Do you have what it takes?

"I am enough of a realist to understand that I can't reach every child, but I am more of an

optimist to get up every morning and try" - Preston Morgan.

What do 80's soundtrack music, squealing baby pigs, dirty horse tack, bingo, and auction strips have in common? That's part of what is going on at Juanita Valley! As we jam out to some 80's rock the auction slips and money are being counted from the past Saturday. With sales up into the thousands there is a lot of checks to cut! We are also baby sitting two piglets! This is perfect for 2 reasons. The first being the swine unit we just finished in 2 of my classes. The other being the fetal pig dissection that we will being doing next week. It may be a tad morbid to think of pig dissections when the cute little piglets go running around the shop. However, a major part of agriculture is animal production. The majority of our nations consumes meat products. Granted, we don't dissect pigs for the production aspect. We dissect pigs to exam the bones, muscles, and other systems of the body. I want my students to see first hand how what we are leaning on paper is applied in real animals. By better understand the inside of the pig we can create better pigs for agricultural production and in turn the nation.

This week I reflected a lot on involving the community and the support it provides. The community can really help blossom an agriculture program. It gives it that step above and support that a program needs to be truly successful. What are some ways to get the community's support? When you want something from someone you need to make it worth their while. They have to get something in return, it's just good business sense.

A perfect example of how the community and the program mutually benefit is from the FFA's auction that happens this past Saturday. The community brought their unwanted items to the fair grounds. When they arrived they got their number, bought a breakfast bowl and perused the items to be sold that morning. There was a large turn out of over 200 bidders alone. The FFA had 2 picnic tables, corn hole boards, and a saw for sale. The auction went straight from 9am to 1 pm. Most days I teach the kids in my class. However, last Saturday they were teaching me. Being from a horse farm I was very unfamiliar with a lot of the equipment that was there. I had my students and other members of the community educating me about what everything was! It was such a great day.

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!

You might be an Ag Teacher if.....

The following pictures are a sample representative of what a week is like for an agriculture educator...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as you perused the pictures I am sure you noticed some things that wouldn't be considered part of teaching. Well if no one has informed you I will, being an agriculture teaching is not like being any other teacher. When the kids pick out there classes and elect to take agriculture they aren't just taking a class they are getting an entire program. Yes, they will be in an agriculture class that educates them on agriculture, pretty standard. What isn't always realized is they have the FFA and SAE (supervised agricultural experience) to extend their learning outside of the classroom! The program is designed to get students out of the classroom to learn and be tested in ways other than with just pen and paper.

 

This week for my blog I am choosing to focus on the fun part of being an agriculture teacher. Sure we make lesson plans and develop new curriculum. Then we hatch our own peeps so the students can see and experience what they just learned in class. We grade tests, quizzes and paper. Then we go to CDEs (career development events) and the kids get to judge live animals and receive a score based on how well they did. We teach for about 42 minutes,  7 periods a day, 5 days a week. Then we take a bus of kids to tractor pulls after school, weekend leadership conferences, evening CDE contests, and we get up way before school starts to practice parliamentary procedure.

 

Why do we do all of this "stuff"? The most important reason is the kids are learning, constantly. Even if it's a life skill and not necessarily agriculturally related, the students benefit from everything that is done. The other reason is for fun. Schools are becoming more digital and more centered on standardized testing. Although it can provide some advancements, sometimes a paper and pencil test isn't the best way to truly see what the student knows. I believe it's more beneficial to stomp around in a dusty pen judging 4 dairy cows than to watch them on the TV. I believe it's more beneficial to take the time and make our own playdoh, dye it (and our hands), and create brain sculptures rather than just having the notes and a quiz the next day.

 

My final comment about my week. I was talking to my 7th graders about agricultural careers this week. The bell work on the first day was what is the difference between a career and a job. A career is a lifelong pursuit, not just something you do for money. The bell work on the second day was to list and describe the career you want to have. I wrote everybody's career on the board and I was so proud of each and every one of them. I looked at these 7th grade kids that want to make the world a better place. I tried to elaborate on how each of those were wonderful careers and how it's something they should strive for during the rest of their life. I told them to take a minute and remember this moment and what they want to do. I told them to not let anything get in the way. As they went to work on their projects I welled up a little thinking about how awesome all of the students here are. Looking back now I may have gotten a little too deep with the class but they seem to take it well.

 

After that class was over and I was sitting in the room reflecting on the day and a little light bulb went off in my brain. This is what I am supposed to do. Sure, you would think I might have realized that after about 4 years worth of college and making it this far. However, I wasn't ever sure until that day this week. I have the ability to get up at 4:30 every morning, be the first one at school and the last one to leave. I get tired just like anyone else but I have never worked so hard for something quite like this. I haven't ever pushed myself this much because I wanted something. I push myself because this is my lifelong pursuit. I don't have a definite goal in this pursuit because I realize it will never end. I will never reach a point where I'm like "well I have enough experience and knowledge I don't need to keep trying." It will always be there driving me to get better. I learned a lot about my students this week and a lot about myself. Thank you for reading!

 

 



Mysteries of Teaching

What happens when you open an egg that was in an incubator, at 100 degrees, for almost 30 days? I'll save you the trouble of running out to your local farmer to get some eggs, incubating them and then cracking them open... It's just plain gross. I had one of the best, but gross experiences with 2 of my classes. We had tried incubating eggs, but the majority of them either weren't fertilized or didn't have the capacity to grow past the first week. So this is how the class went: I passed out plates and eggs, the kids cracked the eggs and the contents fell out, they gagged, and then I gagged. There was mass chaos right after the first egg had been cracked. Kids were laughing, they were grossed out and they were learning. It was bliss.

"What an Ag teacher does for her/his students," is what my cooperating teacher said after we had completed our incognito mission. After only 2 chicks hatched out of around 80 eggs the kids were a bit disappointed and well... who wants disappointed kids? Not me! So conveniently enough, the chickens and ducks were in at tractor supply! You can put 2 and 2 together. Ultimately,  we have happy kids and the chicks were donated.

I find that Ag teachers all across the board go out of their way for their kids in a way that can only be admired. That's why I truly believe that being an agriculture educator is a calling. Giving so much of your time, life, and compassion to making the lives of these kids better isn't as hard as I though it would be. The hard part is seeing how ungrateful the kids can be. They take a lot of what happens for granted, but I can't blame them! I was in their shoes at one point too. I didn't realize how much any of my teachers did for me, especially my agriculture teacher. However, I am more thankful now then ever for all of the teachers who have been doing this for years. I don't look at the kids any differently for this, I still think they are amazing it's just an observation I have made from the different schools I have had the pleasure of visiting.  Thank you for reading!

The Rising Sun

As I reflect on my week I see progress. I am nowhere near a seasoned teacher but I am getting better. It's a slow, difficult, but rewarding process but I am becoming more familiar with my classes, students, and material. I was interviewed this week by a student who writes for the paper. She asked me the casual questions like my background, why I became involved in agriculture and my FFA experiences. While I was thinking back to past memories I became a bit nostalgic when I though back to my FFA years. My proudest moment was at my Junior year FFA banquet when I was named FFA President and was finally stationed under the rising sun.

I took my position seriously and spent many hours after school helping my Advisor and doing odds and ends. It reminds me a lot of now! I wasn't always the best student and I couldn't always stay after but more often than not I was the first one at an event and the last one to leave. I find that I do that now with student teaching. I always talk with the janitors and maintenance guys, I find them to be wonderful people. The maintenance guys always joke with me about how I am the first one here in the morning and the janitor just today was talking about how I'm always the last one to leave the parking lot. I really appreciate that people have noticed how much time I put in.

In FFA the rising sun symbolized a now era in agriculture and the progress that we make day to day. I know that the Owl is symbol of the advisor, but I can't help but recognize how I relate to the rising sun just I did when I was in high school. I am experimenting with new classroom technology and doing my best to stay current with agriculture. I strive everyday to make progress with all the kids in my classes and to make progress within myself.

I think I will stay a rising sun for a while because I'm not ready to shine my brightest. I still have a lot of trials and tribulations to go through but I look forward to them and how they will help me grow. Thanks for reading!

Are you ready for ACES?!?

How do you get a room full of high school students to sit in their seats, listen to you, and all comprehend the directions that you are giving? How do you ask deep, higher level order questions to your class? How do you teach students who are all different ages and have different capabilities in the same class?

These are all questions I am asking myself after about a month into student teaching. I have the bell schedule down pat, the student's names are getting easier, and I am getting better at planning lessons. However, I find myself having the most difficulty with asking good questions that go beyond the surface of facts and knowledge. Delving into the "why" of things is proving to be very difficult.

By adding specific questions when I plan lessons I am improving. Even still, I find it difficult to think of those questions when planning the lesson. I have a goal to extend my students and my own thinking beyond facts and basic knowledge. I want students to be creating, summarizing and adapting with what they know and learn.


Currently, some kiddos, my cooperating teacher, and I are at the ACES conference. I have loved ACES since I was in school myself. I think it's a great opportunity for students and it can really spark their interest in FFA. I notice that every year I go I become more familiar with everyone involved. I find more people to say hello and chat with each year. I love that my network is growing and I really feel comfortable around everyone.

Thank you for reading and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Week 5

This week was normal in the sense of there wasn't a snow day, delay or early dismissal in sight! However, as a teacher candidate I continue to grow. I have begun to settle into a routine of when planning happens, how I manage the classroom and keeping up with the kiddos. What was different about this week was I had a visit from my university supervisor, my horse has had health issues, and I have been quite sick. This has created a set of challenges for me to complete day to day activities. I feel rather confident in saying that I have made it through the week and feel quite accomplished.

My big focus is on the visitation from my university supervisor. I had been fretting over this for quite some time. I realize that all teachers get visitations from their administration and that can be just as nerve racking. After spending a little extra time organizing and prepping my lessons I spent a while just thinking. I thought about where I was a year ago, or even where I was a month ago. I realized that the change has been incredible. I also think about how much more I have to accomplish. I know as a teacher, you must always challenge yourself to be a better teacher. Consistently strive to stay current in the world, in teaching practices, in technology and stay current with the students.

My lessons this week were good. They were informational, but something was missing. I need more 'why' in my lessons. I have how things work but I don't have the why they work part. After it being brought to my attention I can clearly see that my day to day lessons are lacking higher level thinking questions. Students are being challenged to learn general information, they are not being challenged to be critical thinkers. Being able to think critically is a trait that will follow them where every they go.

My challenge for the weeks to come is to create deeper questions, get students to apply their knowledge and to tie my lessons together in a more sequential manner. With these 3 key areas I hope to bring my teaching to the next level. Thanks for reading!