First week of school... All over again!

You smell the pencil shavings. You see the big yellow buses. You feel the lined paper. You hear the chickens.

What? The chickens? Well, although the first three are the normal sensory experiences of the first week of school, the fourth was definitely a piece of this wonderful pie that I got to enjoy for my first week of my semester-long student teaching experience in AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION!

So what is going on? I am currently student teaching for my final semester at Penn State as an Agricultural and Extension Education major. I will graduate in June, after completing this 15-week internship. For the next 6 weeks (7 weeks total), I will be here in the chilly northern PA region, student teaching at Wellsboro Area High School with the Wellsboro Agriscience Program (@wellsboroag) and Mrs. Melanie Berndtson.
After this 7 weeks in PA, I will move back down to Costa Rica for 8 weeks to finish my internship with a national technical university (UTN - not EARTH, where I studied abroad this past summer). This university offers agricultural majors and I will most likely be assisting with some first year courses in order to more appropriately reflect my (would-be) normal internship with secondary education students. This is the first time for an AEE student from Penn State to (attempt to) student teach abroad, so it is going to be a great learning experience for many people! But enough about that - you will definitely hear more about it later.

It is currently 8 degrees in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania with a RealFeel of -23, but this is warmer than it was 2 days ago, with a record low for my car's thermometer of -2 F (and a much lower RealFeel). Just keep bundled up and get that electric blanket out (here is my first time ever to use one!) and you should be fine.

So how was my first week of student teaching? Well, I didn't teach much, and we only had class on 4 days - but overall it was awesome!! I am so excited to get into the swing of things and know my students more and more. We had no school on Monday due to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day, so I went in to meet with my cooperating teacher and discuss some changes/catch up on things. We ran some errands, I learned about the complicated processes of purchasing orders and budgeting, and she showed me around the school again before we departed around 4... so I guess it was a full day!

On Tuesday, my first day on the job with real, breathing students, I entered the school a few minutes after my teacher, at 7 AM, to find some Rhode Island Red hens (chickens) clucking around in cages in the animal science lab. These chickens, which happen to belong to Mrs. Berndtson, were to be used for an activity for her Animal Science 3/4 students in 8th period. So they definitely got some publicity and attracted attention for all of her other classes for the day! I was introduced as Miss Hoover (weird) to all classes, but not with complete unexpectancy, as I had visited all classes and even taught a lesson to 2 of them in November. I was able to help out with the lab/review that Mrs. Berndtson was conducting in her Ag Science 1 class, who is participating in the AFNR CASE curriculum, on acids and bases. I met several faculty members, including high school administration, before the much anticipated 8th period animal science class. The mini-unit on poultry and animal disease turned to the concept of drawing blood in chickens. This is conducted when chickens are brought together, increasing the risk of avian influenza transfer. So, Mrs. Berndtson, a Certified Poultry Technician, offered up her own feathery ladies to give the students some hands-on experience. It was quite a great ending to a wonderful first day... see the pictures below!

Mrs. Berndtson demonstrating on the first hen

Blood sampling supplies 

The first eager student to partake in the activity! 

Wednesday came quickly, and went almost as quickly before the FFA meeting after school. I continued to observe my coop teacher's classes and assist with assembly or work if needed. The following schedule is what I will pick up after this marking period ends with the current content being taught (courses are year long but listed as half year, so names do not change):
Pd 1: An Sc 1/2 (section 1) - animal reproduction presentations and discussion of poultry repro
Pd 2: prep period
Pd 3: Natural Resource Management - covering forest fires and fire fighting
Pd 4: An Sc 1/2 (section 2)
Pd 5: lunch
Pd 6: Intro to Ag Science 1 - CASE curriculum, 3.3.1: acids and bases
Pd 7: FFA/Leadership - Parliamentary procedure
Pd 8: An Sc 3/4 - animal health, parasitology
I was able to visit with the wood shop teacher, Mr. Jake West, who is also assisting with FFA and traveled to National Convention with us, during lunch period, where we discussed the potential of me coming down for a free period to observe or work with him. It was neat to see an entire room devoted to wood products and carpentry as opposed to a larger room devoted to a bunch of industries (a normal ag room). 6th period Ag Sci 1 was doing some cool stuff in the lab/work area with acids and bases and data collection, so I snapped a few pics of this as well!

9th grade Ag Sc 1 students using super cool LabQuest data collection systems to measure the pH and changes in pH of household products

Using a pH sensor

After school on Wednesday, I sat in on my first Grand Canyon FFA meeting. We had about 20 or so members and lots of business about National FFA Week, which is quickly approaching. Our chapter president got to use some Parlia Pro, even if he was corrected by the Parliamentarian (who is a student in the FFA/Leadership class) by a point of order or two... and it overall was an effective meeting, even if the students' creative juices weren't flowing as much as we knew they could.

One of our officers during the brainstorming session for National FFA Week during the meeting

Later on Wednesday night, I traveled up the road (past many non-postal office towns) into Northern Tioga County for a fire hall meeting of the county Jr. Livestock Committee for the Tioga County Fair. As I have never been to a meeting to discuss the logistics of livestock judging and shows at a county fair, this certainly was an ag teacher-ish experience to have! It revealed, as many other things already do, the significance of an ag teacher's true devotion to the total success of their students: personal, professional, academic, and even recreational!! Mrs. Berndtson is a wonderful cooperating teacher because she exudes passion for her students in almost anything she is involved in. I feel truly blessed to have such a great role model to spend the next 6 weeks with.

Thursday was a great day, but shortened classes due to an afternoon assembly on acceptance of others (especially students with disabilities). Classes continued, but I was able to visit another science teacher's double period (CP Biology) and intro to a lab on genetics called a Reebop lab to observe her teaching techniques and methods. It was pretty cool, even if I had never heard of this extremely popular lab to demonstrate meiosis and genetic variation.

And finally... Friday! Today has been a great day so far. I was able to meet a few more students and get to know them before actually teaching them. I learned about the school's compliance with national nutrition standards and the changes in the cafeteria administration. And, as a way to at least instruct one lesson before the end of the week, I introduced myself and my classroom management procedures/expectations to the Ag Sci I class. The introduction required a signature on the contracts to verify they understand my expectations and guidelines, and as they continued to finish the CASE lab they were working on, they returned to the classroom to make name tags and record their lab data. It was a little scattered due to the nature of their status in the curriculum, but overall went well! I am excited to introduce myself to the rest of my classes in 10 days and learn all about them and their interests as we dive into some exciting units...

Here's to a successful first week of student teaching! Maybe I'll stop and reward myself with a latte at my new favorite coffee shop, the Wired Rooster! If you ever find yourself in Wellsboro, let me know and I would be glad to show you around.

Til next week... here's a quote to ruminate on in honor of his own day: 

"Life's most urgent and persistent question is; what are you doing for others?" ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.