National FFA Week... a true ag teacher experience.

"You're finally getting the hang of this - you're starting to see what it's really like."
As I was standing dead on my feet after 5 straight days of craziness, and we talked about what time we should arrive the next morning (Saturday - we decided on 7 AM) to load the 26 kids up for a 3 hour drive to a conference, my cooperating teacher commended my survival and appreciation for the craziest week I've experienced yet - National FFA Week.
I was pretty pumped for this week for a while, wondering what it would look like from the eyes of an "adviser" of an active FFA chapter, but realized from her words on Monday morning ("it's gonna be a rough week") that it would be a bit more chaotic than what I expected... FFA activities every day (most of which were not fully planned due to a snow day the previous Friday), several meetings, a trip to Hoss's, and a weekend leadership conference in Harrisburg. And this is all on top of the full load of classes I was teaching last week (many of which just happened to involve quite a bit of prep). Needless to say, sleep was minimal, action was constant, blue and gold were starting to blur, and I was having the time of my life.
What is National FFA Week? Well, it is a week-long tradition that "began in 1947 when the National FFA Board of Directors designated the week of George Washington's birthday as National FFA Week in recognition of his legacy as an agriculturist and farmer. (FFA, 2014)" We recognize FFA as an outstanding organization that positively influences the lives of our agricultural youth through student-run activities, community events, and promotion of the program.
So this week was fun - mainly because I have a lot of energy when it comes to FFA and because I love seeing the students take charge. Some of the activities that the Grand Canyon FFA developed were:

• Daily 'spirit' day themes: Monday (flannel/boots), Tuesday (camo), Wed (tractor color t-shirt), Thur (Carhartt - one I was missing out on because I left mine at home), and, my FAVORITE - Friday (blue and gold day, goodie bags for official dress wearers :) ) 
• Lunch activities: bubble trouble (see photo), sunflower seed spitting, corn guessing, feed sack races, and ag trivia
• Daily ag trivia over the announcements 
• Teacher appreciation breakfast for all school teachers
• Daily teacher gifts (a food product with facts about that food product)
• Banners and flyers in the community
• A news announcement
• Meet your State Officer night at Hoss's (in Williamsport, an hour away)
• a chapter officer meeting 

Bubble Trouble - fetch a piece of gum from under a pile of whipped cream and blow a bubble... which is almost impossible due to the dairy disintegrating the gum

Part of Friday's goodie bag for wearing OD (official dress - FFA jacket and proper attire). I was SO pumped to see so much corduroy! And I was pretty excited to participate in blue/gold day with my gold skirt and blue button-up. 

It was pretty sweet to be an "adviser"... and it was crazy, constant motion. But it didn't end with Friday! We went to the ACES state FFA leadership conference in Harrisburg yesterday and returned today. 26 kids in tow, all super excited for being in hotel rooms and the dance (which was hilarious to witness from the other side), and we had quite a fun weekend. 

Students participated in workshops run by state FFA officers and other leaders then got to jam out at the ACES "Sweet 16 bash" dance. I am proud to say that I (and my cooperating teacher) successfully led our bashful students to the dance floor... and I may have done a bit of dancing myself, just to have a bit of fun (and demonstrate some line dances). But the drama that went on with other chapter boys asking our girls to dance and vice versa was quite hilarious to witness. It reminded me of my FFA dance days... the golden days. 

Anyways, after "lights out," I got to be a real ag teacher and prowl the hallways in observance of any rule breakers or loud rooms on "night watch." Nothing too exciting happened, except when I fixed the 2nd hotel toilet of the evening (assisted by my coop teacher, of course) in the room of some giggling girls. We returned to the north today, after a stop at Bass Pro Shops (a Grand Canyon FFA ACES tradition). 

I loved seeing the "Grand Canyon" jackets all over the place - they were my kids!

So what else happened this week? Well, TEACHING of course! While I spent the majority of my "teaching" blog talking about FFA, I am totally unashamed because FFA is part of my teaching experience! That's how cool we are in agricultural education. But anyways, for those wondering what we did in the classroom this week that successfully kept me up so late. 

Monday was catch up from Friday, when 3 of my classes were supposed to have quizzes. The freshman class got to make the rose flower arrangements that my cooperating teacher was going to make with them on Valentine's day. And my cooperating teacher also was the "guest speaker" of a lesson on goats and sheep for the AN SC 2 class. 

Tuesday AM brought us to school at 6:30 AM for the teacher breakfast, and I was trying to prepare for a lesson on feed labeling for pet foods, in addition to my first official lesson on PUBLIC SPEAKING for the FFA/Leadership class! I think I am having the most fun with these lessons, mainly because I love public speaking and because there is lots of flexibility in the class. I was so surprised on Tuesday when I sneakily made all 12 students stand and deliver a 30 second extemporaneous speech on why they love the FFA before asking them if they were afraid of public speaking. 90% said they were, then were appalled when I told them they just gave an extemp speech! It was perfect! Then, rather than complaining when I told them we would be doing public speaking, they seemed excited! It was so encouraging! We spent time brainstorming speech topics and discussing the steps in preparing a speech which we continued Thursday. Also on Thursday was my lesson on speech "stickiness" - AKA the ability to make speeches and ideas meaningful and memorable. Taken from the book, "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath, we discussed the acronym SUCCES (simple, unexpected, credible, concrete, emotions, story) as a core for a memorable speech. I surprised myself at the effectiveness of my improvised method of teaching the U of SUCCES when I took the book and slammed it on the table in front of a student. He was surprised, it was unexpected, and it regained their attention. It was priceless. So basically, I am super pumped for this continued unit on public speaking, even if they aren't so good at working outside of class. 

Wednesday brought a guest speaker - our local wildlife conservation officer from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, to speak to my Natural Resources class about his position and wildlife management. It was cool to engage the community in the classroom, especially since the officer's daughter was in my next period class! 

Mr. Rodney Mee, local WCO, speaking about his career

Thursday was a bit crazy. Mainly because I stayed up so late Wednesday to prepare for it - a friend came over and we baked up my animal science interest approach: screw up cookies :) We were discussing rations in animal feed, so I started the class by giving them a very disproportionally baked chocolate chip cookie (i.e. 1 cup of salt instead of sugar). Some facial reactions allowed me to segway into the point that the proportion (quality) of a specific animal feed is key to its success in animal nutrition! Then I gave them legitimately baked cookies to make up for it :) I was also preparing for an equine lesson on anatomy - the first lesson where I was truly able to engage the whole group of students (who I sometimes struggle with).
Another highlight of Thursday was preparing the agar for a Friday lab. I MADE AGAR! It was not only exciting because it was the first time I made it from scratch, but also because of the unit for which it is used - FOOD SAFETY! This is my CASE ag science 1 class, and they were doing a food safety lab where they swabbed samples of ground beef (1 cooked sample, 1 refrigerated sample, and 1 room temp sample). I really like food science, so was excited for this lab and unit.

Preparing petri dishes with my freshly made agar!

Students in my Ag Sc 1 class, conducting the ground beef lab... so cool.

So now that you've read all that, let's reflect. I was super thankful for this crazy week (even if I am still recovering from it) because it really showed me how insane yet fulfilling it can be to serve as an agriscience teacher/FFA adviser. I got my first "We love Miss Hoover" note on the whiteboard on Thursday, and beamed with pride when I saw a member put on his newly ordered jacket for the first time on Tuesday. I didn't sleep much and wanted to cry a few times, but loved it. It's been an awesome week to realize that, no matter how demanding a career can be, it really does pay off if you are 100% invested. 

I was told by my teacher that I was really blossoming in the classroom, and that my lessons were really improving to meet student needs. I know there are some areas to still improve (connecting content to real world, grades, homework, and LFS activities), but I am really feeling comfortable here and am super sad that I have to leave Wellsboro in just 2 weeks... but before I go too much deeper with my thoughts about it all, I will sign off and leave you to ponder a Bible verse that I thought I would struggle with during this time. I felt like I would be constantly looking forward and not enjoying this student teaching experience as much, but I find that I truly am content with where I am, even if I do have to leave in 2 weeks - I am going to fully devote myself to this opportunity right now and grow from every second of it. 

Philippians 4:11

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

I am content (and even more, overjoyed) to be here - be content with where you are too!!

There's no such thing...

...As a "normal" week in agricultural education. Every week is unique and fun and crazy and unexpected (hopefully not in a bad way) but nonetheless, things are constantly changing.

This past week was a bit different. Why? Here are a few key points:

• The honeymoon stage of student teaching (actual teaching) has ended. There's nothing wrong with this - it just means I am buckling down with work and starting to confront some issues and areas of improvement. 
• I got "supervised" (cue scary music) on Tuesday. My dear professor/adviser/supervisor Dr. Daniel D Foster came up to the great North and watched/complimented/advised on several helpful points... but we can come back to that. 
• Sunday last week = winter FFA officer retreat, complete with ICE FISHING! 
• NATIONAL FFA WEEK PREP! (stay tuned)
• There was ANOTHER snow storm that took the great North and caused an early dismissal on Thursday... But then again, what should I expect? 
• I had planned for a "sub" (AKA my cooperating teacher) to teach on Friday, due to a PSU seminar for us, but school was canceled! (boooo snow)
• I went to a faculty meeting! Wohoo...? 
• I visited one of my students at his SAE placement during the busiest time of the year for them... see more below.
• A new friend and fellow student (at Mansfield) who is earning her Master's in Library Science, served as my first GUEST SPEAKER for my FFA/Leadership class, as she shared mass media communication resources for my students (which they will need for their super cool project). Shout out to Angie for putting in time to speak to my students, even if it was cut short due to the early dismissal! 
• My house mate was at a conference all week, so instead of being all alone, (after much convincing of my parents) I brought my cute dog, Bella, up to live with me for the week (see photos). 
• And today I went snowshoeing!! Finally!!! 

So now time for some deep(er) reflection:
It really was a great week, overall, even if it wasn't the most fun and exciting. More work, less sleep, more problems, more critical thinking, more seeking of advice... it all equals more real TEACHING experience!

One of the major areas I struggled with this week is... grades! How do I assign them? Who gets the highest grade? Does anyone get 100% on an assignment? Am I too hard a grader? Do I hand back all assignments, graded?

While rubrics are a key aspect of grading larger assignments, I must say that, even with rubrics, I still struggled in this area. This seemingly simple set of questions brings up an even bigger concern...

Academic level variability. What does that mean? Well, there are classes in schools, like general science, college prep biology and advanced English, that have a pretty consistent student group in each class when it comes to expectations, academic vigor, and completion of assignments.

What about ag classes? Well, we get all of the students of all grades and all academic levels. While this is one of the beautiful things about agricultural education, it can also be a curse - how do we gauge the level of content we can teach? How do we grade, given such variation in one class? How do we make sure that we are ENSURING SUCCESS for EVERY STUDENT?

Now you know why teaching ag is such a big deal? It takes dedication, patience, and a sincere desire to make a difference in the lives of students. I am seeing more and more how this can make the world of difference for a student. Now let's see if it can start happening in my teaching...

In addition to this sincere critical thinking, I was excited/nervous/super prepared to have my first "supervisor visit" on Tuesday. Dr. Foster came in for the day and observed all my classes, giving small bits of feedback between some of them then sitting me down for a sincere and elaborate discussion of improvement areas. He was proud of me in general (yay!) but wasn't afraid to lay down several areas of improvement. I am thankful for his honesty and dedication to my success, so that we can truly reach student success. Some of my key improvement areas include: proper introduction of daily objectives, a cognitive connect (showing how this really matters), walking and talking (a no-no), really focusing on the students (note previous discussion) with positive reinforcement.

Considering I am such an advocate of positive reinforcement over negative (type 2) punishment, I am surprised at how little/effectively I use it. I mean, really, how much can one "good job" or "I am proud of you for participating" or "hey _(insert student name)__, you did great today" really make in a student's life?

The answer is: I have no idea. But if it can have any possibility of improving their attitude, making them feel valued, or just increasing our rapport, WHY NOT?!? After all, I know I feel valued when my very own professors congratulate me/encourage me. And how else can we show the love of Christ in the classroom? Definitely another deep area of reflection this week...

Let me share some photos (I have a lot this week) before talking some more. Enjoy!

National FFA Week prep! Students signing "thank you" notes for all the teachers!

We got to use the "spirit" week banner for the "theme" days of National FFA Week... I am personally excited for Friday because the members were encouraged to wear their CORDUROY!! (I wish I still could)

So, on Wednesday, after my first "faculty meeting" (filled with interesting bureaucratic discussions), I went to one of the local floral shops with my cooperating teacher to conduct an "SAE Visit" of one of my students/FFA officers. This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for floral businesses, and it was awesome to see my student IN ACTION as he took phone calls/orders, prepared arrangements, dealt with customers, and moved efficiently around the shop. Its exciting to think that, via this agricultural experience that he chose in the fall to increase his SAE hours, he could: a) apply for an FFA proficiency, b) compete in the state Floriculture CDE, c) pursue a degree in horticulture, and/or d) find a successful career placement in the industry due to his hard work at this floral shop. The owners boasted of his great skills, maturity level, and ability to learn quickly, and I swelled with pride on behalf of my cooperating teacher as I thought about how the agriscience program has positively impacted him. It really was a cool experience.

Where the "magic" happens in the floral shop

I was drooling over some of these gorgeous flowers in the cooler 

My student, pulling an order for a customer

My friend, Angie (Ms. Martinez), speaking about digital communications and web 2.0 resources!

It's been quite a crazy week - but hey, welcome to a thriving agricultural education program. 3 circles and all, a truly dedicated program shouldn't allow much breathing room (especially with such a dedicated teacher, like my cooperating teacher). And when you have that moment of realization that a student is growing, benefiting, and achieving from the program, you realize that it all is truly worth it.

A few more photos from the week...

Bella enjoying the "blob" - a massive piece of furniture that resembles a cushony bean bag

I had mammal pelts from the PA Game Commission this week.. and this coyote really intrigued her

A lot of firsts up here in Wellsboro!! A friend from church took me snowshoeing after he and his wife hosted me for lunch - there have been so many amazing blessings here. 

It was pretty awesome to break through 15 inches of snow... a work out, but a fun time.

Real Life. Real Students. Real Teaching.

Week 3 of my internship seems to have flown by, but probably because it was the first week of my actual teaching experience. It's hard to believe that I will be flying to Costa Rica in just 4 weeks to mark the halfway point of my last semester at PSU!!! I knew it would go fast, but I guess when you really are enjoying it, it disappears before you know it!

Wellsboro has been treating me well, I have been inducted with my first snow day this week due to a 12 inch dumping of snow in less than 12 hours... But I guess we should start from that first day.

Monday was, teaching-wise, a great day. As I took over all classes this week (new marking period), I am now teaching: Animal Science 1, Animal Science 2, Natural Resource Management, Intro to Ag Sciences, and FFA/Leadership (an every other day class).

Monday brought some difficulties as well... I found out that one of my students (in the small An Sc 2 class of just 6 students) was in a serious accident over the weekend. She was life-flighted and is still in an induced coma due to brain swelling, but seems to be doing better, thanks to prayers and support. Her story was published by various news stations, so I thought I would share this awesome fundraising site one of her friends made for her medical expenses. I have learned a lot, just within my first day of teaching, about what it means to be a TEACHER - someone who KNOWS their students - rather than just someone who teaches. My cooperating teacher was revealing the ability to work with other students who were struggling with the situation - a level of sensitivity not usually seen in a classroom. I was humbled and pushed to think deeply about the experience and how wide our responsibilities stretch as agricultural educators.

Other than great life lessons, my actual teaching lessons seemed to have been going as planned, but I am still adjusting to proper timing for activities in these frustratingly short 42 minute periods... sometimes I go too long, then I overestimate time because I went too long and finish a minute or two early. But I am growing each day, so we should be pretty timely within a week or so!

This week included a spectrum of activities for my classes - from lectures about the nutrient groups (carbs, lipids, proteins, etc.) in An Sc 1 to a calorie lab where they burned food to measure its energy and from a CASE lab on testing soil pH to PA mammal ID stations for the NRM class (see photos), we had a little bit of everything this week.

Tracks and Wildlife Notes for the student-centered mammal ID lesson

The coyote station was pretty decked out

I love these vintage wildlife ID posters from PGC - they've been around for years but aren't being distributed anymore :(

I definitely learned that, along with the story above, knowing your students is key to a successful experience (let alone effective classroom management). When you know that a student, for example, is proficient in chemistry, you can call on them to answer a question you ask to the whole class about a chemical reaction. When you know a student is unashamed to share their knowledge, it helps keep the class moving. I also can see that rapport truly does improve student motivation... thus knowing them allows them to do better!

Another major learning opportunity this week was to reflect on my philosophy of homework and out of class assignments. While my cooperating teacher does give homework occasionally, the students aren't really used to it. I have designed a bit of homework within my units (not too much, but a bit more than they are used to). While several upper-level students are used to this load, the diverse array of learners in an ag classroom poses a true challenge of homework and assignment expectations. I am still pondering how to overcome this struggle and, with the help of some of the other science teachers in the school, am gaining perspective on different homework philosophies.

It has been a great week! I learned that preparation is always necessary, especially when we did that calorie lab that I had not performed prior to having them do it (thus I planned for an inappropriate time allotment) - so DO LABS YOURSELF before you have the students do it!

I am excited for more struggles and growth opportunities, and, even more, I am excited to continue to get to know my students over the next 4 weeks! It will go fast, I can definitely tell...  

So, to close out this blog of first week of teaching (for real), I will include some images from my first snow day (Wednesday). I was able to shovel the driveway, catch up on some work, make some carrot cake cupcakes, and finish my photography website!!!

Fred in a foot of snow... 

Happy Fred after an hour of shoveling :)

I never thought of carrot cake batter as appealing...

But they sure tasted yummy :)

May you have a blessed week and remember to enjoy every moment you have and live for every opportunity you're given.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God; which is why we call it the present." ~Bill Keane