Not everyone has a successful experiment (week 7)

As a teacher, there are going to be successes and there are going to be errors that can ruin a project. This week I had the worse experience with the embryology project. Everyone was excited for the eggs to hatch. They were all due on Wednesday. One chick hatched. He was a lone survivor in a sea of 23 other eggs.... And then he died within a matter of hours. The class and I had patiently waited over the next two days, but nothing happened.

Instead of just throwing the eggs out, I candled them Thursday night. There was nothing inside them. Some had begun to grow, but they died within the first two weeks of incubation. So I had all these incubated eggs and no chicks. As part of the learning experience, I wanted them to candle and crack the eggs. Two of the 10 eggs they cracked were in the beginning stages of incubation. They died within the first two weeks. The kids got to see the half grown embryo. It was a great learning experience.

This week I learned to take a failed experience and turned it around to be a great learning experience. The kids learned more from this than they could have if all the chicks had hatched.

Mohawk was chosen by a local farmer to obtain a $2,500 grant through Monsanto. The students spent some time after school meeting with the local farmer and Monsanto representative. With this grant, they are going to buy some Ipad minis. These Ipads will allow students to use apps and the internet to look up technical manuals and other materials for shop classes.

Some other things we had done this week was attend meet your state officer night at Hoss's. We also took the square dance team to Challenges to entertain and teach square dancing to elderly people. Stay tuned for next week were we begin planting in the greenhouse and our trip to SLLC!

Until next week,
Ms. Yoest

My first 2 day week! (Week 6)

This past week was nothing extravagant or troubling. It started out with our first large snow storm. A little bit of ice covered by 9 inches of snow caused our first snow day! I spent the day preparing lesson plans and grading papers. It was a good extra break before heading back into the classroom. So my week started on Wednesday. Here are some snapshots from my very short week.

Just a glimpse of our snow

• This snow day taught me to be flexible. I needed to rearrange all my classes, especially an exam, to accommodate this news. Flexibility is important in any teaching job. This week I had to make some hard decisions to push a test back two days. Not only did the snow day make me flexible, but student work pace has too as well. All students work at a different pace. 

The musical stage coming together

• It's time to be a big girl and begin thinking about where I want to teach agriculture. On Friday, I met up with the rest of my cohort to attend job prep boot camp. I realize how important it has been to keep up with my resume and cover letter over the years. It had made for minor changes this year. Even when your in high school, it is important to have a resume. It would be a great starting point to prepare them for a job. With this information, I want to incorporate resume writing for my seniors. 

Preparing for the big basketball tournament

This week was a short one. I had only 2 days in the classroom, so there isn't much to discuss or reflect on. Friday was a great professional development day to reflect on the previous weeks of student teaching and prepare for future interviews. 

This week will be an exciting week, so look out for social media posts about our incubation project!

Until next week, 

Ms. Yoest

Wait... What are we doing? (Week 5)

So week 5 has come and gone. You know that thing called the "honeymoon phase"? Yea, its over. This was by far my hardest week yet. I picked up my 4th class about a week ago. I was an electrical class. I though to myself, how hard can it really be? This week I learned that patients is a virtue.


As the week went on, the students started to show their true colors. They had their phones out constantly, never paid attention, and I had the same question asked to me at least 4 times during the lesson.

"So what do we have to do?"

Demonstration team doing what they do best

I knew my lecture and directions were pretty clear, because the one half of the room started to work right away. The other half didn't pay attention at all! I got the same question from the same students each day. I was constantly repeating myself. As I sit back and think about those days, I wonder if things could have gone better if I had a listening signal or have just said it once. This article is from Edutopia has some cool ideas to get students to listen. Instead of repeating myself to produce "Lazy Listeners," I am going to try hand signals to gain attention. This is all part of trying to create a classroom environment that suites the students. Every class is different. 

This week also had some amazing points. I got the opportunity to attend the Rotary meeting with Mr. Wallace and the 1st place Demonstration team. The students displayed their skills with a run through of their winning speech. On Friday, I got to join the Ag and Tech departments on a professional development field trip. We visited the Western Pennsylvania Laborer's Training Center. We were able to get an insight on their facilities and how their training works. We also got the opportunity to learn about Lindy Paving and a virtual training program that will allow for students to get an idea on highway construction work. Both of these working areas are in need of young people to join their crews. With this insight, we are able to present to the students these opportunities waiting for them outside of school. 

Until next week,

Ms. Yoest

Ag Teachers Do What?! (Week 4)

All my nights during the end of week 3 and week 4 were spent for students! It is crazy how much effort teachers put in after school hours. Over the past two weeks, I have been trying to plan for the embryology project in the ag business management course. This is how the activities went down.

Preparing for incubation!

Lows: I ordered 2 dozen eggs through a website and set for them to be delivered the week of the 18th (in January). I patiently waited for those eggs to arrive. The following week, I had still not received any information on where my eggs were at. After numerous phone calls and trips to the post office, the eggs had arrived the following Wednesday. It took me two days to figure out which post office the eggs had arrived to. 

Highs: When we began the incubation process, the students were ecstatic! They couldn't wait to see the life cycle these chickens will go through. I have had so many volunteers want to take the eggs home already. Those students had the look of joy on their face. I don't even have to pull teeth to get volunteers to turn the eggs each day. 

All in the course of two weeks, I have caught a glimpse of what ag teachers do for their students. And this was just one class out of the 5 I will be teaching! Students don't see that effort that teachers put in after school, but it is all worth it to see that look on their faces.

Until next week, 

Ms. Yoest