Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!

SOLD!

With the upcoming consignment auction approaching quickly, Juniata Valley FFA is in full swing. We are also in the process of getting all of the kiddos ready for the parli pro contest, finishing the Hoard's Dairyman judging, and doing SAE visits. With all this going on, I still find time to think about my teaching and how may day went on the ride to and from school.

I still have some students who challenge me everyday. However, the challenges effect me less. I have been working more on having a stern presence at times. After talking to some of the kids, seeing their reaction and observing my cooperating teacher I noticed something. She was great and all of the kids love her, but they know not to set her off. I don't think I've truly seen her get angry with them but there has been a few times that she would get her teacher voice out and it was obvious she wasn't happy. The students understand this. This is something that I noticed kids responded to. They understood the boundaries. Just like with riding horses, teacher have aids. When riding horses you use your seat, voice, hands and lower legs to guide the horse and communicate. When I have students that aren't acting appropriately I have learned to use my tone, language, volume, and my facial expression to the students they need to stop what they are doing. It may sound less than ordinary but it's easier for me to relate behavioral problems to that of horses. It really helps me get out of my way of thinking to explore other options and reasons for this behavior.

All it has been a great week. The chicks are growing larger everyday and so are the kids. I find myself trying to put little life lessons in each day. I really enjoyed SLLC with the 5 students who went. I loved seeing all of the blue jackets, the State Officers, and other agriculture teachers from across the state. My absolute favorite part were the meals. Sure, I love to eat but that wasn't why I loved them. I loved talking with our kids. Asking them what they learned, what they thought of the workshops, what they debated, and how they thought things could have been better. I love getting their insight on different topics. Even though they didn't absolutely love every workshop, they were so engaged and bouncing off the walls when I saw them. They really had a great time and so did I. Thanks for reading!