As I reflect on this past week of teaching I am going to
focus on the question, how can I be better?
This week I think that I have certainly improved from my
teaching style from the former weeks, however I feel like I am only half way up
the mountain. I need to keep
climbing. Within the past few days I
have been more truthful to myself by acknowledging the areas I need help and
reaching out to my collegiate professors and of course relying on Mrs. Bier's
advice. Their opinions and advice does a
great job of providing me direction and helping me to comprehend what I can do
to enhance my performance.
(Photo of a student stacking TP rolls to create the height of a tree to then calculate board feet.)
- Fun interest approach! -
One of my biggest realizations from this week resulted from
a conversation from a dear friend. He
shared with me that games and activities are fun in the classroom but they are
not truly preparing students for college.
He said that one of his best teachers in high school greeted the
students on the first day and said that "This class is like a college
class, you will come in, take notes and prepare for the exam." and that is
what they did. This friend directed me
that I should be helping to prepare students for college and to help them learn
how to behave when they sit through a meeting.
Another valid point was that school systems seem to spend too much time
caring about who goes to the bathroom and what clothes people are wearing
instead of truly focusing on the lecture content.
As my friend regaled me with his opinions, I became unhappy
because I realized that his thoughts are true, and I was striving to teach in a
fun creative way. I confided in my
cooperating teacher the debate that I was having and her advice was to do
both. She said that "yes" I do
need to provide a period of lecture and notes - it's not fun but it is
important and will help with transitioning out of high school. However, she also said that I can do fun
activities but just do them after pushing through the notes.
(At the PA Record Book Judging Contest)
It was great to learn about record books but even more important to learn advice and opinions from agriculture educators across the commonwealth!
One of my goals to be a better educator is to still help
learning to be fun by sharing stories that will help with the connection in my
lecture and then introducing a fun activity or shop time. I want to do my best
to help students fully grasp academic concepts, but at the same time I want
them to learn to think for themselves because that will be the most beneficial
for them in the long haul.
In conclusion, I discovered a lot about myself and I am
preparing to take on the entire course load starting Monday! As I do this I have to keep in mind finding
balance and time to push through everything.
I fully believe that I will make it to the top of the mountain!
(Picture of me climbing a mountain in Hell's Gate in Kenya during summer of 2013)
