Traveling Across the State to Visit Miss Herr

I can remember every FFA State Officer Team since I started in FFA. I've always looked up to them so it's a neat opportunity to work and study along side them in college! (There are several Past PA State Officers as well as other states as well!)

I chose to visit Miss Herr at Penns Manor with Mr. Hughes. I've heard a lot of good things about this program and wanted to check it out for myself. In all honesty, I wish I could have visited all of my cohort members once as they each have their unique teaching styles and programs that they went into for this experience.

What I Noticed

• super laid back but they get their stuff done!
• the students have respect for the school, the program, and Mr. Hughes and Miss Herr
• They are able to have a greenhouse and a small barn (and a classroom and shop)
• the small barn has one little beef heifer in it. I really enjoyed going down to visit her. The students were able to brush, feed, and lead her all by themselves! (with supervision)

Observations of Miss Herr

• Miss Herr has a class that's mostly students with special needs. In contrast, my classes have a few IEPs mixed within them. She handled it very well. The students all seemed to get along with each other and respect each other. They all tried to help each other learn.
• She was also very good at summarizing the main points of the lesson at the end of the period.

Thank you to Miss Herr and Penns Manor for letting me visit!!! I had a great time!

ACES and SLLC 2019

I was lucky enough to be able to go to both conferences as a student teacher. In high school, these were 2 of my favorite trips to go on. It was the fact that I got to spend time with my fellow chapter members, meet TONS of new people (that are still my friends now), and spend quality time improving myself while having fun.

ACES-Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success

• MANY MANY more students attended ACES rather than SLLC, especially looking at the numbers for CC. This hasn't changed since I went but it's truly different to see it from this side of things!
• More of my students (rather than the same ones that go to everything) were there. I got to know more students on a deeper level here than I could anywhere else.
• Although, since we had so many students, I didn't want to sit with the same ones all the time. We had several tables at meals but trying to sit with different students every time was a little more difficult than I would have liked it to be!
• I also sat through a professional development workshop which was obviously different than what I've experienced at ACES before!
  ACES

SLLC

SLLC-State Legislative Leadership Conference

• only 6 were allowed to go
• This is what some would consider a more "prestigious" conference. It does require a little more maturity (although the students should always be mature when representing their school and chapter).
• It was actually easier to make sure I talked to every one of my students that were there. I would usually talk to these particular students anyway.
• We almost got to go on the House floor but they were in session. We were allowed to stand by the doors. A Lebanon County representative for the area Cedar Crest is in was very adament on enabling us to see this part of the legislative process. Even though I had been there before, it was pretty cool to be able to see it from the teachers perspective and watch the students ask questions and look around.
• There was also a peaceful protest happening at the time. The students really wanted to watch it (it was about gas wells). It was interesting to me too but we had to keep moving as the Representative had a busy schedule!

Eastern Regional PAAE Meeting

I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Eastern Region PAAE (Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators) meeting. Mr. Haussener was kind enough to drive me down so we weren't wasting gas.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got there. I knew I would know some of the teachers but I was still nervous. Dr. Ewing was there as well and he did give a blurb on us student teachers. It was nice that teachers knew who I was at that point. Generally, they know everybody. It's kind of a big community but really it's a small world. A couple teachers approached me and asked me how student teaching was going. I really appreciated the fact that they cared.

It was a lot of talk on things that I didn't fully understand. It wasn't something that I see everyday so I was a little lost at times. A big talking point was the budget and finances. Now that kind of makes sense to me! This all applies to my life/career even if it doesn't seem like it does at the moment.

State Activities week was also discussed. They talked about where exactly on campus it was going to be held as well as some finances involved with that too. A few teachers talked on CDEs that they are in charge of and encouraged the other teachers to get their students involved in the "lesser known" CDEs.

Overall, this was a beneficial night in that I was able to see the professional networking side of teaching. It was nice to see region wide teachers all in one place. It wasn't just business talk all night. Of course, there were times for eating and talking about things other than teaching!

Cedar Crest Professional Development

It may not be the most fun, but it is pretty important. I'm talking about professional development. It is super important to continue developing your professional self.

This helps to build your confidence, classroom management, relationship building, etc. There are so many things you do to grow professionally.

The first Act 80 day we had was actually a 2 hour delay day. I didn't know they would do that for teachers and staff. We were at the middle school for part of the day. There was a presentation on the what's happening in the school; some history and some potential future projects. They talked a lot about the school district's mission statement. They really are there for the students. Their best interests are at heart.


The second Act 80 day was a normal day. We had some work time in our rooms before we left for the guest speaker/professional development. He stayed at one of the elementary schools in the district and we had to travel to him. It was Mr. Thomas Murray, nationally known author, speaking on "Making Professional Learning Professional." Even though it was a Power Point presentation, he made it interesting.

• he had us up and moving around
• talked to teachers beside us
• wrote things on large notesheets

Another thing that I liked about their Act 80 days were the fact that we had time to talk to and bond with the other teachers in our department. For someone who is an outsider and is only there for a short time, it was really nice. We were able to share stories about our classrooms and other life stories. We also had a department lunch. Who knows if anyone else does that, but we do and it's pretty cool!

See You Again...Student Teaching Week 15

This was a hard week to get through. As much as I've struggled recently, I still LOVE it. I'm forever going to miss teaching at Cedar Crest. It hasn't fully hit me yet that it's over. Just because I'm not teaching there doesn't mean I can't go visit someday. Several students want me to but it's so far away!

Overall, this was a really humbling experience. I loved teaching at CC but I am ready to graduate! I'm ready to go on to the next chapter of my life but they will forever be in my heart.

Things I Learned

• The results of the soil unit tests weren't exactly what I wanted again. I know that the low scores are probably mostly on me but it really gets me down sometimes. I thought we reviewed the information enough times. We went over the soil horizons and factors that affect soil formation almost everyday. A lot of the students STILL didn't get them right. I think that if we had more time maybe they would completely get it.
• Building relationships with students is important but building relationships with the other teachers is important too. All week, all semester really, the other teachers have been so helpful and so supportive of me and what I'm trying to do. A couple of the teachers even helped me take some of my things out at the end of the day on Thursday.
• The students respected our guest speaker, Mr. Risser, on Monday when he came in to talk about soil sampling. They've been a little on edge lately so I was a little worried but they were fine. There was some horsing around when we were outside but that was normal.

Advice Wanted

• What is some advice on keeping classroom management under control when you go into your own classroom your first year?
• Any other first year advice I may not have heard before?

Headin' Down the Home Stretch...Student Teaching Week 14

Three things were different this week...we had two activity periods and Thursday we went to regionals for LDEs.

I'm really looking forward to my last 4 days with the students and at Cedar Crest High School. It's going to be an emotional yet awesome week!

Things I Learned

• Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming. I was down 3 periods of Ag 1 this week because of last week's happenings. It was nice to be able to breathe between classes and change a few things real quick before I had to teach it again. That's one of my favorite things about the Ag 1-4 system. Anyway, I had a check list of things to do this week and I got all but 2 done on time. As long as I keep working on stuff, it will get done. It's just a matter of time. (but it is crunch time)
• I was working on a display for a display case these past couple of weeks. I finally got some pictures up and I though they looked fine. My intention was to have candid pictures posted, ones that looked like students were having fun. One of our officers walked by the display and asked who was in charge of constructing it. She said that the pictures were blurry and didn't look nice. Honestly, that kind of hurt...but then I thought about it. Nobody else knows what my intention really was with the display unless I tell them. And that's not something you can post on a display.......moral of the story: always look at things from a different perspective. Even if you had good intentions with something, it may not always be perceived that way.

Regional LDE Contests

• It feels really nice to watch your students succeed. Megan, our senior prepared public speaker has been in the top 2 at the county and area contests. Mr. Haussener and I were fortunate enough to be finished with parli pro in time to be in the room when the results were announced. We got to the top 2, I was really hoping Megan won but she ended up getting 2nd. It didn't really matter, she did great anyway!
• Our parli pro team had tough competition from Northern Lebanon again! Just like at the county contest, we ended up on top. It was a close contest and we shall see what states brings! Hopefully, I can make it out there to see the contests!

Advice Wanted

• Some of students were more high strung Friday than usual. Obviously, it was Friday, the end of the week. Plus Mr. Haussener was out on a field trip so they were a little wired. When you're a student teacher (or a substitute), what can you do to keep them from really getting out of hand? Sometimes they just don't care about student teachers or subs and will only listen to their "real" teacher. Also, what can you do before you leave on a trip so you're students behave (for the most part) when you aren't there?

The Science Classroom Visit

I had the opportunity in the very first week to observe Ms. Rhoades, a biology teacher. The visit was actually spread over 2 days. I visited 2 different periods of Biology, the first one was Biology 2 with the second being a Biology team taught class.

Biology 2

• The students had just gone through a pig dissection. This was a review day for them before their exam the next day. For the most part, the students cared about what was happening (some because of the exam others because of actual interest).
• She asked a lot of questions during a slideshow of many pictures. They were specifically reviewing pig dissection pictures.
• The students first went through the pictures individually first then went over as a class.

• She related the pig parts to humans and had the students answer with the part name after she described it.
• If a student had a question where the answer was in their notes/packet then they were directed to look there instead of getting an answer in front of the whole class.
• Ms. Rhoades was very clear with her answers and what she expected out of them. She had great business like behavior

Biology-team taught

• Most students have IEPs and 405s. Ms. Rhoades team teaches this with one of the Special Education Teachers.
• These students are hyperactive and SUPER talkative. 
• The 2 teachers specifically said what the day's quiz was on and then gave them time to study their notes.
• Other things noticed: Each mitosis phase was said by a different student, student didn't want to sit for class and wasn't forced to (still completed class work)
• For tests for students with IEPs and 405s: less options per question, less questions total, a given word bank, everything at a lower reading level

Overall

• During my visits, I really enjoyed being there and seeing a general science class in action. I heard that they do pig dissections and I became really excited. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that I could go on one of those last dissection days.
• Ms. Rhoades did a great job of keeping her classes under control and on task.
• She also talks to every student that walks through her door. This is something that I am trying to make sure happens every day. When a student has headphones in, she would go to the student privately and talk to them instead of in front of the class.
• I was also able to learn more about teacher unions from Ms. Rhoades as she is heavily involved in the union.
• If I would have been able to do my udder dissection lab, I would have been able to borrow dissection kits off of Ms. Rhoades. We talked about what materials she has and what she uses when. There is also a storage room connected to Ms. Rhoades room where she keeps a few supplies along with other teachers.

The Administrator Interview

Here at Cedar Crest, the administrators and everyone in the ag program/FFA have a great relationship! At the very beginning of the semester, we set up a meeting/interview with the principal, Mrs. Malinoski. She (and the rest of the administration) are very supportive of what we do and trust us to do what we think is best.

Questions Asked

• Tell me about your work ethic.
• How do you solve problems?
• Tell me about yourself.
• The questions that Mrs. Malinoski asked of me were to find out what kind of a person I am. That is super important to her as she wants to know the teachers as people too.

Advice

• breathe!
• be confident and be yourself

What I Did Well

• My passion for ag was showing through.
• I showed how much I care about others and how much I care about student success.
• I asked questions like "Is there an opportunity to have an extended contract?" and "What are the times that we are required to be here everyday?"

Other Comments

• Always come prepared. (paper, resume, cover letter, application, writing instrument, proper clothes)
• There are always ways that schools will help you. If you are a student teacher at the school and need resources for interview clothes or teaching strategies, don't be afraid to ask! Everyone wants to help you succeed no matter what!
• Always dress business professional. It doesn't matter what job you are looking for, dress business professional.
• Application process for Cedar Crest: fill out application, school will review applications, narrow down to a couple to interview (principal, assistant principal, director of secondary education), check social media sites (again to see what kind of person you are)

Below: This is something that was talked about in the interview. If you are a good person and a good teacher, you're going to do great and influence your students whether you know it or not. (I also found this out when one of our Ag 2 students moved and talked to me on her last day here.)

Lucky! Lucky! Lucky me, I got to spend time with cows! (SAE Visit 2)

If you know me or gathered anything about me through my more personal blog posts (not so much the ones on teaching), you will have noticed I love cows! Especially my cows. But, when you live 4 1/2 hours away from home for 15 weeks, it's not very often you get to go home and see your cows. Maybe it is for some, but it really wasn't for me. If I could, I would go home every weekend.

So what do I do other than looking at pictures of my cows, I go on an SAE visit that involves cows!

Student

• Paige, junior
• 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 Vice President
• thinking about running for state office! (side note: when I was visiting for the very first time in February of last year, I got to hear her prepared speech in class and I said she should run for state office)

Location

• her family farm, again not too far from the school
• about 80 cows total in tie stall barn

What is her project?

• Dairy cows and heifers
• 2 cows are her main projects, Twister and Princess
• The mother to one of the cows was a calf that Paige got from a $750 scholarship.
• This "calf" has grown into one of the best producing cows in the herd. And is a really nice show cow too!

Other Comments/Notes

• Paige got started with showing and taking care of dairy cows because she thought it was neat and loves how it brings the family together.
• We also talked about what the cows get fed. With the help of a nutritionist, the cows get what they need at different stages of production.

Overall/General SAE Comments

• If I go into the classroom, I will make sure to sit down with students and have a specific plan. Be their accountability buddy but don't spoon feed them anything. They make decisions for themselves but they need to be held accountable sometimes other than with grading the books.
• Grading record books: timely and accurate/reasonable records. I would strongly encourage my students to put records in AT LEAST once a week; get them done soon after you do the activity and you don't have to do it all at once.
• Also had a little bit of fun! Just talking to Paige and her mom and one of their cats jumps up on Mr. Haussener's scooter for a ride!

Sometimes I Like a Challenge and Sometimes I Don't...Student Teaching Week 13

This was a normal week when you take a look at the schedule.

Despite that, this week was a bit of a challenge. Not because of the students or anything but because I was struggling myself. 

Things I Learned

• A lot of people have messed up at some point in their student teaching experience. I'm no different. I make mistakes and that's okay. Just make it right. This is a learning experience. This is really in reference to last week when I had to have the students retake an exam. Within me, it really carried over into this week.
• Manage your time SUPER well. When I'm at school I work. When I'm home at night, I work. When I go home to Butler County, even if I go home for a specific reason, I still work. But I feel like I get nowhere. I have so much to do, I sometimes feel like I'm never going to get done. I just have to keep plugging away.
• Students really do notice when you are off your game. One day I was actually perfectly fine and some of my students thought that I wasn't. Then I wasn't really okay one day and they started asking more and more questions. I think I did a decent job of dodging them and putting up that front. It may have taken a couple of periods to get into "hiding" it but I made it through. Some of them i was honest with though. I felt like I had to be.

Advice Wanted

• Any advice on finishing strong. I really do love what I'm doing but I'm struggling with wanting to be in the classroom after I graduate. I think I just need to let myself breathe. I felt overwhelmed this week and didn't want to admit it even to myself let alone anybody else.
• Any advice on leaving. I know I have to leave and obviously I knew that coming into it but I'm still going to get emotional. I can't even think about it without tearing up. I'm going to miss every single one of my students.