Week Six & A Donkey Basketball Fix

FFA Team 1 was nothing
but net!

 Wintery weather can surely get the best of us. It only took a little bit of snow and ice to quickly turn week six into a very short, two-day week. Jam-packed full with re-adjusting students from a long President's Day and snow-day weekend, long days for Parent-Teacher conferences, banquet preparations, muddy hands after some soils labs and of course, the ever-popular event Donkey Basketball, week six did not disappoint.

High: Friday was a day out of the "office" for Ms. Herr as I made my way to State College for a mini-reunion with #psuaged16. I'm thankful for a program design that values and actively prepares professional development for my peers and I. Not only did we get to spend some quality time problem solving as a cohort, we revisited the importance of ensuring rigor in our course content and that we're teaching within appropriate realms of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. I want to ensure that my students are most certainly not anxious and frustrated or bored and unengaged with their learning, yet they are being challenged right at the "sweet spot."

Low: Since I would be out for the day to attend our seminar in State College, I busily prepared sub plans for the day. In preparation to do so, I faced the reoccurring frustration of this experience in a weak point in our teacher preparation process. We have a jam packed four years at Penn State, each credit slot filled with just enough technical agriculture, general science and methods courses. The hard part is that all of that good stuff leaves little room for the equally important preparation in the area of diverse learners. It is on almost a weekly basis in which I face the frustration of feeling as if I cannot serve my learners who have varying needs of lesson adaptions and accommodations because I lack the ability to translate the SDI's (Specially Designed Instruction) spelled out on a students IEP. Don't get me wrong, I think that much of these skills have to be acquired through the learning process during the student teaching internship. But I am legally required to provide these services for my students and can't to the best of my ability because of the current course work in the area presents such a strong focus on English Language Learners (ELL) and little on the "average" learning with diverse needs and abilities. Granted, I am working alongside good coaches but would argue a strong need for increased preparation in this area for future cohorts.

Almost 500 people filled the stands for Donkey
Basketball!

Tip: By the advice of my cooperating teacher, my challenge for the upcoming weeks and an encouragement to you, #psuaged16 as well, when you state your objectives for the day, are you explaining the purpose behind it? Am I effectively communicating a "Career Connection" or "Agriculture Application?!" I'd imagine it surely leads to increased student engagement, stay tuned! I'm working on ways to display this "purpose statement" on my classroom board.

Simply put, there's no reason to discount a two-day week versus a five-day week. Both come full of new and exciting observations and adventures. I'm 

Simply put, the refining continues! Here's to the half-way point of this adventure! It doesn't even seem possible, time flies when you're having fun and teaching kiddos!

Until Next Week, K. Janae