Britton's Blueprint

This past week was a huge challenge for me. I don't usually get sick, and if I do get sick I NEVER have to take time off of school. Well, I did get sick and it was bad enough I had to take two days off school to be able to focus on me, to be able to get better. I felt bad about doing this to my students, I left them high and dry I felt because I wasn't able to be there for them. I now feel as though I am behind, just because I did miss two days of school. I know that they still gained a lot of material when I was out. It just isn't the same as it would have been if I would have been there. When I was no longer contagious I did come back to school (not my best decision). Let me just say that I think I coughed for 90% of the time, I also ran out of water at the end of each period. I was NOT my best self for me or for my students. I learned my lesson, wait until you can go at least 20 minutes without coughing uncontrollably. My students would look at me, and ask "Ms. ...

Last week at school was crazy, we didn't have school on Friday, and We don't have school on Monday. That makes this weekend a long four day weekend. So a lot of students were asking me what I would be doing for these four days. My response was simple, because I already had my plans. My fiance Kevin and I would be traveling to Louisville Kentucky for the National Farm Machinery Show. I am sure some of you are rolling your eyes because "how is that fun" or "that's a long drive to just see some tractors". Let me tell you, it isn't about looking at tractors, its about being a life longer learner. When I was asked about my plans I would explain them, and then talk about being a life long learner. Students would then look at me as if I had 43 heads. When working in an industry that is constantly upgrading and changing you must be adaptive and always be willing to learn and make changes. Yes I drove 446.1 miles to continue learning about a field of study ...

I have seen something over this past week, some students when they see work they don't want to do it. This includes taking notes, taking notes is super important especially for those that want to move to higher education. I noticed this was a problem, so I made a learning experience of it. I had a conversation with my students, why is not taking important. I told them about the studies that show that taking notes helps to remember the material, it helps to be able to have a better understanding of the material.  The point is that at the first week of the ACES conference, setting sail and believing in your self was a huge theme. It was amazing to see how the state officers really made this theme come to life. I think that it is important for young FFA members to see these strong members being themselves, and really setting sail to their dreams.  The thing is, in order to set sail to be where you want to be, you need to be able to put in the work. It might starts with thi...

While observing one of the classes, Mr. Honeycutt was talking about the age limit of being an FFA member. He had told his students that it was two national conventions after graduation of high school. I didn't agree with him, because I have always heard that it was four years. I was showing cattle four years after graduation. I was too scared to say something, so lucky for me there was an FFA manual sitting right next to me, so I thought why not look it up? He noticed me reading the manual and made attention to me, asking what I was looking for.  This week has been great. I have totally fallen in love with teaching. I couldn't imagine myself in any other career. I have noticed something though. In each class that I have taught there has been some arguments, maybe not even that. Maybe we could call it disagreeableness.  I didn't want to tell him at first, just because I am the student teacher, I am still learning. I am supposed to follow his lead. I felt like I don...

This week I was teaching three classes of really amazing students. I had my two classes of introduction to agriculture and I have added a large animal science class. I have realized that teaching two classes that are the same subject can be really tricky. It all really depends on the students in the class, I realized that in the first section I don't get as far in the second section. At first it was stressing me out that I wouldn't get as far in the first section as I would the second. Then I realized that the first section seems to be asking more questions, really awesome good questions. The second section seems to be a little bit more shy ( I am working on that). The state FFA officers came in, and I am super proud of the way my students responded and participated with the officers. They did whatever was asked of them, and I think they were able to learn a lot too. I loved to see my shy group of intro students really get into the activities that were going on around them....

As it is my first full week teaching the students here at Northwestern High School, I can say that it has flown by. The students that I have been teaching in the agriscience applications classes, they are so hard working and very flexible with my different teaching methods. With being a new teacher, I float around to different teaching methods and today we tired something a little different. This past week we were learning beef and dairy breeds, so what better way to to review then to play "can the farmer find his cow" so on note cards, I had farms looking for a specific breed of cattle, and I had cow cards that named their breed. The farmer had to go around the room and talk to their peers to find the breed of cow that matched his characteristics. The students really seemed to like this game, they got really involved in it. This past week has been really amazing, I am super excited to be a teacher. I really love to be an encouragement in the classes. This past week ...

While at farm show I got to watch and support some Albion FFA members obtain their fist jacket, and other members receive the highest degree in the state! It is amazing to be able to support students achievements from all of their hard work.  As I look back to reflect on my three days with Albion FFA, I have multiple feelings. Nervous, I am extremely nervous. I keep thinking about the "what if's" that come along with student teaching. "what if they don't like me?" "What if they don't like what I am teaching?" We attended the Pennsylvania Farm show, and Guess what! We had two students that got first place in their division with an agri- science fair project! They now have the opportunity to attend nationals and compete at that level! I am really excited to have some really awesome students that are willing to work hard to achieve success. After farm show I was able to come back to Northwestern and sit in on a days worth of Mr. Hon...