15: I'm Ready!

Blessed...

Here I am with a few of the *many* messages of inspiration that students
gave me today and with a clay whistle in the shape of a pig made by
one of my teacher friends. Mr. Hughes (aka @Potterybob1 on Twitter).

I cannot even begin to describe how blessed I have been in my student teaching experience. A great school, amazing teachers, supporting community, awesome students, uplifting peers, AMAZING TEACHERS... wait, did I already mention my amazing team of 3 super duper Ag teachers? I have been provided opportunities by Mrs. Seibert, Mrs. Anderson, and Mr. Werning that I never even imagined. They have pushed me, questioned me, and supported me through the last fifteen weeks. There were good times and some hard times but everything has always been about growing and preparing me for the real deal. Mrs. Seibert is quite certainly "Wonder Woman" and has taught me to stand up for yourself as a woman ag teacher, don't be afraid to be dedicated, and to make friends and have fun. As I look at my cleaned off desk and prepare to leave today I will admit that I am going to miss Manheim Central and all of the people that I have connected with in my short time here. With that being said, I am excited about what the future holds for me. I look forward to finding my spot in an agriscience program and making an impact on a school, in a community, and with more students. Wish me luck!

My Advice to the Next Student Teacher

My 15 week student teaching experience is over (tomorrow)...

What?! How?!?

I feel like it was just yesterday when I thought that January would never end. Now I'm packing up my things and preparing to head back to Penn State to finish out and get my degree.

Here is my advice for those who come after me...

• When choosing your cooperating center visit as many places as possible! One of the things that lead me to choose Manheim Central High School was the way that it felt while I was there visiting. The connection between you and the teachers that make up the ag department will be vital for success. Believe me, by visiting you will be able to see if there is "chemistry" between you and the potential cooperating teacher. 
• Work like crazy in the Fall. Listening to your professors and completing every task that is asked of you will significantly make your life more simple during student teaching. 
• The SAME goes for while you are student teaching. It will be super hectic and the days will be a blur. Do the work. Write lessons BEFORE you teach them no matter how much of a pain that is. This will make you feel 3,000x better when you need to collect all of your plans to turn in when you head back to college. I feel successful because I started the binders when I started teaching and just kept throwing the lesson plans into the binders as I taught them. It was a great tactic to ensure success!
• ASK AS MANY QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE. Your cooperating teacher will not get mad at you. They will not be annoyed at you. They will be so incredibly happy that you are interested in learning and taking the job seriously. You might even get an unexpected gem when they answer you! So please, for my sake and your sake and your students' sake...just ask the darn question.
• Do not be in a hurry to get home. Your cooperating teacher is investing their time into you and their students. You should do the same. Plus, cool things happen after the bell rings. This is the time where reflecting on the day and having "teacher talk" is a blessing. Students are there from bell to bell. Don't just be a student.
• Share a piece of yourself with your students. Obviously don't tell them the nitty-gritty details of your personal life but it is totally okay to share that you have siblings. That you have a dog, a car, parents, etc. This makes the students view you as a real human being that they can relate to and confide in. If you act like cold reserved individual then they will treat you as such. Trust me on this one.

May the force be with you while you start out in the classroom and may you always provide your students with information that will one day help them win Jeopardy. :)

-Angela (aka. Ms. Becker)

14: PAAE in the East

Attending the Eastern Region PAAE meeting stimulated my reflection on what happens when a big group of great minds get together. State FFA Convention, regional contests, and the next meeting location were just a few things that we discussed. The following things that happened during my evening adventure were the most memorable...

Me, Rose, and Allyson!

1) The tight knit community of ag teachers never ceases to amaze me. The jokes and smiles were contagious. I was approached by a friendly face many times with the question of "How are you?" and "How is student teaching going?" I was also touched by the kindness and support for some tough times that important people to PA FFA had gone through. It was very wholesome.

2) I was SO happy to see my fellow student teachers. I had missed not seeing Allyson and Rose everyday like we had in the fall. Our cohort has really become a unit and I love the happiness that our friendships bring me. 

3) I LOVE seeing other programs. This meeting took place at Oley Valley High School. They have one of the most prestigious high school food science labs that I have ever seen! It really is quite amazing. Their courses really are full of intense scientific rigor. I must also say that I appreciated all of the pelts and taxidermy that was on display around their ag department. 

I like to make friends wherever I go.

I believe that it is essential to remain an active member of the PAAE. Membership provides countless benefits for us teachers and all of the people that we interact with such as our school faculty and administration, our families, and even our students. I know that I will continue to strengthen my membership in the PAAE and hopefully become more involved as I grow into my first teaching job.

13: When Life Throws You a Curveball...

This week was planned. My EEE classes were going to work on research, learn about soil textures, and take their cumulative exam. My animal science class had finally hit the poultry unit and would have guest speakers to talk about contract growing and vertical integration.

On Wednesday morning I woke up to the text message from my Dad that my grandmother had passed away. Of course this is something that I hadn't planned for. I drove to school with a heavy heart and tried to figure out how the rest of the week was going to play out. I am so glad that my student teaching experience has taught me the fine tuned art of adaptability and preparation.

The key from this week is that because I had better planned I am able to be at home with my family helping them to make it through this tough time while they do the same for me. It has been a few days and things haven't gotten any easier as I watch my Dad cope with this loss. The moral of the story is that planning ahead can make your life much easier when you can't use "Plan A." I feel that some days we make it all the way to "Plan Y" before anything seems to work out. AND THAT IS OKAY.

Planning and preparation will be something that I continue to hone in during my upcoming years and would love to have any advice that you, my reader, can share with me.

12: Taking Care of Yourself

R & R

Teachers. Work. Hard. 

With the holiday of Easter being this week, our time in the classroom was shortened significantly. This provided me the chance to head home for the weekend and spend some quality time with my family on the farm. We moved the cattle, sorted some lambs, built steer pens, and played with some puppies. It really has been a lovely weekend thus far and there are now only a few short hours to Easter dinner! (I can't wait for some ham!!)

I know that as a reader you may be wondering why I am telling you all of this... Here is why. Ag teachers are some of the hardest working people that I know. Teachers invest their entire being into their job and students. Teacher burnout is real! As ag teachers, we need to remember to think about ourselves sometimes. Do not feel ashamed that you need a break. Know when to take some time for yourself so that you can keep conquering the world as a super teacher. Now, I am not saying to put aside all of your responsibilities. I am simply saying to make your health and wellbeing a priority. If that means waiting to do your lessons until Sunday night, then so be it. Get a little bit of R & R so that you can be a better teacher! I hope to remember this as I get started in this profession. I hope to one day be a veteran ag teacher and I know that in order to do that, I must take care of myself first.

11: Going Visiting

There was a lot of snow to clear off my car before
heading to Selinsgrove.

One of the best ways to expand your knowledge is to travel to other places. Travel can be across the globe or even as close as right down the street. On Thursday, March 22nd I had the great opportunity to visit my fellow cohort member Macy Fisher at Selinsgrove Area High School. It was great to see a friend and her cooperating teachers.

Macy overseeing students working on their
electrical wiring in the shop!

I took notes on what Macy was teaching, the ag program facilities, and the thoughts of the students. Some fun things that I saw were the tiny trout in the back of the classroom, the large greenhouse being fully utilized, and the four sided wall frame to practice electrical wiring on. With a 2-hour delay, the day went by incredibly quickly but I was glad to meet Mr. Curt Swineford and Ms. Valerie Fry in the short time that I was there.


My major takeaways from this visiting trip are as follows:

1. As I transition into a program of my own I aim to act as a mentor to those who come after me. This means saying "yes!" when I am asked to serve as a mentor whether that be through allowing program visitors or taking on a student teacher. 
2. Seeing other programs can give you some neat ideas to implement in your own. I saw many things that I would like to use on day in my own classroom. 



Lots of plants are growing in the greenhouse!

3. Continuing to build a network of support from other ag teachers is incredibly important and as I grow I hope to never cease in adding names and faces to those who I can help and that can in turn help me. 

10: Do You Have a Halter?

Warning: This post contains MANY pictures!

This week we spent more than one evening traveling around to the homes of students as well as the locations that they keep their livestock. The goal was to tag their beef and dairy beef projects for this year's Manheim Farm Show that will take place in October. 

Of course you all know that I come from a 4-H background as opposed to an FFA one but I am familiar with tagging livestock for the fair and also on my home farm with an identification routine in mind. Now yes, we did tag livestock...17 head to be exact. But why am I spending time writing a reflection about this?

Here is why...

• I believe in the power of the "home visit." These students were very proud to show us their SAE projects. We connected with them and in some cases their parents. In a total program the teacher works tirelessly to include all students and make them feel valued every day. I can proudly say that I see this with the ag teachers at Manheim Central. We tagged the steers but we also engaged in talking about classes, where students work, what they've been doing with their calves. We provided some feedback on their animals and talked about BMPs or as they're more commonly known Best Management Practices. 
• I will try my hardest to visit every one of my students at home or at work. SAEs are a vital part of the 3-circle model. Creating a bond with students and their families can only lead to great things for an ag program. As a new teacher this will also provide a wonderful way to get to know the community and the agriculture surrounding it!

Now for all of the pictures...

Ciara and her Charloais influence steer.

Such a cute picture of Ashlea and her dairy steer. 

Becca holding her dairy calf for a
quick photo.

Daniele with her steer.

Justin with his steer.

Steph holding her dairy steer as
it is tagged.

9: Re-Writing a Course

Have you ever seen cattle tags used for
organization?

This week I took on a new task. I have already taught one round of our 23 day Environment Ecology class and decided that it would flow better with things moved around some new things added. Allow me to say...this is NO simple task. Writing and re-organizing a class is intense work that takes a lot of time, focus, and patience. Simply making handouts to fit the changes takes hours!

I feel so much better about timing and pacing and how many days lessons may take now that I am out here in the classroom everyday. It's the small steps that I am constantly amazed by. I feel as working together with my cooperating teacher on this reorganization is a great experience and will help when when I am developing curriculum myself (maybe even as early as May)! The practice is appreciated. Personally I think that one of the coolest things about being an ag teacher is the ability to change our curriculum when we see a way for it to better benefit the students. Core subjects do not have that liberty. I am also glad that I have spotted some places for change. Intelligent and driven individuals realize that after doing something one time, they should change for the better before the next. It is insanity to think that just because something was designed or done one way that it has to stay that way. I am grateful for the awesome educators that I am surrounded by each day and their belief in my ability. They have been and continue to be some of the best guides that I have ever had.

Do you have any suggestions for me as I take on this challenging re-organization? Any help is always appreciated.

8: "Next Generation Day"

Our schedule for the day!

The Manheim FFA Chapter had the amazing opportunity this Friday (3/2) to take a great group of students to the Farm and Home Center for the county speaking contests and a few workshops and some speakers. This was awesome! 

I was a judge and interviewer for Red Rose "Star Awards" which was a great learning opportunity. I listened to five students share their hard work and growth over three years of a production SAE. My fellow judges were Deb Seibert and Stephen Geib who made the judging experience quite fun to say the least. I gained a sense of what interviewing looks like from the other side of the interview table which may be helpful to me in the upcoming weeks! After analyzing our scores we called the five competitors back in to give them our remarks and tell them who the winner and runner up were. We had all good things to say as these FFA members have clearly worked hard on their projects and are going to continue to do great things.

Manheim FFA Members "try" to take a non-serious photo

While we were judging Star Awards, the other students were listening to a great motivational speaker and heading in and out of rooms to compete in creed, senior prepared, junior prepared, and extemporaneous speeches. 

After lunch students had the option to pick one out of three workshops: Precision Ag, Plant Science, or Animal Science. I participated in the Precision Ag workshop where new ways of using technology to advance crop production were shared with the audience. 

Following our workshops, everyone was gathered back together so that we could hear the results of today's contests. I am proud to say that Miss Reilly, one of my students, won first place in the creed speaking contest and will be heading to regionals! It was a wonderful way to spend a Friday. 

7: National FFA Week!

This week was my first National FFA Week celebrated in a high school. I was impressed! Here is how we celebrated the week of greatness at Manheim Central...

Manheim FFA members posed for a photo
with State FFA Officer Thomas Gabel

Boot Scootin' Tuesday

On Tuesday, FFA members asked their peers to wear their cowboy boots to school It was fun hearing the clicking of boot heels on the ground and see some great cowboy boots around the school. 

After school it was our chance to "Meet Your State Officer" at Hoss' in Elizabethtown. Just a short drive to Elizabethtown brought good food, friends, and jokes (Not only for students but also for teachers!).

Cole shows off his "whipped cream game"

Winning Wednesday

On Wednesday, small cows were hidden around the school with the promise of :find a cow and win a chocolate milk!" During my time here at Manheim Central High School I've come to the realization that students can become addicted to chocolate milk. In Mrs. Anderson's room we sell Kreider's chocolate milk and there are some individuals who can't make it through the day without their bottle. The chance to find a chow and win a milk was a pretty enticing incentive. 

After school FFA members invited teachers to stop by the Ag department for a complimentary sundae. This ice cream social was to show appreciation to the other teachers in the building. Smiles were shared because who doesn't love ice cream!?!?

FFA members posing in their favorite flannel shirts

Thank a Farmer Thursday

On Thursday we took a calmer and more heartfelt approach by writing thank you letters to local farmers. As we all know, it feels great to be thanked but it feels great to be the one doing the thanking as well. Thank you farmers. 

Favorite Flannel Friday

Friday was a day to wear flannels. They were sported all day around the school. Dressing up is always a fun way to show pride and spirit. The FFA members had been working hard for weeks to plan out the first annual Manheim FFA Food For All Banquet. This banquet was a free meal for attendees and all that was asked for was a donation to the three organizations that spoke during the meal. First we heard from 2 Seconds or Less, then from Heifer Project International, and lastly from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Students and guests learned a lot about the hungry people across our globe and those that are as close as our school district. We all left the banquet with a sense of purpose and a feeling of hope.

My First Trip to ACES

Ms. Anderson poses our group of students for a quick photo

What a weekend. This was my first time attending ACES and one of my first trips on which I was taking students. There were a few highlights that I would like to share.

1) A heightened sense of connection with my students. This was the first time that I had spent time with many of them. Others I have in class and have seen at FFA meetings but did not know as well as I would like. This trip to ACES, our time spent there, and the trip back allowed me to get to know them better. We made jokes, laughed about eating habits, and reflected upon what they had learned. I am curious as I go back to school this upcoming week, how the relationships with them will change. I hope that they feel more comfortable talking to me about things and interacting more in class. Stay tuned!

Teachers learned about water samples
using the inquiry based approach

2) Professional Development that ROCKS! The workshop on Saturday for teachers was about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. I LOVED IT. We learned some ways to connect watersheds around us into the curriculum we teach through MWEEs (Meaningful Watershed Education Experience). These experiences have a focus on environmental stewardship but don't have to specifically be about water or on the Chesapeake Bay. Although I am not from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed I recognized that I may be able to implement some of this during my time student teaching that pertains directly to this watershed. I also realize that no matter which watershed I get a job in, I will be able to tie meaningful lessons about ecological sustainability.

3) A chance to recharge my battery with other ag teachers. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing the friendly faces of my fellow ag teacher colleagues. They are so supportive of us young teachers! I can not count how many times I was asked, "How is student teaching?" My confidence and warm feelings were heightened with each ask as I was reminded that other teachers really care. They are rooting for me and all of the other Penn State 2018 teacher candidates. If that doesn't make you smile then I don't know what will. Remember that there are many individuals out there who are praying for you to succeed and be the BEST YOU. I will never forget the kindness that has been extended from these great teachers and I will be quick to show that same compassion to the ag teachers that come after me.

6: Where is the Love?

This week has me thinking a lot about a four letter word... L-O-V-E. From conversations with my family, fellow cohort members, and friends that I don't get to see as often as I'd like to great reflections that took place at the ACES conference. Here is what I found out: Love does many things. Love can uplift, recharge, connect, and succeed. I was glad to see the love spread amongst so many young people at ACES. The state officers reminded the students that a little love can go a long way and that approaching all things that we do with a sense of love will get us farther in life than if we approach with hate. Taking a focus on inclusivity in our great organization of FFA leads one back to love. I challenge you to enter your week wearing "love glasses." I challenge you to do this not only in your place of work but also with your loved ones. Tell them how you are grateful for having them be a part of your life. Refuse to take anything for granted and show love. I dare you.

What to Expect When Interviewing...

I spent a bit of time with the middle school principal talking about educational interviews. I learned some things that I did not know about the interview process all while soaking in some great advice!

1) Just as the great Dr. Seuss said, "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you." The strongest advice that I have been given thus far is to BE YOURSELF! During the first round of interviews, the school is checking to see if you are personable. What type of human being are you? Would you be refreshing to work with? If you sound like a Oscar the Grouch then it would be common sense to think the interviewers might be turned off from speaking with you again.

2) Don't change your beliefs for a position. This is similar to a dating experience for any of you who have gone on a first date. Never change who you are for a person and never change what you believe in for a job. Putting up a facade at the first round of interviews will only leave you beat down and defeated at a later date. Put your best foot forward, bring your game face, and impress them by sharing a piece of you!

3) Express how you will make a difference at their school. Ultimately you are a teacher and are there to serve the knowledge bank and stretch the minds of the students. Let the administration know how you plan to stay up to date with current industry trends and what you will continue to do to ensure you are growing as a teacher.

Get out there and be the best you! Interview strong, ya'll!

Professional Gardening as Professional Development

Mrs. Seibert, Megan, and myself in the conservatory.

Today's Horticulture Symposium at Longwood Gardens

Many people know that I pride myself in being a lifelong learner. Others also know that I enjoy gardening throughout the spring and the summer. Although I consider myself well versed in the area of animal science, I find that I love plant science as well and want to know more about it.

I was lucky enough to have a student who received a scholarship to attend this symposium at Longwood Gardens which meant that I got to go! It was a lovely day filled with plants and flowers and insects. We heard from international gardeners, collegiate professors, and graduates of the Longwood Professional Gardener Program. I must say that I learned many things about finding insects in your garden and around you and I also also learned that wild flowers have a seed bank to make sure that they do not go extinct. I was also amazed to find that vanilla beans come from the vanilla orchid!

As I follow the path along my TeachAg journey, I plan to continue with my professional development. I fully believe that never passing up the opportunity to learn will allow me to better myself and therefore better the classes that I teach my students.

Never stop growing!

We had fun finding plants with fun textures.

5: The Lunch Bunch

In preparation for student teaching, I had heard that having lunch in the faculty room can lead to some "issues" when you are a new teacher. Sometimes a group lunch can bring negative conversation where complaints are scattered through the room like confetti and all teachers try to outdo each other with their horror stories.

Allow me to be the first to say that I am not encountering that scenario with my lunch buddies! I am lucky to have "A" lunch during third block with an amazing group of teachers. There are eight of us "regulars" that come to eat lunch together in the faculty lunch room. This includes myself, the three ag teachers, a photography/cinema teacher, two power and structure technology and engineering teachers, and one wood shop teacher. Some days are more lively than others but it is common to hear jokes and laughter every day. We swap stories, talk about what is happening around the county/community, and jest about what time lunch is over. It is from our time at lunch where I have learned a lot about the school district demographics and fun things to do while I am here in Lancaster County.

My takeaway from this week is to explore what you've been given. If I would have entered the lunchroom with a predetermined mindset that all conversation should be avoided for a fear of negativity then I would be missing out on some great stories from great teachers. My advice would be to scope it out! Don't miss out on a great connection or friendship because of one example that you heard. Have a great week!

SAEs as a Co-op!

The following two Supervised Agricultural Experience visits were at a student's "placement" Co-op. Students at Manheim have the opportunity as a senior in the ag program to leave school at 10:50 to go to their work-based SAE!

The Sweet Secret to Success

Emily poses with a cake that she decorated!

On January 26, 2018 I had the chance to drop by and visit Emily at Cake and Cup Bake Shoppe in Lititz. Emily is a very dedicated and hardworking individual who is currently enrolled in my Applied Animal Science 1 class. Emily was also crowned the Manheim Farm Show Queen at eh 2017 Manheim Community Farm Show. When scheduling her co-op experience, teachers were cautious of sending Emily to a bakery for half of the school day. The hesitation was understandable remembering that SAEs are intended to grow a student's skills in an agriculture career area that they have interest in. However, we are thrilled that Emily has found a passion in cakes and other delectable goodies. She was eager to share the many technical skills that she has gained at Cake and Cup Bake Shoppe. As we spoke to her employer it was evident that Emily has been making the most out of her time there. All of the employees at the Shoppe hope that Emily will consider staying a part of the team after graduation. We couldn't be more proud!

It was fun to drop in and see Emily at her job.

Mane and Tail

Kristen and Spartan.

Our second co-op visit took place on February 1, 2018. This visit was to see Kristen who is working as an Equine caretaker at a riding barn in the Northeast corner of the school district.
Kristen introduced us to her gelding, Spartan and they let us snap a quick picture. She is incredibly driven in her pursuit of horse care and she hopes to become a trainer like her boss at the farm. While Kristen is at work, she helps manage the horses nutrition rations, feed them, muck their stalls, and exercise them daily. Her favorite part of the job is that her tasks are always different and she is faced with new challenges depending on the mood that her equine friends are in. Kristen is on the right path to meet her goals and we hope to visit with her again soon!

4: Story Time

In the past 4 weeks of my student teaching time I have been amazed at the stories that veteran teachers can add into their lessons. No matter what the topic, no matter what the lesson, these teachers can share a story that is relevant to the local area and entertaining as well as educational!

As a young pre-service teacher always knowing what story to tell (or even having a story to tell) is difficult at times. The important thing is to avoid comparing yourself to these legendary teachers. Just think, everyone has some stories and the only way to build our story bank is by having experiences that we can add to the bank.

So get out there, do things, gain more stories that are relevant and educational so that you can share them with your students. Never be discouraged just because at this moment you don't feel as story worthy as the teachers you have observed. We are young! We are beginners! We are novices! We have time to grow!

To the current student teachers, aka #PSUAgEd18 believe me when I say this, our cooperating teachers are master story tellers which can add to our story bank. So pay close attention and soak up their stories like a sponge. Take advantage of being in the presence of excellence by using our observation time to the fullest!

#BuildThatBank

3: In the Case of an Emergency

During this week's fire drill, room 3050's emergency bag
sits and waits outside with the students.

Being Ag teachers, we know that sometimes our classes can contain hazards. In the shop there are saws, drill presses, and welders while in the classroom there can be chemicals, sharp objects, and other places where students need to practice extra caution for their safety.

But what about the instances where our actions don't determine if we stay safe?

This week we heard of the high school in Kentucky where a shooter killed and injured many individuals. Nearby in Lebanon county the Annville-Cleona high school was placed on lock down because of a crime committed nearby where the suspect was on the loose with a firearm. Other emergencies can occur when there is a building fire or a natural disaster. 

In these situations the most important thing to remember is student safety. Are my students here? Are they safe? Are they all accounted for? Each school has a different policy that a teacher should familiarize themselves with. To throw another wrench in the safety procedures, have you ever thought about how to keep your students safe if an emergency occurs while on a field trip? My suggestion is to make an "emergency bag" to take with you on every trip! 

What to put in your Emergency Bag:

• Bottled Water
• Pair of Gloves
• Tissues
• Emergency blankets
• Flashlight with batteries
• Glow Sticks
• Whistle
• Hard Candy
• Compass
• First Aid Kit
• Band-Aids
• Gauze Pads
• Antibiotic Ointment
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Medical tape
• Cotton Balls
• Hand Sanitizer

This is a list of items that are suggestions! Be sure to look at school policy to see what the regulations are for items that you can have around students. Add or remove items to this list at your own discretion. Always keep your bag at the ready and remember that student safety is our number one priority! 

Life in the Science Classroom

The "Ways to Earn Beads," extrinsic
motivation that really worked!

On Friday (1/19/2018) I had the opportunity to head over to Manheim Central Middle School and shadow Mrs. Weneck who teaches life science to eighth grade students. In my visit I made some cool observations.

1) I was very surprised that the eighth graders only had their science class for about 25 days. I had originally thought that they would have a science class for much longer!

2) In middle school a large goal is to prepare the students for high school. This includes intense practices that force them to develop organizational skills and turn in their work on time.

3) Extrinsic motivation is key! In Mrs. Weneck's classroom the theme was "ninjas!" The back wall was decorated with posters that explained characteristics that ninjas possess and students should strive to obtain. I appreciated the system that was set up where each kid had a small bottle with a face on it and they received a bead for their good acts. I have added the photos of the system! Once their "ninja" would get 15 beads, they would go up a belt level. The kids really like this system and it works!

Each student had a bottle and an assigned number. Their ninja
could change belt colors as they earned more beads. 

4) I loved the size of Mrs. Weneck's classroom! There was so much room for activities and for the kids to move around. This allowed for more interaction and attentiveness.

5) In summary, teaching the same class for every block or period of the day would make preparation much easier than prepping for 3 or more different classes. Science and agriculture are closely related and knowing that the kids learned a basic foundation of a few things that I will be teaching in class was good to know!

Core class teaching is similar but different than teaching ag classes! It was great to see a different age group of students and a bit of a different content approach than what I have learned so far.

2: You've Got a Friend in Me

Camaraderie

This is the word that comes to mind when I reflect upon this week. I was grateful to spend some time with fellow agricultural educators during the week. On Thursday night (1/18/2018) there was a meeting of the Lancaster County Ag Teachers at Lancaster Mennonite High School. It was great to see some familiar faces and meet some teachers that I had never met before. We carried out the business meeting, shared our potluck feast, and got to work scoring record books from kids in the local chapters. Of course the conversation through all of this was pure gold. We laughed about our personal lives, confided in each other about situations in the classroom, and smiled. 

Sometimes a good laugh and a smile is all we need. These are the moments that make you feel light-hearted and good on the inside. Not only do we need friends that can supply an endless amount of joy to our lives, we need a support network of colleagues as well. I find it amazing, just how large of a network we have as ag teachers. There are people to support us locally, on a statewide level, and even across the country. 

I hope that as I "age" in the profession and gain more experience, I can support and mentor those that come after me. I am sure that they will appreciate having a helping hand, advice, and a friendly face when needed. Until next week, I hope you find yourself in a situation where you can't help but smile. 

1: Overwhelming to Start

If you read my blog earlier this week then you know that I spent my first day of student teaching at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. It was a great day!

Thinking about the rest of my first week, I made some interesting observations.

1) After seeing kids in class every day, you can begin to notice when something is "off."
So far I've been able to hear my cooperating teacher's observations of the students and how to tell when they might be having a bad day or something of the sort. I look forward to being able to recognize the changes in my students as time moves forward.

2) Planning is great but you will always stray a bit from your lesson plan. 
Repetition can help with this but in a lesson there will always be a few things that you forget to do or tell your students. This happened to me on Friday afternoon as I taught my first class. It was okay, no one died, and I just corrected by giving them the info a bit later in the lesson when I happened to remember it.

3) There is time to improve! 
No reason to fret because although I feel great that week one I know that there are fourteen more to go and that I can keep improving! Stay tuned to find out what I learn next week.

My First Mid Winter Convention

I'm back everyone! I had a very successful Christmas break where I spent some much needed time relaxing with my loved ones.

Snapped a photo with
Secretary Redding.

My very first day of student teaching I learned a lesson of flexibility and adaptability. Weather certainly played a role in our challenges as an early dismissal was called before our day could get started. For this reason we could not legally bring any students on the trip. My cooperating teacher and I left before the ice storm hit and made it to the complex!

Once at the Farm Show we networked with many sponsors and advisors at the FFA Recognition Reception where students who competed in an LDE or a CDE at the 2017 National FFA Convention. It was a short warm up for the rest of the day.

Having no responsibilities of watching students at Mid Winter Convention meant that I was privileged enough to work back stage! I lined up kids and parents for their awards and made sure that all of the degrees were in order. I also got to walk on the floor to retrieve the different awardees. It was great! I had a lot of fun with all of the ag teachers that I got to interact with.

My view while walking to retrieve award winners.

After the conclusion of the ceremony I spent the rest of the night working in the FFA Foundation Food Stand selling hot slices of pizza to hungry people!

Come and get your pizza from some
friendly faces!!

At the late hour of 10pm I arrived home and felt accomplished in the fact that I did many things, met many great people, and had an awesome first day.

De-Icing my car from the storm when
we made it back to the school
at the end of the day!