Another Drop in The Student Teaching Bucket

🌊🌊Week 13🌊🌊

Looking back this week, I think this was one of my quickest weeks teaching so far. Both Introduction to Ag and Agri Ecology were working on their water units which provided a lot of connection between the two classes an helped pushed the week along. Outside of the classroom, we had the Regional Public Speaking Competition as well as CDE practice for our Farm Business Management Team and our Ag Marketing Team. Overall, I felt good about this week and am looking forward to rounding out these next 2 weeks in the classroom. 

One of the most exciting things this week was taking 4th block outside to study stream quality. Growing up on a farm with a small creek in the yard, I always took exploring in the creek for granted. Watching these students investigate the stream, I had the realization that this might be a new experience for some students. While we had a few eager students bring waders from home, others were more timid; hugging the shoreline for the entirety of the block. That being said, every student wanted a look at the creatures we caught, especially Carl the frog. With the water running around freezing, students still showed lots of excitement for the activity. One student even went completely underwater (and then quickly exited screaming). Ultimately, I thought this was a great experience that allowed students to apply classroom knowledge to the real world. 

Looking forward to the 6.5 days of teaching I have left,  I think I just need to remember to keep pushing myself. As I hit "order" on my cap and gown purchase or finalize post graduation dinner plans, I find myself wanting to just coast through the end of student teaching. Especially given how well my 3rd block students behave, I could very easily finish student teaching letting them watch movies everyday. My big challenge here is to keep pushing both the students and myself through the last leg of the race. While yes, I may only have a few days of teaching left, I have to keep in mind they still have over a month left of school and deserve their education not be taken lightly.

Madelyn Hoffman and Eric Zimmerman before heading out to the Regional Public Speaking Contest. Hoffman placed 2nd and Zimmerman placed 9th