A Week of Growth
Another week has come and gone. This week I am remind of something I already knew but experiencing for the first time, ag teachers are busy people! Between my own personal life and that which happens in the classroom, there is not a whole lot of extra time left in the day. This past week has indeed been an extremely crazy one, yet so rewarding. I welcomed a new nephew into this world, signed a contract for a future home, all with continuing to prepare lesson plans, attend meetings, prepare students for career development events, and the list could go on. This week I am thankful for my new found organization, where I have been utilizing a planner. I have had some great successes while also uncovered some new challenges and I am accepting them all head on. Here's a little of how my week went.
I continued to teach two different agriscience 1 classes covering material in FFA history and agriculture careers. I was excited to potential pick up two more classes however the weather had different plans in mind pushing them back another few days. However, I was able to continue to develop an understanding for the students I have in the classes i'm currently teaching.
My first period class is very small with only 6 students of varying ages who are extremely quiet. I find myself struggling to get them engaged and excited about ag careers, regardless of the classroom activities. I have tried group work, interactive lessons, one on one interaction, you name it I feel like I have tried it. It's often like pulling teeth getting them to answer questions. However, once in awhile they let me see a new side of them when they share something extremely thought out and I realize I must be doing something right. I cannot wait to see how this class interacts with our next unit as we prepare to head to the shop this coming week.
I feel as if my last period ag one class is the complete opposite of the one I previously described. I have 10 students in total, who are definitely a bunch of "chatty Cathy's," and overall just an interesting group of individuals. They are a fun group to say the least and I truly love getting to know each one of them a little more each day. This week I found myself testing out new strategies to over come the chattiness and keeping them on task. I told them from the beginning I would allow them to choose their seats, as long as they acted like adults and didn't allow their seat placement to negatively affect their learning. I often do a lot of group work them requiring them to move seats anyways. To ease down on the chatting during a class following a snow day, I allowed for two minutes of talking with their neighbors at the beginning of class to get it out of their system. After the two minutes was up I asked for all conversations to pertain to that days material and for the most part it worked! I took it as a small victory this week. I found it interesting to try out new classroom management activities.
Lastly, this week we finally made it to the leadership and career development events we have been preparing weeks for. I was getting worried after canceling last Friday due to weather conditions we would have to cancel for good this week. Despite the weather we made it and my students rocked the event! Specifically, with the students competing in the employment skills LDE, as I helped coach them I was so impressed with their growth over the last several weeks of preparing. This contest truly prepared students for what is ahead.
Looking back now this week was a week of growth in my personal life, my professional life, and for each of my students,
I couldn't be more thankful for this ride i'm on. The more I learn through this student teaching experience the more I find myself loving the agricultural educator profession. I look forward to the next 10 weeks of endless growing opportunities!
Make sure to check back next week to see what else I've learned.
My first period class is very small with only 6 students of varying ages who are extremely quiet. I find myself struggling to get them engaged and excited about ag careers, regardless of the classroom activities. I have tried group work, interactive lessons, one on one interaction, you name it I feel like I have tried it. It's often like pulling teeth getting them to answer questions. However, once in awhile they let me see a new side of them when they share something extremely thought out and I realize I must be doing something right. I cannot wait to see how this class interacts with our next unit as we prepare to head to the shop this coming week.
I feel as if my last period ag one class is the complete opposite of the one I previously described. I have 10 students in total, who are definitely a bunch of "chatty Cathy's," and overall just an interesting group of individuals. They are a fun group to say the least and I truly love getting to know each one of them a little more each day. This week I found myself testing out new strategies to over come the chattiness and keeping them on task. I told them from the beginning I would allow them to choose their seats, as long as they acted like adults and didn't allow their seat placement to negatively affect their learning. I often do a lot of group work them requiring them to move seats anyways. To ease down on the chatting during a class following a snow day, I allowed for two minutes of talking with their neighbors at the beginning of class to get it out of their system. After the two minutes was up I asked for all conversations to pertain to that days material and for the most part it worked! I took it as a small victory this week. I found it interesting to try out new classroom management activities.
Lastly, this week we finally made it to the leadership and career development events we have been preparing weeks for. I was getting worried after canceling last Friday due to weather conditions we would have to cancel for good this week. Despite the weather we made it and my students rocked the event! Specifically, with the students competing in the employment skills LDE, as I helped coach them I was so impressed with their growth over the last several weeks of preparing. This contest truly prepared students for what is ahead.Looking back now this week was a week of growth in my personal life, my professional life, and for each of my students,
I couldn't be more thankful for this ride i'm on. The more I learn through this student teaching experience the more I find myself loving the agricultural educator profession. I look forward to the next 10 weeks of endless growing opportunities!
Make sure to check back next week to see what else I've learned.
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