Snow Day? No Way! - Week 2

Preparing for this week I was confident and ready to take on instructing courses! However, the snow had a different plan for the way the week would go. On Tuesday we were surprised to hear that we would be having an early dismissal due to pending weather coming to north-central Pennsylvania. After the weather settled in I received the call on Wednesday morning that the school would be on a two-hour delay. I was frustrated by Wednesday morning because the early dismissal cancelled my last class of the day, and I was unsure of how to condense my 80min lesson to 40min to work with the two-hour delay schedule. When arriving to school I was delighted to hear that instead of running on a two-hour delay schedule, we would pick up on the class period that we left off on, on Tuesday. This was a big relief to me!
What I thought would be a set back in my planning actually ended up working in my favor. I got LUCKY!

So far, the northern weather has not been as troublesome as I was predicting it would be before my student teaching internship started. I predicted for a bunch of snow days! But, I do not live or go to school in State College, Pennsylvania anymore. The north is prepared for two-inches of snow fall. Up here, a majority of the students show up with snow plows hitched to the from of their vehicles, and everyone is use to snowy winters. Therefore, cancelling school is not the first option like it would be in State College. I am proud to be an owner of a 4-wheel drive vehicle, or I am sure I would have got stuck in my drive-way on my two-hour delay.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both introduction days to the new marking period, new courses, and the students new teacher (me). On Tuesday I was presented with some challenges. For example, a task that I planned to take five minutes, ended up taking close to ten minutes instead. Those extra five minutes shifted my entire lesson. Also, I was confronted by a students telling me I used big words. When the student said this to me I was confused! "BIG WORDS?" I asked them what they meant. The student told me the words "location" and "instill" were big words. "YIKES!" I have now come to the realization that my students are at different levels than I anticipated. I am nervous on how to accommodate to this student. My vocabulary expands larger than the words "instill" or "location." And if this student is already struggling with my vocabulary will they fall behind? Does that mean other students are struggling with my vocabulary too?

As the week went on I found myself using even bigger words to explain things within the course material. The student has not confronted me again, but I am hoping that does not mean they are falling behind or giving up on me. I plan on checking in to make sure they are understanding everything, or if they need further assistance. Stay tuned to found out more on my adventures of instructing agriculture, settling into the community, and enduring the weather of north-central Pennsylvania.