FIRST WEEK TEACHING ALL 7 CLASSES = COMPLETE! :)
One of my personal goals for this week was to work on not
getting too stressed out and I think overall I did pretty well on reaching that
goal. Monday I worked hard to keep things simple yet effective in my classes
and at the end of the day I did not feel as stressed as I have on previous
days. Actually, I did not feel too stressed at any point throughout the day. However
on Tuesday, I felt very stressed! I am noticing that it seems like for every
calm, productive and successful day, there is a stressful, not so prepared day.
I need to continue to remind myself that I will not always be completely
prepared and that it is okay. I think this will be something I continue to work
on for the next few years.
I am learning how much time it takes to plan, set up,
practice and prepare for a lab. It takes a lot of work! I have given two
demonstrations so far in two different labs and I felt myself giving a ton of
verbal directions and circling back to make sure I covered everything I needed
to. I know I definitely need to spend more time practicing my labs ahead of
time as well as creating more than one back up plan for the days when something
unexpected happens. For example, when several of your students forget to bring
a pop bottle for their hydroponic system…
Something that has been going well is I have noticed more
and more students asking me questions, content related and personal, instead of
my cooperating teacher. This is huge progress I believe because I think it shows
that students are becoming more comfortable with me as their teacher and are
respecting that. Sometimes I don’t have the answer for them and fall back on my
cooperating teacher which is helpful this year but I know next year it will
only be me.
I also want to come up with three or four extra activities
or flex activities that I can implement in any of my classes for days we finish
the lesson early. I feel as though I have exhausted the activities I have been
using for this.
Some strategies I need to work on is containing my
frustration when students test me. I felt as though I came close to reaching my
breaking point this week with one specific class. I have identified a few
select students who have decided to continue to test me and I say bring it on! I
know in the future I will have students who will test me in different ways and
will challenge my confidence and knowledge as a young female agriculture
teacher.
Last but not least, my class of 8th graders
continue to challenge me in increasing their levels of enthusiasm. They do what
is asked of them and complete their assignments. I understand this is a
required rotation class for them, but I still want to find ways to get them
more energized about what we are learning. A lot of that comes back on me and
my lesson planning. Something I am continuing to work on. Maybe I will get some
new ideas to test out next weekend at the workshops.
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