An Adventure Coming to a close!

 I seriously cannot believe it.....Student teaching is coming to a close! You never believe someone when they say this experience flies by, but it really is true! My 15 weeks at Cedar Crest High School is very quickly coming to an end. It is causing a whole bunch of emotions as I am closing one chapter in life and opening another. Although I am sad to be leaving Cedar Crest High School and all of these amazing students, I can't help but think that I will be in my own classroom before I know it! 

There are many different things that I am going to take with me from my time here at Cedar Crest. Number 1, is the importance of building relationships with students. This is something that is very important to my Cooperating Teacher! It was something that I thought of before stepping in here, but I think after these 15 weeks, I think I will focus more on it, in my own classroom. I have realized it has helped me to feel more relaxed in the classroom as I can see the students at a different level. 

One thing that I have realized at Cedar Crest, is that there is a lot of content knowledge that is new to me, and I can always use new resources to better educate my students. This has been a struggle all semester and is something that I know I want to work on as I move into my own classroom. I have taught units from Pig Butchering to Welding and Milk Quality and Products. I have to say my Favorite unit was Integrated Pest Management with my seniors, as I felt that this unit flowed very nicely and the students were very interested in it! Some of my favorite contents to teach have been Milk Quality and Products, as well as Wildlife. I also learned a lot from my cooperating teacher, specifically about meat science and Pig/ Chicken Butchering. These were units that I taught, with the help from my Cooperating teacher, as I had never butchered any of these animals before. 

One of my strengths that I think was important to have this semester, was keeping a calendar straight. No 2 weeks were ever the same, and I was able to keep track of dates and events very well. This is something that an Ag Teacher needs to have in order to operate an FFA Chapter effectively. 

One thing that I want to work on in my teaching career, is lesson and unit Planning, and staying a week ahead of the students. This is something that I struggled with during student teaching, but I am looking forward to improving this in my first couple months of teaching. 

I am very grateful for my Cooperating Teacher and all of the other teachers in the Technology Education Department here at Cedar Crest High School! They have given me so much advice and I can't thank them enough for helping through these 15 weeks! 

As my time here at Cedar Crest is quickly dwindling, I am so excited for the next chapter in life. Although, I do feel a lot stress relief now that I can wrap up my Student Teaching semester is over. Student teaching is far from easy, but I think it pushes younger teachers to grow in ways that they do realize. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey and I can't wait to see what lies ahead on this path called life!

"Success is no accident, It takes hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."~ Pele

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