Motivated {Teach} on the Block #thirdweek

"We are doing what with trash?"

Where does the time go? It has been three weeks at W.B. Saul and it has gone by quicker than I can even comprehend. With the crazy week of snowfall (thank you Snowstorm Jonas), activities that I wanted to implement in my classroom, and the reflections that happened after each of my lessons, this week was a whirlwind.

Let's talk about week three, shall we?

Pros: Being flexible in the classroom is a trait that I had to be best friends with this week. After the students all came back to school on Wednesday because of the snow, we had a lot to cover to catch up where I hoped we would be at the end of the week. That being said, we are no where close to where I want to be right at this moment. As crazy as this is for me to say this, I am glad!

"Trash Talk" about what the students saw around the school.

This week I have included more hands on activities than I thought would be possible. You want to know what some cool things we did?

- We were talking about waste management and the importance of recycling. What better way to survey a place than digging in some dumpsters and writing what you see? Yes my Ag Ed friends, my students were digging through some dumpsters and thinking of ways to improve the school.

- After noticing the amount of recyclable products that the students were throwing away, I wanted to show the students that although it is going to the recyclable plant, it still can have a purpose! I had my students demonstrate that even though it is in the recycle bin we can reuse what is thrown out for good! So,  we did the classic Egg Drop where the students had to protect the egg with O

NLY recycled goods.

Recycled Egg Drop Creations

- Watching the motivation that these students had for recycled goods, I wanted to channel that energy into something positive. Hence the creation of the letter and poster project. This Friday I challenged my students to write to an organization or person about helping fund a project to help the school. What's cool about it, is that the ideas that they had were incredibly unique because of the area where these students come from.

I have been inspired by their efforts and find it motivating that these students want to see a difference in their community and they are proud of their school.

Cons: Yes, these activities were great and I was so motivated to think outside of the box and get these students out of their seats. However, there were some things that I would have liked to change. I believe that although the games were fun and exciting, my time management and my directions seemed off leaving some students confused about what the project was going to be. Once I explained to them one on one, they seemed to understand and get "self-motivated" for what they were doing.

"WE Can Do It" here at Saul!

Overall thought of the week: A friend in my cohort said it well, "This student teaching experience is humbling and has made me realize my flaws." These were my exact thoughts of my week. Although I am creative and passionate about teaching, I have to realize that I have to admit that I messed up with a direction set or admit to myself, yeah that lesson was a complete flop.  But it has only made me stronger in realizing that I WANT  to be here and I WANT to see my students fuel that spark of why they liked environmental science in the first place.

So, here's to next week and the challenges that you are going to throw at me. I am ready, and I will win.

Mean {Teach} on the Block #secondweek

Do we seriously have to sit there?

Second week down, thirteen more to go. This week has pushed me out of my comfort zone as a teacher, student, and as a person. I have been learning more about myself as each of the day’s pass on and I am so glad that this internship is allowing me to have this opportunity to do so.

So without further ado, let’s break down week two!

Students at Morris Arboretum!

Pros: Walter Biddle Saul High School has a diverse set of experiences set up for their diverse learners. After this week, they have shown me that they truly care about their students and are doing their best to prepare them for career success. In what ways are they doing this you may ask?

-          My 12^th grade Agroecology class takes a field trip every month to Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia to learn about urban environmental science.

-           The NRCS sent representatives to work one on one with some lucky 12^th graders by reviewing their resumes and telling them about some AWESOME careers that they can do in the future.

-          My 10^th grade Animal Science class was able to make dog treats and test their treats out with some lucky canine friends.

-          The school held a Food Science Dance on Friday to show off some of their student’s hard work in organizing an event, creating the food (which included a blender that could only be operated by riding a bike), and yes there was even a student DJ that spun some great tunes for the students.

-          I was able to work one on one with a parent who needed help to get a scholarship for her daughter to go to college next year and be the first person in her family to get an education outside of high school.

Talk about an amazing event filled week!

Six 12th graders in an NRCS workshop!

Cons: Although all the events listed above were great for the students and the staff, there were some cons for this week. If you read my blog last week, I was worried about my classroom management style and what it would be like for the first time teaching in front of my seniors. Well, it was an interesting experience for the books. For the first day that I started teaching, I had everything ready. There were name tags for the students so that they knew where to sit, there were the rules on the board, and there was even a little bit of candy because it was the first day. Well my friends, the students were less than pleased about the seating chart. The looks on their faces about how I betrayed them honestly made me laugh about how worked up they were getting about the littlest of things…. a seating chart. So, instead of letting it get to me, I started my lesson and made it to Friday.

Overall thought of my week: Don’t let a seating chart get you upset. It was funny to think back and remember that I used to be in high school once as well and I would have also been peeved if I had to be moved from my best friend in the entire world. But folks, here is the thing I had to remember. Life goes on, my lesson needed to go on, and if the worst thing that happened to me this week was a seating chart, then I was doing pretty darn good for myself.

This semester is going to be a hard learning journey but I know that I can do it because of the passion I have for teaching and the desire I have to help all of my students succeed. I cannot wait to see what happens next week at WB Saul!

What’s Science got to do, got to do with it? #psuaged16

I have an extreme love for science and hands on activities. Being able to apply what you have learned from a classroom setting is truly awesome connecting all of the dots together. Classroom to connection to chemistry though really threw me for a whorl! Although I appreciate all of the sciences, Chemistry was never my strong suit. However, being in Mr. Foley’s 11^th grade Chemistry class opened my eyes to what could have been better whenever I was in the seats of those students.

For my Penn State curriculum, I have to complete an assignment which makes me observe another science oriented classroom. Not only would this be a learning observation from different teaching standpoints, but also see how students interact in a different learning environment outside of the agriculture classroom.

So Chemistry. What a whirl wind. I can still hear my old high school teacher making punny jokes like, “Chem IS try so don’t give up!” However, Mr. Foley’s class was different. He was a fantastic teacher to watch because he let the students ask questions, come to conclusions, and work things out on their own instead of spoon feeding them the answers. On top of that, he made Chemistry interesting by having the students create models that he proudly hung up all over his classroom.

When examining his schedule and classroom management techniques, it was interesting to see that he relied on the same kind of teaching styles I do! Starting each of his class periods, he has a Bellwork, a review about what happened the previous day, some sort of lecture, and then a hands on activity to connect the dots. Although his schedule was mastered through many years of teaching in practice, it is nice to see that I am on the right road of following in his footsteps on becoming that “Master Teacher.”

Overall, this was an experience! It’s nice that with a student teaching internship like this one, my coursework includes me talking with teachers outside of the agriculture department and truly getting to know the school around me! In conclusion, science has a lot to do with it!

New {Teach} on the Block #firstweek

Who is that at the front of the room again?

10th Grade Animal Science making dog and cat treats!

This week was like being the new kid at school and having a lot of attention on who I was and what in the world I was doing at the school. The funny stares and the whispers that I could hear in the back of the class of "who is that?" or "what was her name again?," made me laugh and remember what it was like for me when I moved to a different school. It was  going back into my childhood and you know what, sure enough I felt like a kid again this week!

I have the privilege to work with two Walter Biddle Saul High School teachers who have made my transition to Philadelphia easier than ever. Their constant tips, sharing of lesson plans, and of course their same love of Dunkin' Donuts coffee has made this new place feel like home.

Every week, I will be documenting my thoughts and reflections about my student teaching internship that I am completing. Fair warning to readers, I expect that there will be pros and cons of this process, but I am excited to share with all of you the journey that will be happening over this next semester!

So, let's break down week one <<<<<< Scary how fast this goes!

The Philadelphia Notebook taking pictures of our students.

Pros: I played the role of interviewer and personally got to know ALL of my 12th graders in my Environmental Science class. 30 students, one student teacher, and 8 questions, stood between me and the awkward silence that I was receiving from them. Boy, was this fun! My students all have unique and interesting personalities that as the interviews went on, I was getting more and more excited as I kept talking with them. I seriously have some awesome kiddos.

Another pro that happened, W.B. Saul is pretty famous! I was able to interact with the Philadelphia Notebook as they interviewed some of my students about the greenhouses, gardens, and "Farm to Cafeteria" program that Saul currently has. Look out world, W.B. Saul is doing awesome things!  

Cons: My classroom management is going to be tested this semester BUT I believe that I am ready. Do you remember in high school when the infamous "senioritis" kicked in and you were so excited to graduate and go to college? Well my friends, my seniors are there. Although I don't feel that I had an issue with them one on one, the group setting of me teaching will be a great experience to build up my confidence and teach these kids a lesson or two!

Overall thought of the week: "Education is what you get from reading the fine print. Experience is what you get from not reading it."

I believe that Penn State has prepared me to the best of their abilities to get me to where I am today. I believe that right now, I need to take a step back, breathe, be confident, and do what I came here to do: TEACH!

As I prepare for this next week, I am thankful for my students and teachers that are ready to make mistakes with me through this process and of course Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Until next week Ag Ed Fam.

First Day of Student Teaching! #backtoschool #psuaged16

"Ms. Murphy-Sweet, what time do we have to be back on the bus? Ms.?"

Taking a quick step back I realized that they were talking to me. Not as a chaperone, not as a random person sitting on school bus with them, but as their teacher on my very first school field trip on my very first day as a student teacher. This was pretty intense for a first day!

This year, the Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was celebrating it's 100th year as the largest indoor farm show event in the nation. On Monday morning, 50 some students from Walter Biddle Saul high school loaded up on two school buses to travel down to Harrisburg to see the event. Now, this was my 10th year attending the Farm Show but this time, I was traveling as a teacher, not as a tourist at the Farm Show.

As soon we arrived, the students had 3 hours to walk around and tour the farm show. Due to the fact that our students rely on city buses to take them home, we could not attend Midwinter Convention to make sure that we arrived back at Saul on time. Although we could not attend the session, I was actually able to walk around with some students and explain to them what the Midwinter Convention was and why it was so important for some students in their school that were receiving their Keystone Degrees. After showing them to Large Arena with all the jackets, their eyes lit up as they realized "FFA is pretty cool" kind of expressions on their faces.

Overall, the day was awesome. I was able to connect with students with one on one conversations and also connect their urban agriculture setting from Philadelphia to viewing a state wide agriculture program at Harrisburg. I look forward to helping students achieve proficiency awards and starting SAE projects that will help them walk across the stage next year to receive their Keystone Degrees as well.

Final Presentation: That's a wrap folks! #studentteachinghereicome

That's a wrap! I completed my final presentation and am ready to go student teach in the Spring semester at Walter Biddle Saul High School in Philadelphia. This Fall semester flew by but now it is time to see how all the training pays off in while I am student teaching.

To officially begin student teaching the 2016 cohort had to compete and give a 30 minute final presentation about their experiences, the classes that they would be soon be teaching, and a little snippet about their teaching philosophy. To highlight what I did for my presentation, I wanted to share with all of you the video that was created during it!

*I apologize to my blog readers that this video is shared in dual screen. It will be fixed when I have access to another computer that can crop the video since mine cannot. Thank you!*