Post SLLC week

Having my first experience at SLLC was very positive, it was nice to see the growth of the students at the end of the conference; Mr. Webreck and myself took 2 students with us, they were excited to attend the conference...and miss school! SLLC is easily one of the most serious conferences I have attended that was meant for high school students. Students were required to be up at around 6 a.m. every morning and did not go to bed until nearly midnight... I know that by the end of each day, there was not much time from the second my head hit my pillow, to the time that I was sleeping. One of my favorite parts of attending FFA conferences is networking and connecting with other Ag. teachers from Pennsylvania; hearing what each teacher is doing in their programs is both exciting and inspiring! 

During SLLC there was a community service day where there was over 1,700 hours of community service completed in 4 hours! Bellwood happened to be at 2nd oldest volunteer fire hall in the NATION! The fire department is the union fire hall which is located in Carlisle, PA. We scrubbed floors, washed the inside and outside of trucks, and even did a little "demolition" to their living room. I had a great time volunteering at the fire hall and learning about the historic fire hall! 

I got back to State College at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday and I can honestly say, I was happy to be back! I was not used to being up so late and being so mentally tired at the end of the day. I was ready for the routine of being back in the classroom and being with my students for the rest of the week! Starting your week on "hump day" is nice and all... but picking up the pieces from substitute teachers can be a lot of work! This has been a long 2 weeks for me since I am used to going home to Kane every weekend, but it was definitely a rewarding and memorable 2 weeks!

I have two Ag. mechanics classes that are welding right now, and we have been in the shop for a long time without much classroom time... so I decided it was time to give a quiz. I realized that it has been way too long without having them stay in the classroom because they were all mad at me about having a quiz... all in all, the students did fine on the quiz with a short refresher! 

What Needs Work: 

1. Time Management- Ill say it again, my time management still could use some work... I am getting better with flexing my time whenever I am actually teaching, but the planning end is still a little bit harder for me.

What Went Well:

1. Rapport- My students are respecting more and more as the days go on and there is a lot less students going to Mr. Webreck for assurance or to ask permission. At first, a lot of students did not necessarily trust my opinion in the shop, but they are starting to realize that I know what I am talking about...USUALLY. 

It is still amazing to me that we are well over our half-way point of student teaching... It is flying bye! I cannot wait to see what the rest of the experience has to offer! 

Until Next time,

Mike