Hey Ms. Hacksaw.....Weekly Reflections

"Hey Ms. Hacksaw" it will NEVER get old.  I demonstrated how to use the hacksaw in class last week and some of the boys in Intro to Ag Mech thought it was pretty funny that Ms. Hack decided to use demonstrate the Hacksaw- so every 6th period I walk in and hear 'Hey Ms. Hacksaw'.  It makes me laugh every time. It comes at the perfect time, because the class I teach right before tends to be a little bit chaotic.  There are moments like these that make you laugh and there are other moments that remind you that sometimes this is hard and sometimes you have to 'suck it up princess' and keep going.  This week taught me how difficult discipline is, the importance and difficulty of learning content while teaching content and then the little wins that push you to grow even more!

Discipline is difficult.
A few weeks ago someone told me that there just might be a class during student teaching or even later, that just won't click.   I have one class that is extremely challenging, but makes me want to keep trying to build that rapport.  It is challenging not only for me academically, but it I have continued to have discipline and rapport challenges.  This has forced me to look back through the student handbook, try new seating arrangements and finally ask Mr. Masser- what do I do next?  It was a little better at the end of the week- but there are always little spots to improve.  As I reflect on it, I am reminded how important consistency is and that sometimes even though discipline is not always fun, it has to be done- because just like in a work place we wouldn't be able to conduct ourselves in specific manner we cannot in the classroom either.

The Little Wins.

If you would have asked me two months ago if Small Gas Engines would have been my favorites or my strengths, I would have said 'absolutely not'.  But it is growing on me, and I really like it.  It challenges me daily and requires extra time as I continue to learn the intricacies of the content myself, but I really do like it.  This past week I was preparing all week to get the students into the shop for disassembly.   Thus far it has worked out well!  Our disassembly sheet isn't perfect and I will need to continue to change it, but this class and these 6 gentlemen are making me a better teacher and manager of the agricultural mechanics lab. This is one of those little wins that I will continue to build upon.

Gems of the Week:

• I feel like my wrap up/conclusions at the end of lessons was better this week! 
• Management in the shop setting!
• We did a unique mini starch lab activity, that had a little hiccups (paper cups are a plant material- hence a starch) but we used them as learning moments!

Opps of the Week:

• Continued classroom management and discipline strategies 
• Variability is something I do well in many classes, but this sometimes increases disruption and takes time to transition, I need to work on some strategies for this
• Content. Content. Content. 

Starch Lab

Who doesn't love these little guys?