Week 15: One Chapter Ends, Another One Begins

As I reflect back on this semester, and even year, I am in amazement by how fast and SMOOTH it has gone overall.

Last semester was not bad at all - even though I feared the travel would make it so. Though, by December I was definitely tired,  it was so worth it. And while I am tired again now, I also know that I am renewed.

In my life, this year has brought on:

Many Decisions - 

Do I go back to school? 

Do I stay on part-time at work?
Do we buy a house? 

Go to WVU and live at home? PSU and travel every week? 

Much Stress - 

How are we paying to remodel a house? - IN A MONTH

28 credits. I repeat - 28 college credits in one semester. I thought I was insane. 

How am I possibly supposed to get everything done - each week

Was this the right decision?

And Much More Happiness - 

Yes I went back to school at PSU. 

Yes we bought and remodeled a house a month before I left in August.

Yes I successfully completed 28 credits last fall - with a minimum amount of stress. 

Yes, everything gets done - one assignment at a time. And I was still in bed no later than midnight every night. 

Yes, I completed student teaching and (proving my worst fear wrong) LOVE IT. 

Absolutely, this was the right decision. 

I am HAPPY. 

I am not saying I wasn't happy before. I am a generally happy person, but this new career for me has proven again and again to feel right. I truly believe that God has placed me where I am and that he has carried me through the last year. I have had ups and downs for sure - but no sleepless nights. I taken the good with the bad. 

I was given an excellent University Supervisor (they are all fantastic), but Dr. Ewing was a great fit for me and has kept me grounded and is a helpful ear when I needed it. He is someone that has taken time to get to know me - and my crazy obsessive compulsiveness with things - and I know that I can call with any questions throughout my career. 

And I was placed with the amazing Jodie Hoover who is a saint that I will swear was sent to guide me this year. She does not take and "crap" and will just tell you how it is - which is what I like and needed. Someone who could tell me, "that sucked' and we could work through and make it better. Someone who understood that I wasn't going to teach just like them, but instead of changing my teaching methods, strives to make me better at how I teach. Someone who was not afraid to learn from me too. Someone who was not afraid to equally learn from me, the way I learned from them, when the opportunity arose. A mentor that treats me like an adult and who I have no doubts I can call in the future if I need anything at all - including figuring out how to make me a better teacher in the years to come. 

While I do not yet know what the future holds, I am sure that God has a plan and I know that it will be great, whatever it is! 

My First Action Research

Please take a look at my first action research infographic as part of my blog. I have learned a lot through this experience and how I can make research beneficial in the classroom. Based on my research, I have found that my students are split as to whether or not they do better with guided notes. I also think this data will probably change with different classes and understand that this is not representative of students as a whole.

Week 14: Wrapping things up with a CBU

This week went by so fast! - So has the semester, I can't believe we only have one week left!!

This week I wrapped up some classes - including Intro to Ag, Animal Science, and Vet Science. It is so hard to believe! I, however, was able to get to one unit in each animal science and vet science. I didn't start them this week because Mrs. Hoover wants to start something else with them than what I would be in the middle of, so it made sense for her to start next week.

Floral Design is right in the middle of their Community Based Unit (CBU). Last week, they had a guest speaker from the Washington County Master Gardeners come talk to them about raised garden beds. This week the class worked together to create an activity and presentation about raised garden beds for a 4th grade science class at the elementary school. It went really well! It was heartwarming to hear comments around the room such as, "Can we do this every year?!" and "Don't we need worms to aerate the soil Mr. Kramer?". Mr. Kramer is their teacher and the FC Floral Design class taught the students about raised garden beds and then the elementary students each made their own - we pre-made "raised garden beds" out of pop-sickle sticks and they were able to fill them and plant a marigold.

My students have also measured and laid out the plan for the raised garden beds on a map that is to scale and next week, we are going to place the beds and put them out where planned. They will mostly likely have to plant in them after I leave. This has been such a great activity to end on with that class.

Horticulture is knee deep in Integrated Pest Management - which we will still be working on next week. Pieces seem to be falling into place as planned!

This week, my students also went to the Area speaking competition. They placed first in Parliamentary Procedure and Extemporaneous. They also are moving on in Creed (2nd place) and Jr. Prepared (2nd and 3rd place). So proud of these students and I know they will do great as they move on to Regionals on the 25th!



Also, on Thursday I went to visit Halee at Derry Area High School! Such a great program and I was glad to see their facilities and learn more about their program. Please see some pictures in my blog about her visit!

On a great note, almost all of my Penn State Assignments are done! I am hoping to have them finished before the end of the week as well - so I can relax next weekend - Happy Birthday to me!

Visiting with Halee

Today I was able to spend the day as an observer in the Ag room at Derry Area High School. Halee is doing a great job teaching a wide variety of classes from Introductory classes to Ag Construction.

She incorporated all aspects of a PSU lesson plan into each of her classes. She made sure to catch the attention of the students at the beginning of the class, after getting them started with bellwork relevant to the day's activities.

Furthermore, she eloquently checked for understanding with each student as they completed the days activities. In her first class, Halee, discussed with the students how animals perceive things like noise, light, depth perception, and humans in general. Afterward, the students completed lab that had them think about the way they perceive things versus what they actually are.

The Ag Construction class is working on a community project that they have a lot of autonomy in. They are creating wool displays with a group for the fair. These projects were completely designed by the students and are looking great. The students worked well with each other under close supervision of Ms. Wasson and Mr. Campbell.


Halee also had time to show me around their facilities, some of the projects they are working on, and experiments they are doing.

On a side note- we had some time to talk about some of our assignments for Penn State and catch up there. Also, we were able to compare some of our students' work and bounce ideas off of each other!

Also, found a fellow cohort member on the wall! 

Western Region PAAE Meeting

A couple weeks ago I was able to attend the Western PAAE meeting in Indiana, PA. While a long drive, it was proven to be a productive time.

This is my not my first PAAE meeting and certainly not my first time attending a meeting such as this. It was interesting to see how programs, not only in our region, but across the state. Fort Cherry also brought a student to participate in SOCS.

Mr. Brammer discussed different things going on with the PA FFA bylaws and other hot topics going on in the State. Furthermore, members discussed the upcoming PAAE convention, as well as the convention planned for 2019 in the western region.


It was good to have meaningful conversations with teachers and my fellow student teachers as well.

                                                   

Week 13: Lucky number 13

Well, while I don’t consider 13 to be a lucky number, my grandma does - she was born on Friday the 13th. And I have to say this week, overall, has probably been one of the better weeks of the semester. #feelinggood

I am not going to lie when I say I was on the struggle bus a little on Monday. Nothing bad happened, but nothing really went as planned either. However, Tuesday I bounced back - not only were my classes good for the day (mostly - down pouring rain affected one activity), but I was able to have all my sub materials for Mrs. Hoover ready for Wednesday before 3. #winning!

While I don't have a picture #failing - on Tuesday, a PhD candidate from Cornell University came to talk to the students about her research on insulin resistance in sheep.

Wednesday, I made he trip to Washington County Public Schools, Maryland - check out that blog! #greatPD

While I was traveling, Mrs. Hoover and the students put together our composter! Pallets and zip ties!

Thursday continued to go well. I have felt comfortable in the classroom for awhile, but now it just feels natural and wonderful. Everything seems to go smoother and I am much better at thinking on the spot.  #naturalisbetter

Thursday, Master Gardeners came in and talked to us about raised garden beds and how to make them successful as part of our community based unit!

Then Friday sealed the deal with Dr. Ewing’s visit. Mrs. Hoover finished up my final evaluation and finished it with an A. I received really good feedback from Dr. Ewing and passed my PDE final evaluation. #withflyingcolors

I can’t believe I only have two weeks of this experience left. I want to enjoy it for longer - however, I am also excited to be in my own classroom! #future

Saturday, I was able to go to the Washington County Farm Bureau Meeting with 7 students. Mrs. Hoover was unable to make it. This experience was very real to me and if I did not know if was doing the right thing before, I do now. #madetherightdecision

I have to say this week, while number 13, was pretty lucky. #13canbelucky

Students at the Farm Bureau Dinner. The were polite and respectful for the evening and did a great job speaking to the community members. They also led the banquet in the pledge of allegiance. 

Professional Development

This week I was fortunate enough to go to the Washington County Public School system in Maryland. During this time I spent the day with Mr. Garland who was gracious enough to take me around the community and then to Clear Springs High School.

I used this opportunity to get to know the school better and as professional development. The school is small - graduating about 120 students each year, but they take pride in their programs, especially the agricultural academy. 

School Based Farm

At first, I thought this was pretty scary - that may be a lot of extra hours. However, they use this farm for the students SAE and Capstone projects and things aren’t kept their over the summer. It’s within walking distance from the school or students can drive over as well. I think this is a pretty neat opportunity for students to complete their projects.

Capstone Projects

I have never heard of this in a high school before. However, at Clear Springs, all of the programs completes are required to design, propose, and complete a project their senior year as an independent study. They present these project proposals to their alumni. I think this is pretty awesome experience for high school students! 

Variety 

Clear Springs offers a variety of classes for their students. Animal and vet science courses to Ag powers and horticulture and soil science courses. Students choose their pathway and take classes to help them complete it. 

Everyone I talked to during my visit was exceptionally nice and willing to help. They were open and honest and wanted to answer any question I had! This visit really helped me to understand the importance of visiting schools and learning more about different types of programs that you may want to implement in the future. 

SAE Visit: Placement

I am late to writing my blog, but a few weeks ago, I was able to visit a student who has a job at Agway.

During the school year, Josh works each day after school until closing at 5pm. He works some Saturdays, but works more in the summer.

Some of Josh's duties include, unloading trucks with new orders, cleaning shelves, sweeping aisle ways, stocking shelves, and loading customers cars. He is hoping to move up to a cashier or even a manager by his senior year.

The customers love the cats!

Josh works to keep everything tidy and stocked. 

Please also see the answers to the questions below:

1. Who did you visit?
1. This week Mrs. Hoover and I visited Josh.
2. Where did the visit occur?
1. Josh's SAE visit took place at Agway - his Placement SAE location. 
3. What preparations did you make prior to the visit?
1. Mrs. Hoover and I looked at Josh's AET book before our visit as well as talked about his projects and progress.
4. What was this student's SAE program?
1. He has a Placement SAE project. 
5. How would you evaluate or rate the program? On what criteria?
1. Josh's books are up-to-date and he is a hard worker. He is looking to grow and how to become a better employee and gain more responsibilities at work. 
6. What recommendations were made for improvement?
1. My only recommendation for Josh was to keep working hard and keep in mind that while he may not move up as fast as he would like, if he kept working hard his time would come. 
7. What record books were being used?
1. Josh keeps his record books in AET.
8. How does the cooperating teacher "grades" the SAE program?
1. Mrs. Hoover has an SAE "class" during homeroom. She grades them based on the quality and accuracy of their books.