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!