Teaching Bluejays: The Gangs All Here! (Week 5)

Week five seemed to come and go in a matter of moments. This is probably due to the fact that I only had 2 days of instruction in the classroom. Monday I had the opportunity to spend the day visiting a program with a vacancy that I applied for. The time line of that visit works out well considering Friday was our cohort's "Job Prep Boot Camp" seminar in State College. Add in a snow day on Thursday, and I feel like I had more windshield time (what I call driving) than class time. It has been almost 600 miles now that I'm back in Bloomsburg on Sunday night, but I don't mind. I love my windshield time!

During my two days in school, my highlight was starting plant science with the Ag 1 classes. I feel like the upcoming unit will provide many opportunities to be creative and grab student's interest. I am also starting plumbing with Ag 3, and am working through fasteners with Ag 2. I am also looking forward to helping team teach NOCTI test prep with Ag 4, and I have already set up some cool inquiry experiments for them.

At our seminar, I was reminded how thankful I am to have my 6 cohort members in my life. They are some of my people, and I could talk to any one of them for hours and it would seem like minutes. As we talked and reflected about our experiences so far, I wrote down some thoughts I want to carry with me through my remaining weeks. In conclusion of this post, here they are in a more expanded form:

• Get extrinsic motivation, from individuals I don't see on a daily basis, to be creative and expand my instruction with new ideas and creative activities
• Each day, try to communicate with each individual student. 
• Each day, have students write something, say something, and get them out of their seats to do something
• Catch students doing something right, not just doing something wrong
• I realized how much I like the "knucklehead" students. They keep things interesting, and it is the most rewarding when I see them engaged and interested in learning
• Engagement is a concept to work towards, not a step that is achieved

Teaching Bluejays: Learning vs Covering Content (Week 4)

I am writing this week after publishing my "Reflections Through 4-H" blog. It was powerful, it made my mother cry (in a good way), and it got me thinking... Am I doing this student teaching thing right? I love reading the blogs of my peers, getting to read about the joys and challenges that they are facing. I know that you can not compare one student teaching experience to another, but sometimes that is inevitable. I have to echo what Miranda said this week: I feel like I am still in the honeymoon stage. After all, I came off a magical weekend with 4-H and was thrown in to a crazy, reality check of a week in the classroom. And I still feel like a million bucks. I still don't feel like I hit the wall of reality/challenge that I know I am racing towards.

8th Grade day, looking at pig lungs!

So in review, Monday was less than thrilling. I was tired from the weekend, my content wasn't exciting to begin with, and my students were not as cooperative as normal. It was just a day in the trenches. I left immediately after school for my bi-annual CDL physical, but the doctors office literally moved locations the week before and never told me. (Sometimes if I didn't have bad luck...) After chasing them down, I had multiple errands to run, and passed out as soon as I got home.

Tuesday was a blessing in disguise. I got to sleep in because we had a 2 hour delay, but when I got to school, I released that the delay had been changed to a cancellation. I thought great, now I need to change my curriculum around again. But nevertheless I got to spend the day in a quiet school, catching up on everything I needed to do. I even escaped to the shop and did a little welding; some hands-on therapy to calm my nerves.

Wednesday went great. Some seating changes I made finally paid off and the students were engaged. In 5th period ag 1, I got to experience a true teachable moment. My students were talking about the big announcement made by the boy scouts, and I realized they never heard of the changes to OD made by national FFA. We took half the class period and discussed the impact of these changes. The conversation was not political or religious, but rather focused around what it means to be a part of a national organisation that is open to everybody. Yes, we fell behind 8th period as far as content on the lesson plan, but I know my students still learned something that day.

8th Graders meeting our Angus bull calf, Ted

Thursday was 8th grade day at the high school. All students were in their homerooms working on iPad assignments all day, while Mr Brown, Mr Turner, select chapter officers, and myself got to show the program to every 8th grader in the district. Again, it was time away from my students in class, but I still got to see learning and fresh excitement in the 8th graders.

Friday, I finally got comfortable with our eBackpack system, and our grade book system. I am not able to be completely autonomous with all of my classes. Mr Brown, Mr Tuner, and myself also got had great conversations about where I am, where I want to go, and what we need to do to get me there. I know the two of them have differing views on some points such as how to do xyz or even teaching philosophy, but I am extremely grateful that I get to see both ways, that they are both supporting me, and they give me the room to be my own teacher. This next week we will focus on my ability to check for understanding, and I feel confident that I am moving forward.

In this next week, I may face the challenges I alluded to earlier. On Wednesday, I am ending careers and starting plant science with ag 1. Also, that day I will pick up a new class, starting Plumbing with ag 3. It is also my first week that I am in complete control over my own grades, attendance, student emails, etc. I am looking forward to these new challenges.

In review, some teachers taught curriculum this week, but I feel like I taught students. I may have missed 2 instructional days, and not progressed through curriculum as much as I wanted to. But lots of these things were out of my control and I did the best with the had I was dealt. At the end, I know I had a positive impact on students this week and I strengthened my philosophy on learning vs. content.  I know that my first 4 weeks may not have had the challenges others have faced, but I am thankful that I have been forced to take it slow, get comfortable, and learn. In my own way of learning vs content, I need to stop worrying about achieving my own made-up checkpoints, focus on learning everything I can, here and now. It doesn't mean anything is wrong if I still feel like I'm in the honeymoon stage. It means that I am Mr Repetz at Central Columbia, this is my story, and I am being prepared the best I can be for what lies ahead. Bring on week 5!!!

(Cue the credits rolling, with the guitar intro to Gary Allen's "Right Where I Need to Be" plays in the background)

Reflections Through 4-H

The content below started as a part of my 3rd weekly reflective blog. I decided that, since the content took it's own direction, that it would have the best impact in it's own post. All week I went back and forth with it, sometimes thinking about not publishing it. In the end I decided to, because it is a good record of my personal history and what shaped my teaching philosophy. While most posts are written for reflective purposes of those who are in my professional life, this post adds some depth and personal history to the blog. Enjoy!

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From the Early Years...

I ended the week by taking it back to where it all began: 4-H. I went back to State College for the State Leadership Conference. (Think ACES, all in one weekend) That conference has a special palace in my heart. As a member, state 4-H events were where I felt accepted, and at home.

...To State Council...

And to be honest, I got along so well with members from across the state that I felt popular, like one of the cool kids. It was just about the only time I felt that way in my high school years. It was my niche. Exactly the same way FFA is for  some students in my classroom and beyond.
I continued my journey in 4-H, and it led me to becoming State President for 2013/2014, where I got to help run the conference.

...To Alum Status...

The league of state 4-H officers is like a family. I often call it my state council family. Each year a few of us get to return to serve on the state staff for the conference. I have been given this opportunity each year since I retired from office, and this year was no different. Last year the conference was re-scheduled due to weather, and they asked me to fill in and teach the "How to lead an effective meeting" workshop. I got such positive reviews that they asked me to teach the same workshop this year.

...To Now!

I took everything I learned in ag ed an applied it to my workshop. A few of the teaching strategies I used were a Picasso E-Moment, gallery walk, KWL charts, and a think-pair-share. I purposefully shared these strategies with the members as ways to frame discussion and add variability to meetings. I also used them myself to assess their learning. Sneaky, right??

So why am I talking about all this 4-H stuff in a weekly refection of student teaching?

I want the record of my blog to show my history and experiences in the 4-H program. 4-H is undeniably what molded me in to the person I am today. 4-H was my niche growing up. It is where I first recognized the concept of youth development, and where I fell in love with it. It is where I first recognized my own growth, and what caused me to dedicate my life to facilitating this growth in others.

So why didn't Nate become a 4-H educator? After all I never had Ag in high school, but I was in 4-H. It comes down to two reasons. First, we can't deny that there is a night/day difference with job opportunities between ag ed and extension. Second and most importantly, teaching gives me the opportunity to work with youth 7 plus hours a day, 5 days a week. I prefer to be in the trenches with the students, seeing growth every day, as opposed to running a program based around volunteers. 4-H also gives me the opportunity to give back, using my ag ed knowledge/experience, as a volunteer, so it is basically the best of both worlds.

I am honored to have the opportunity to give back to the 4-H program, because not everyone has the opportunity or means to give back to past experiences, even true in the case of other 4-Hers. It means the world to me. My tagline is: I am obsessed with the process. What does that mean? That is how I describe seeing growth and development in students. I am so incredibly aware of how much 4-H State Council made me grow as a professional and human being, and I love being a part of that same growth in the new teams. As long as I am able, I will do everything I can to be a part of the process that is being a 4-H state officer, and 4-H member in general.

This week was one of old and new beginnings. I got to teach all week, take kids to CDEs for the first time, and I spent the weekend re-living and giving back to what led me to teaching in the first part. It may not seem like much, bur for me it's living the dream.

I can only think of one, beautiful way to sum up this blog: Just another week in the life of an Agricultural Educator.