Student Teaching: Week 8!

Week 8 has come and gone, and week 9 is about to begin. This past week has been busy and full of learning - for both my students and myself. With each passing week I'm feeling more comfortable in the classroom, and I can tell my students are feeling more comfortable with me, too. Here are some highlights from this past week:

1. You never know until you try!

There is one student in my Intro to Ag Mech class that was absolutely terrified to try welding. He had been avoiding welding for some time, and then this week I was finally able to convince him to try for 15 -20 min. He was in a booth next to one of his friends who helped him set up. I had him practice a couple of weld puddles just to get the feel of welding. He was still unsure about his whole welding thing, but he did well, so I showed him how to run a bead. I left for a little to check on other students and when I came back he showed me his weld - it was awesome! Like better than most people's first beads. I was so excited about it and he was smiling from ear to ear, so I'm pretty sure he has conquered his fear of welding (hopefully - we'll see this week!). 

2. Connections, connections, connections.

Soil suspensions!

This week we began our Soils unit in Intro to AFNR. We began by learning about components of soil and soil porosity. After arguing (all in good fun) that soil was not the same as dirt, I facilitated an interest approach that connected why we are learning about soil to Lancaster County. We discussed what factors enabled Lan Co to be the most productive non-irrigated county in the nation and then looked at Lan Co on Web Soil Survey. I really enjoyed helping students make those connections and understanding the WHY. 

3. Star Red Rose Interviews

This week I got to serve on an interview committee for Star Red Rose interviews at a county level competition. This is similar to proficiency interviews, so I got to talk with students from all over Lancaster County about their awesome SAE projects! I was impressed by the students' interview skills and enjoyed learning something from each student. This was a great experience for me as a future teacher because now I have a better idea about what judges look for during interviews and in AET applications.

I truly enjoy my weeks at Penn Manor, and I can't wait to see what the next 7 weeks have in store!