Winter Term - Week 10

This week we celebrated FFA week at my cooperating school. I helped oversee the planning and carry out of the week’s activities. Each day brought its own learning experiences and notes on what to adjust before doing the activity again in the future. Being able to manage FFA activities with different groups of students and community members is one major activity. However, adding two observations and a field trip to the craziness is another. Early in the week I was able to have my principle observe me teach and later in the week I had my last OSU observation. I felt that both of my observations went extremely well and my students were on task and engaged. The conversations I had after both observations were positive and encouraging while still giving me pieces to think about. We have been working in the greenhouse transplanting plugs and propagating cuttings which the students have enjoyed as they are out of the classroom and not taking notes! 

Even though not all activities might not have gone exactly as planned, this allowed for learning opportunities and planning for next year. I learned that it’s important to be flexible and have the ability to adjust in a moment’s notice. This is something I feel I struggle with at times but not always. Actually, throughout all of grad school thus far I have attempted to be as organized as I can and to be one step ahead on various assignments. This has caused extreme stress and new anxiety for me which I know is not healthy. I am the type of person that likes to have a plan, know what is going on, be organized, and have myself together. When any one piece of this equation is off balance, I become extremely anxious. Some days I find I am more flexible than others and I am able to decrease my anxiety. This is something I will need to continue to work on myself by testing different strategies as I know everything in life will not always go according to plan. 

Towards the end of the week, I wrapped up with one of my classes and was able to have them complete an evaluation survey of my teaching. This class I have taught since the beginning of winter term and have spent a ton of time getting to know each of them. While reading through the evaluations, I was quite entertained by some of the student’s comments and encouraged by others. The student’s least favorite part across the class was taking notes!

Our last FFA activity for the week was taking about 20 students to a hockey game. Having students decide not to go on the day of the event was unexpected. This is frustrating from a teacher and advisor’s perspective as tickets were already purchased as well as specific transportation was requested. Also, having two buses show up ready to take us when we only requested one was unexpected. These experiences all tie back to being flexible when chaos hits and knowing who to contact in different situations. All was well and the students had a great time at the game! This was also my very first hockey game experience. I believe this was a perfect experience to have before heading to state convention as I will be in charge of making sure students are where they need to be at specific times throughout the entire convention. We will have roughly the same amount of students that we will be taking to convention. During this trip, all students were in the same place for a short amount of time. 

Gearing up for my very last week of student teaching, I am making a check list to help organize what I need to accomplish before heading to convention. I want to ensure I make the best use of my time this week to be productive as well as enjoying my last few days with my students and cooperating teacher.