Week 14 Student Teaching

Week 14 ...... I can't believe I just finished my 14th week of student teaching and now I am planning and getting ready to complete my very last week of student teaching.  I am full of excitement to be dome and move on to the next part of my journey but I also am saddened that I have leave.  I feel like just yesterday I was teaching my first class and now I have blinked and am right in front of the finish line; this is crazy!  Even though I have been at this for 14 weeks, I am far from an expert in anything yet and this last week was still packed full of learning moments.

We picked one of the windiest days of the spring to do Adopt-A-Highway 

Maple Syrup!
My Ag Foundations class started this project way back at the beginning of the plant science unit and this week we finally were able to see it come full circle.  I had never even tapped a tree before student teaching let alone boil the sap to make syrup but now I can say I have done it all!  We ended up having to pull our taps a few weeks ago simply because our trees were giving so much sap that we ran out of containers to store it all in.  We ended up with around 65 gallons of sap when we pulled our last tap, which is more than Mrs. Fry has had so far! 

One bucket down, many more to go! 

We started our boiling process on Monday and finally on Friday we finished up the process and ended up with a little over a gallon of syrup.  The students were part of the process the whole time.  They singed up in shifts to come down and stir the sap and keep an eye on it.  They also strained the sap before we boiled it just in case we had any bark pieces in the sap.  Each day they would come in  and ask if we had syrup yet right after they commented on how the shopped smelled of this odd sweet smell.  Now after all those weeks of collecting and all those hours of boiling, they will finally get to taste the syrup!  This was a learning experience for both students and Miss. Fisher.  I can't wait to try this out in my own classroom someday!

All that boiling gave the students a great maple syrup facial. 

Sparks Fly!
I have finally started to teach welding!  This was the unit I was the most excited and afraid to teach all at the same time.  I have not welded much prior to student teaching so I knew that I wasn't the best welder but I love to weld.  After the first day I learned how to strike an arc, I have been hooked!  This is why I was so excited to teach it to my freshman class.  I remembered being in their exact shoes, nervous that I would do something wrong but extremely excited once I ran that first, ugly bead across the steel.  However, I was still slightly afraid simply because I had never taught anyone to weld before.  I was afraid that I wouldn't explain it right, or that I would forget to tell them something important and finally that I wouldn't be able to help them since I had only done it a few times before.

Best way to practice welding is by welding; let's burn some rod!  

Turns out I didn't need to worry about any of that.  I made sure to make myself a list of steps and notes that I had to go over and broke the process down into several small steps at a time.  I was able to talk them through the process just fine and not only were they all able to strike and arc but it looks like most of them are going to have some really nice beads to turn in at the end.  We will continue to welding this upcoming week as well as learn how to set up and shut down the oxy-acetylene tanks.  I was terrified in the beginning of this all when I found out I had to teach shop classes since I never had them in high school but now I know that I LOVE teaching Ag Mechanics and shop classes!

Disclaimer: Helmets were worn at all times during photo shoot!  No student teachers were harmed in the capturing of these photos :) 

This week is going to be the hardest week of student teaching hands down because with every passing day, I will know that it is ending.  I know that I have to move on and find my perfect fit but I am dreading Friday afternoon when I have to leave them all; the students, the staff, and my cooperating teachers.  I am going to take in every second of this week, laugh the hardest, and when it's all done cry the hardest!  Here's to you Selinsgrove Ag Department, let's make my last week the best one yet!!