Week 9: Middle School, Sick Day, and More!

Middle school introduction to agriculture, plant science, and animal science were on my plate for teaching this week. Throughout the week, I was able to see the difference in maturity levels and learning levels between students at the middle school and the seniors in high school. Despite being sick for a day at school this week, my lessons seemed to go pretty smoothly.

I must say that I was sad to see both sections of the natural resource management classes go. I really felt like I was able to see the progression of some of my teaching abilities throughout the past weeks with this class. When it was time for me to go, the students told me to come back, visit, and not to let the 8th graders misbehave! I felt like I gained some great experiences and relationships through both of the ninth grade natural resource management classes. I am excited to see where the future takes these students!

After taking a sick day on Tuesday, I got the opportunity to experience two sections of a "first day" in the eighth grade classes. Since the middle school runs on a trimester schedule, Tuesday was officially the first day of their new trimester. I am very excited to continue teaching the eighth grade class for five more weeks. As an introduction to agriculture class, the possibilities of information to cover are endless!

Plant science and animal science have been a great experience as well. I am learning how to improve my classroom management techniques. The students are not always super interested in the material, so I need to work as a teacher to make them excited!

After having 9 weeks in the field as a student teacher, I am learning more about myself, teaching, and agriculture. I am learning more from these students then I ever expected to. In two weeks, I will be spending an entire week out of the classroom for SLLC and our Penn State Teach Ag Retreat. Next week, I plan to work on my substitute plans for the following week. This is where this week's questions lie:

When you are out for multiple days in a row, how do you plan for student work? For example, in my plant science classes, students will have time to work on their greenhouse management projects. How can you determine how long different activities will take students?