot believe that week two has already flown by! It still seems unreal like I am not in my second week of my student teaching internship, but I am and could NOT be happier. This week was my first week of actual teaching in the classroom. This week of course had positive and negatives and definitely had tested my patience, but this week was very beneficial in teaching me to be flexible. I also had my first experience of what an inservice day consisted of, rather than sleeping in and watching movies all day. 

Monday: We had an inservice day, one of my firsts as a beginning teacher. I had no clue what to expect. Here at Bermudian Springs they have all of the staff from elementary and middle school come up to the high school to take part in one large meeting before being dispersing to different workshops. On Mrs. Jarema's and my schedule we had the following professional development workshops to take part in: Appalachia: "Remote Access and More", Managing Stress and Physical Wellness through Aerobic Exercise, The Hidden Gems of Google, and Creating Your Own Website. I gained a lot of new found knowledge through these workshops, however in some the information did not pertain to me. For example Appalachia "Remote Access and More" was a workshop developed by the Tech Department at the school explaining the new system they are going too for teachers to be able to access the school network from home. Its really cool to see where they are going to take this new system to make it "easier" for teachers to put in grades and whatnot. Overall my favorite workshop we went too was The Hidden Gems of Google. This was the most beneficial to me because of all the information that it provided. Google is becoming huge in the education world, especially when students are researching information for school projects and papers. This workshop gave us info on how to search and refine our search to find exactly what we want to know. It then went into the different apps we are able access powered through google. Overall it was a great experience to see what an inservice day may look like in  my future. 

Tuesday: The first day I begin to teach.  I am teaching Ag Environmental Awareness with 9th graders. This class is a blast! I introduced them to forestry and identifying the internal and external parts of a tree. By doing this lesson I was able to get a feel of what the students knew about trees in general, which is slim. The best advice that I have gotten when writing lesson plans "Assume they know nothing" and most times you are right on track with the information and content you have planned for them. One setback I experienced is before I took on this class Mrs. Jarema assigned dates in which students had to get up and say the FFA Creed. We discussed that it would be best to keep these dates and just work around it. We had two students volunteer to go first. Other than teaching I helped where I could with the Ag Mech kids who were either metalworking or electrical wiring. 

Wednesday and Thursday: Talk about being flexible! Mrs. Jarema called it when we were hit with some bad weather, Early dismissal on Wednesday and Two hour delay on Thursday. This meant periods were shortened. So in more defined terms, LESS time to teach! Both days were used to finish up students saying the creed, because there is a class of 18 students and they had to recite paragraphs 1-3.  These two days seem to fly by, and therefore set me behind with what I had planned, but then again aren't we as teachers suppose to be flexible? 

Friday: This was a great day, we were back to full periods and now it was time to get into content and back on track with my lessons. I am unfortunately still two days behind where I would want to be with them but I will get them caught up as fast as their learning and understanding will allow. 

Overall, I feel that this week was great. I was able to really start interacting more with my students, now that they are a little more comfortable with me being there. I feel that I am building great relationships with my students and I even got one student to join the FFA and compete in the coming up vet science CDE at Winter Skills Day. Each day I sit down to see what I need to improve on and how I can be a better educator. With the help of Mrs. Jarema's guidance I am continuing to get farther with my dream. I am still continuously helping and aiding where I can to gain as much exposure and experience as I can. Next week I will be adding on another class Ag Business, and will be teaching them about Global Agriculture. I can't wait to see what this next week brings me!

What did YOU observe this week?

Week 1 at Bermudian Springs High School

I am finally here, I am finally beginning my student teaching internship at Bermudian Springs High School with Dianna Jarema. I could not be happier! Event though the week started off rough, we ended it with a bang. I can not wait to see what next week has in store for me. I am picking up her third period Ag Environmental Awareness class. 

To start off the week, the student teachers were suppose to go to Mid-Winter convention at the farm show complex. However due to inclement weather, my school was not able to attend because the district cancelled school. What started off as a two hour delay, went to full fledged cancellation. So my excitement for beginning this new journey was set back a day. I did not let that get me down, and took the day to relax and get some last minute tasks in. I also took this day to reflect on my past semester, to remember what we covered and how I would implement different methods and skills into my teaching.

It was finally here, the first day of student teaching or should I say mandatory observation. As soon as I walked in kids were friendly. I walked down the hallway to the Ag room where home room was taking place. I walked in to a bunch of students, half sleeping and rebooting from the long weekend. Once homeroom finished, I began my observation. It was mid-term week, so students weren't too eager walking into class to see that they had an exam coming their way in the next few minutes. Students were making faces and you could tell that they just wanted it to be done and over with. Only two exams occurred this day with Mrs. Jarema. The rest of their classes participated in review days.  This helped the student recall information that they learned in the beginning of the semester and be able to ask questions whenever one came to mind. Many students appreciated this time because they haven't studied and needed to refresh themselves on the materials that were covered.

Each class had a different personality in how they would come across. Of course you had your rowdy bunch, the eager to learn and be in the shop, and then the kids who didn't want to be there at all. I noticed that Mrs. Jarema really took to the kids who didn't want to be there and tried to work with them the best she could.  When the class had finished their midterms they were asked to log on to AET and finish recording 20 hours. I was able to help aid the students when they had questions and did not know what do next. Almost every student had a different type of SAE project they were doing. Some of the projects were Worm Farm, Motorcycle Mechanic, Working at a local Market, and Working on a dairy farm. You could tell that most students came from different backgrounds, not your typical farming background. However these kids don't let their backgrounds hold them back. 

One goal of mine is to help Mrs. Jarema work on improving their FFA chapter. They have a good chapter but recruitment is a main goal of ours, in trying to get more members. I feel as though this will be tough, but I am as well as Mrs. Jarema are ready to try. 

Overall, I believe this week went well and I cannot wait to get my feet wet next week by starting to teach.

Final 412 Lab Reflection

412 Lab Overview

It is so hard to believe that just fifteen weeks ago we were beginning this class and wondering what it had in store for us. I remember when we were picking out demonstration lessons from an envelope and I got to teach "How to Make A Origami Butterfly". I remember when I picked this lesson I was like how the heck am I going to teach this to my peers. Well Thank God for YouTube because I could not understand how to do make one by the instructions in the packet. This was the first lesson I taught and gosh was I nervous. The lesson was good though and I got some good feedback from my peers. 

Each week we had a new challenge to face, and how we were going to use it in our student teaching experience. I truly believe that each challenge was something we will be using in our futures. You could see each and every one of us develop as a teacher. Some labs I really enjoyed were Inquiry, Problem-Based, and Interest Approach lab. I enjoyed this labs because I feel like they were the ones that either I really enjoyed or seen personal development in. Especially in the inquiry lab. I used a lesson that was used in the NAPTP workshop I attended at National Convention this past year. I switched the scenario up. Even though the lesson did not go as planned my point got across and I was able to get feedback on how to improve my teachings and the lesson myself. Another Lab I liked was Problem-Based learning. I was very interested in this lab because it made you think and really get caught up in the information that was being taught. I did a lesson on a poultry farmer who needed help because his chickens were breaking open the eggs and losing weight. I really liked how I have the students direct the way the unit would be taught. They did this by figuring out what we needed to know in order to solve the scenario at hand. I cannot wait to be able to teach this lesson at my school. 

Lastly I believe that every lab we had benefited us as teachers because it laid out a foundation of what we need to know in order for students to learn. I am very please with this class and the instructor. One part I really liked was how we were recorded so we could go back and reflect because we all know reflection is key! I know that I will be utilizing what I learned from this class in my future!

Show Me Your Creative Side

Creativity Lab: Dollar Tree Experience

This was probably one of my favorite labs, because we didn't have to plan for it. We just showed up to class and our instructor told us we were going to to the Dollar Tree!! We were all a little confused at first, but then she explained that this was a chance for us to get materials for lessons we are teaching in the spring. By going there we could come up with fun and creative ideas to add to lesson plans. So at first we were told to look for five minutes by ourselves and to walk around before we started helping each other out. At first I was overwhelmed because my creativity skill takes me time to really think of what I am going to do. As I was walking through the aisles I remembered this digestion interest approach that my one classmate did. It was so interesting to me as a person, so I began to think that my students would like it too. I decided to get some plastic bags and panty hose. This is just some of the items I need for the unit, but it is better than not having anything at all. The next item that my other classmate pointed out was some plastic insects. Since I will be teaching an entomology unit and I believed it would be a good idea. I believe I am going to have my students to try and have the students identify them. In the best way they can at least.
One of my favorite parts was how we were able to help each other by finding them materials to use in their units.Another part is that  you would get more ideas as you walked down each aisle of the store. I know that when I have  a program I will definitely be utilizing this method. It  really does help spark you creativity and makes you think of what you can do with your students that would make it fun for the students and you as the instructor. I am so thankful that we were able to participate in this lab and one of the best benefits the center paid! ha! No it was a great lab which I believe they should continue to do.

Life-Knowledge Lesson

Be a Leader!

I taught my life knowledge lesson at Bermudian Spring High School. It was such pleasure to go and interact with the students that I will be teaching with during the spring semester. Mrs. Jarema wanted to me to teach leadership skills to her fifth period Ag Mechanics class, which only has five students. One student happened to be absent and I was left with only four students one girl and three boys.
At first I was a little nervous because all I could keep thinking was these are the kids I will be teaching in the spring and I need to make a good impression. I did NOT want my kids to be like "oh gosh this is our student teacher?!". I was very blessed to say that it was just the opposite, my kids were great and I am super excited to see them in the spring semester. They really wanted to get to know me as a teacher too. I feel that by doing this lesson at my cooperating school I was able to gain insight on my students and really get a feel of what it is like to be a teacher.
I do not know what makes a different but in lab I get choked up on what I am going to say and really second guess myself, but when I am in front of kids I feel that is when I see myself as a future educator. I cannot wait for my internship to begin, I am so nervous but excited at the same time.
I also really enjoyed the lesson I taught because it really seemed to give students responsibility of themselves. Be A Leader is a lesson that I would recommend to any teacher. It gets the students up and moving. Also with just having four students I felt that I got better participation and alertness. Some students were really participating that do not in other classes. When Mrs. Jarema told me that I was so happy and proud of myself. To me that is one step closer in my dream of becoming an Agricultural Educator.
Overall, I believe that this benefited me as a future teacher because I got to know my students and get a feel of what it was going to be like when I finally begin my student teaching experience. My students were really good and they enjoyed the lesson that I taught and had fun.I just hope they know that, that was just a snip it of what they will be getting in the spring! There is more fun learning to be had!