This week I messaged my University Supervisor, Carson Letot, to let him know I have officially reached the 'my hair is on fire' stage of this Student Teaching Experience. Picture me with my hair on fire, arms waving frantically over my head, screaming and running wildly around the Cumberland Valley Ag Department. That's how I feel on the daily minus the third degree burns.
Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire
 |
| Those Greenhand Smiles Make The Crazy Worth It! |
While nothing is literally on fire, my mind is pulled in a million different directions every minute of the day trying to think about all the little ducks that I need to get into a row for each of my classes, grading assignments, Cumberland Valley FFA events, my individual student's needs, lesson planning, etc. You name it, I'm thinking about it. I saw a post on Facebook earlier this week about how the average teacher makes over 1,500 decisions in a day. Since the average teacher does not coach Career Development Event (CDE) teams, plan FFA events, or teach in six different subject areas every day, I think multiplying that number by three would give us a better idea of how many decisions an ag teacher makes in a day. No wonder I'm so tired! My big take away for Week 6 of this experience can be summed up in one question; how do these ag teachers do it? Looking into the future as a first year teacher I am thinking it might be smart to invest in a cot and just sleep at school. There is just not enough time in the day to get everything done! I am getting to the point where I am eating, sleeping, and breathing this experience (no really, I plan lessons in my dreams people). While I am loving the teacher life, I am also afraid the teacher life is going to swallow me whole. So, if anyone out there has advice on keeping that work life balance, you know, balanced or which cots are the comfiest, let me know.
This Classroom And FFA Chapter Are Heating Up
We have been up to some crazy cool experiences here at Cumberland Valley. This past week I picked up my final class, Biotechnology, and we have been learning about proteins. In this class we used the Biuret reagent to test the concentration of protein in different milk and egg products. The more protein in the product, the deeper purple the solution turned! I am excited to dive into more labs in this class and learn how to successfully implement challenging subject matter in the classroom as I continue on with this full course load.
 |
| The Biuret Reagent At Work |
On Thursday night Cumberland Valley held their annual Greenhand Degree Ceremony where first year members received their Greenhand FFA Degrees by getting involved in the Cumberland Valley FFA chapter and demonstrating their knowledge of the National FFA Organization. We also recognized our Cumberland Dauphin Perry Area Degree recipients for their hard work in their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) throughout their FFA careers. This event was another great opportunity for me to learn how to plan larger events as an advisor. I also loved seeing the smiles on my students faces as they reached one of their first milestones in the blue jacket.
Looking forward to next week I am excited to take part in the National FFA Week festivities! Our members worked hard this week to decorate our classrooms and hallways so that the rest of the school can share in the blue and gold spirit. Also coming up in Week 7 things will literally be on fire in our Animal Science class. So stay tuned for more details on that experience!
'Taylor'ed with love,
Taylor, are you bald now? Or did some of your hair survive?
ReplyDeleteOk so, breathe (you've already done that but do it again)
1) remember that the number of preps you have is INSANE and its not normal. 3-4 is normal.
2) remember that this is the first time for you, but the third time you'll be smoooooth sailing
3) if you are stressed, that is a good sign. It means you care!
4) you have friends, lean on em.
5) in school it may feel like a lot to be setting up a million labs and doing the 10,000 things you need to do before and after even normal lessons. It is A-ok to take an hour to chill and catch up. Remember what I told you, its ok to through in a lesson that turns the work over to the kids. lemme know if you need help with that
6) have fun with your kids! the grind gets a little better when you make jokes and get a little more of your personality out. Have you integrated any of your meat puns into your instruction? If not, ya better. Those kids deserve that comedy gold.
7) again, reach out. i'm happy to help any time!