Starting an SAE

My SAE Visit for a Student Just Starting

I was fortunate enough to experience starting an SAE with a freshman student. My student, his two parents, Mrs. Barzydlo and myself sat down one evening and officially started the SAE Record Books in TheAET.com for two projects. 

It was a unique experience because the student's parents were highly engaged and supportive in the process. They threw out many ideas for the student to choose from. They asked helpful questions like "What is an SAE?" "Why does he need an SAE?" in ways that were non-threatening, simply from a place of inquiry to better know their expectations to help their son. 

The Types of SAEs the Student Started:

The student decided to start two SAE books. 

1. Placement SAE - Stermer's Auction Service
2. Entrepreneurship SAE - Livingston Farm Grain Plot

The Placement SAE is a place that the student displayed auction items and handles livestock in exchange for an hourly wage. The student learns critical career skills including workplace expectations, communicating with bosses and customers, and other aspects of employment that he cannot learn from his family farm. Additionally, he learns about handling livestock and agricultural equipment. 

The Entrepreneurship SAE was developed when his father agreed to sell the student a plot for grain crops on the family farm in exchange for the labor it takes to successfully grow and harvest the crops. The student will become proficient in an area he struggles, crop production, opposed to animal science where he has experience with raising cattle. 

How do these SAEs contribute to the student's future?

The student has expressed interest in working for the family farm, in addition to other agricultural workplaces. These on farm and placement experiences will develop an agricultural professional network, career readiness skills, and a learning space to apply concepts of critical thinking and self-motivation for success. 

Week 9 Student Teaching

Having Live Animals in Class

Our Situation: 

At Dover Area High School we do not have availability to keep live animals in the class or ag program. During my time teaching two animal science courses I wanted to bring some live animals into the class to give it some realia. This required more planning than meets the eye.

Planning it out:

• Two months out I coordinated visiting timeframes for animals to come to class with the people who were bringing them.
• About two weeks out I set a definite day and "snow-date" incase weather hindered our plans
• One week out I confirmed administration approval to have guest speakers with animals in the classroom.
• Two days out I sent a school wide email out, warning other teachers that animals would be coming to the school in case students would get distracted looking out windows and potentially louder noise then usual.
• The day before the visit I coordinated parking, arrival time, sign in procedures, and what is expected of the visitor and my class's expectations.
• The day of the visit I coordinate with the main office the times of arrivals for the visitor as a reminder to keep everything running smoothly.

The Actual Visit:

Students love to get their hands on actual animals, but unfortunately some students can be spoil-sports for the class. A few complained about the cold when working with the horses outside and a few complained about the poop when working with the goat inside. Overall it was worth it for the rest of the class.

When they are visiting you must find an appropriate amount of "downtime" for the students to interact with the animal and get used to seeing, feeling, and smelling the animal. Then we begin asking questions. I did this in two ways - first, I had them write down questions as a bell ringer, second I allowed them to ask questions about things they saw on the psychical animal.

Questions for Readers:

How can I maximize live animals in the classroom? I was able to have two components to every visit, the students asked questions as a large group but also had an individual activity for handling the goats and horses. What other tasks can I have them do without taking away from the experience of meeting a horse or goat for the first time?

ACES - The first overnight trip, and what to change for the second

Reflecting on My Time at ACES to benefit the trip to SLLC

My first trip as an advisor:

Dover FFA took approximately 20 students to ACES in Harrisburg for a two day, one night conference. It was my sixth trip to the conference, but first in the capacity of an agriculture teacher. On Saturday afternoon we battled with the traffic of the high school wrestling tournament and fought out way out of Dover.

Getting students to the big group opening session was our goal, which we then "off-duty" for professional development while the students went through their workshops. Professional development gave great insight on analyzing your NOCTI scores. 

Then the role of facilitating room check in... this was more complicated than meets the eye. You didn't just given them their key and off they go. To prevent further headaches you gave them a checklist of things to accomplish before dinner, such as check for enough towels in the room and do all the keys work.

For dinner we got split up, this gave an awesome opportunity to make students break out of their comfort zones, as well as increases your network with ag teachers when asking for extra seats at their table. 

The dance offered time for the students to socialize, you to get to know their personality, and a teacher a second to sit and do work while closely monitoring your students. Additionally, the time of reflection offered not only an opportunity to inspire students, but a time to get them calm before sending them to bed. 

Thats the key, tired students = quiet students... kinda... as good ag teachers always do Mr. Bowen, Mrs. Barzydlo, and I served on the courtesy corp to get all the rooms to sleep and ensure no noise could be heard in the halls. This ensures students are where they should be and that the hotel staff doesn't have to chase noise complaints around. 

Finally, the morning of the conference we encouraged all students to attend the optional time of inspiration before breakfast. As well as participated in the community service event afterward. Then we drove home, decently exhausted for a relaxing Sunday!

Things for me to utilize at SLLC:

1. A thorough packing list - Making it not only clear what they need, but also what they CAN'T bring
2. Give them a room check in To-Do List, also the talk of no girls in guys rooms and vice versa
3. Preparation in creative way - I created a Goose Chase! A few tasks they can research ahead of time like finding your state senator or rep, but also tasks for during the conference like taking a selfie with a person from each region!
4. Preparing for tired students - packing granola bars in your purse to "pick them up"
5. Get a cup of coffee before starting courtesy corp - It may be a longer night than you wanted, but fun times with fellow ag teachers nontheless

Further Advice I missed?

Week 8 Student Teaching

Leveraging Student Rapport

You've Heard it a Million Times:

Having student rapport squashes classroom management issues, motivates students in your classroom because they want to succeed, and again displays for the student that you care for them. Now completing week 8, student rapport is pretty strong with some students. I want to share a story about one specific student which I have developed rapport with and how it unexpectedly helped me in the classroom.

The Student with the Nickname:

During my first week in Small Gas Engines, while I was learning names, one specific student told me a nickname (rather than his given name), later he confessed this is not his name on the roster and it was all a big joke, which is fine because that class does joke a lot. I now refer to this student as his given name AND his nickname (which is a mouthful to say) which he appreciates and finds humorous. 

This student got into trouble around week three, for a presentation in another ag class, that was done with others students in small gas engines. Bowen corrected the issue and addressed professionalism. Later, around week six, another presentation was due in the other ag class, and the small gas engines were discussing it. My nicknamed student stated "If you don't take that meme (which was inappropriate) out of there you can take my name off the project" to his friends. I noticed this and after class thanked him for standing his ground and displaying professionalism, which he was glad I noticed the improvement. 

Then, which this rapport that was built through humor in the classroom, professional recognition of successes, and constructive feedback, he did something that I did not expect.

Student Body Self Regulation:

While completing a task that had to be submitted with their groups, a student stood up and walked to a different group. This student is notorious for being off task, so I checked for a submission and didn't see one. I decided to say something to the student to get him back on task. The student responded with apparent rudeness that it was already completed. With Schoology lagging I final saw he did complete the task and was okay, I apologized for telling him to get back on task and let it go.

Meanwhile, my nicknamed student called the rude student out by saying "Dude, she just asked you a question you don't need to give attitude." 

In this instance, it was appropriate for him to call out another student and the issue wasn't severe. I appreciated the student's effort to regulate the room so that I didn't have to. It carries a different meaning when a peer calls a student out for not following the expectations of the classroom. 

This Leads to a Question:

Leveraging student rapport is great and has many benefits. Although I worry this will lead to students claiming I am picking favorites or the student "defending me" when others act up when they shouldn't intervene. How can I keep student rapport in check?

Week 7 Student Teaching

National FFA Week as an Advisor

This year I celebrated National FFA Week in my new capacity as an FFA Advisor and Student Teacher. Although the week was limited due to yet another snow storm I learned many things.

FFA Spirit Week

Having a spirit week is a great way to identify supporters and members of the FFA in your school. Dover had Blue Tuesday, Flannel Wednesday, Gold Thursday, and Official Dress Friday. On social media I noticed other chapters have an FFA Tee Shirt Day, Camo Day, or Agriculture Businesses and Supporters Day which participants wore logos of their favorites. 

Supporters Luncheon

Dover FFA hosted a faculty luncheon on Friday, where they enlisted the help of an OAC member to roast a pig, as well as frying catfish in the ag shop. FFA Members volunteered to bring in the other foods, and volunteered to cook, greet, and serve faculty during their lunch periods. 

This is a perfect way to reward people who support you year round as well as gain supporters by inviting them into your program. 

Recruitment Activities

Although the snow foiled our plans, we had the intent to visit all 6th graders in their science class and the officers would teach an agriculture lab in honor of FFA Week. By displaying agriculture as a science, the opportunities available in Ag and the FFA, and networking underclassmen to upperclassmen making joining agriculture classes and the FFA a lot less scary. 

Student Teaching Week 6

Wait, When did I last see my Students?

This week, I saw my students for a total of 8 hours... Monday and Tuesday they were out due to a snow day, Wednesday we had a 2 hour delay, and Thursday was a 3 hour early dismissal for inservice data collection, as well as having Friday off for in-service professional development. 

Current mood regarding snow days...

I need advice:

When I see my students next, how do I assess the forgetting curve? Where do I pick back up, or how much content should I re-cover?

I have been guilty of moving too fast, and here we are days out of class, and I fear my students are losing content at large rates while I get my feet under myself as a teacher!

My Thoughts/Plan:

Until I get your awesome feedback, I've developed a forgetting curve plan to aid in recovering information. We had covered Breed ID from the National FFA Vet Skills Handbook and Animal Terminology, because of this I feel a day dedicated to review is necessary. 

I doubt my students looked over their terminology or breed during their time off, and seeing that the knowledge hasn't been used at deeper levels of understanding yet, I feel it would have a higher likelihood of being forgotten. 

Therefore, review group games are in store for us on Monday to get a formative assessment of how much they have forgotten. IN addition to re-learning the material!

Visiting West Perry

Different Program, Same Positive Impact

On January 18th I visited Ms. Winkloski at West Perry High School. During my time at the high school I observed Mrs. Miller teach a class, Mr. Hines teach a class, and Ms. Winklosky teach two classes.

When I visited I noticed quite a few differences between Dover Area High School and West Perry High School. First, the student body had a different feel. They were mostly quite and attentive and they enjoyed the project based learning I observed in Mrs. Miller's Class.

Additionally, it was a Friday, on a two-hour delay for snow. This could have affected their energy level. But, this quietness was quickly put to rest in Mr. Hines' intro course were they were learning Parliamentary Procedure! THE STUDENTS LOVED IT! They were awarded a certain number of points for serving as the chair, the secretary, debates, motions, seconds, and so forth. Once they got to 80 points they were no longer able to earn points, except for point of order.

Finally, although Ms. Winklosky was just starting out I noticed her ability to quickly interact with her students and motivate them! The students wanted to work with her and learn what she had to say about SMAW.

Although My time was brief, I was grateful for the opportunity to compare the schools, student body, programs, and teachers to my own experience. It is wonderful to be able to identify the benefits and drawbacks of the schools and programs. I feel this experience has made me better prepared to select a school i would desire to work at.