It's Encouraged to Share Notes
Before this pandemic began, I was supposed to visit Jess Barnhart at Brockway High School at the end of March. One day I was going to visit her and the next day she was going to visit me. Penn State makes the student teachers go and visit other schools to see what other student teachers are doing and to see other programs. This is actually a great idea because of how diverse Ag Ed really is. Every program in the state is different from the program size, to the FFA chapter, SAE's, and even the facilities and classes offered. Visiting other schools and teachers helps to see how other things are done and can spark ideas so that you can take those ideas back to your school. Sometimes even adding to your list of "The Dream Program".
Last year, when I was looking for cooperating schools to complete my student teaching, I actually toured Brockway High School. Brockway has a really cool program with Mr. Holt and Mr. Norm. This two teacher program is definitely a little different than your typical two teacher program but it's a good different. Actually, a great different.
Since COVID-19 ruins everything, I was not able to visit Jess and Brockway again. Instead, I had to have a Zoom Meeting with Jess to compare and contrast Brockway and CASH. Since Jess and I are great friends, we knew a lot of the answers to the questions that we were asking each other. But we still asked those questions because it leads to other talking points. I actually learned a lot about their program and how Ms. B teaches. We talked a lot about note-taking and about her process towards growing their SAE Program.
The coolest thing we talked about is the class schedule. I still think it's amazing how Brockway teaches Ag. Having a 42-minute lecture and then a 42-minute lab. I think I like this concept a lot. It gives diversity within the classes and allows you to cover more topics with all of your students. This definitely gave me ideas for future classes and in my future classroom. But this could only work with a two teacher program.
This is why it's good to share notes! With every school being so different across the state, you can learn new things and see new ways of doing this. I might not have been able to see Jess teach in person. But from our Zoom call, I can tell how invested she was in her cooperating center and with her students. Actually, as I talk to other student teachers, we all are! We all miss our kids but now is the time to find your teacher friends like Jess! Share your resources and experiences!
Last year, when I was looking for cooperating schools to complete my student teaching, I actually toured Brockway High School. Brockway has a really cool program with Mr. Holt and Mr. Norm. This two teacher program is definitely a little different than your typical two teacher program but it's a good different. Actually, a great different.
Since COVID-19 ruins everything, I was not able to visit Jess and Brockway again. Instead, I had to have a Zoom Meeting with Jess to compare and contrast Brockway and CASH. Since Jess and I are great friends, we knew a lot of the answers to the questions that we were asking each other. But we still asked those questions because it leads to other talking points. I actually learned a lot about their program and how Ms. B teaches. We talked a lot about note-taking and about her process towards growing their SAE Program.
The coolest thing we talked about is the class schedule. I still think it's amazing how Brockway teaches Ag. Having a 42-minute lecture and then a 42-minute lab. I think I like this concept a lot. It gives diversity within the classes and allows you to cover more topics with all of your students. This definitely gave me ideas for future classes and in my future classroom. But this could only work with a two teacher program.
This is why it's good to share notes! With every school being so different across the state, you can learn new things and see new ways of doing this. I might not have been able to see Jess teach in person. But from our Zoom call, I can tell how invested she was in her cooperating center and with her students. Actually, as I talk to other student teachers, we all are! We all miss our kids but now is the time to find your teacher friends like Jess! Share your resources and experiences!
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