A Visit to Greenwood High School to See My Old Friend Miranda Kane

Today I had the opportunity to see Miranda, or Ms. Kane aka Sugah Kane aka Raw Kane, impart some knowledge to her students at Greenwood High School. I saw some presentations designed by students in the Plant Science class in which they became the teachers, developed a PowerPoint lesson along with a guided notes sheet, quiz and a Kahoot game. That class period ended with students checking on their aquaculture and greenroof projects in the greenhouse.

Following that class we went down to the shop where students were working on finishing their welding/soldering projects and I had chance to work on improving my welding skills (which are in need of significant improvement) which I really enjoy and would like to get better at. 

Furthermore, I got to see Ms. Kane teach a lesson on Parliamentary Procedure, another content area in which my experience is lacking. I am always amazed to see students truly engaged in learning about the rules for running a meeting. Ms. Kane did a great job facilitating that lesson and making sure that all students were actively participating. 

We have come a long way. At this point the psuaged17 cohort has been teaching for 14 weeks and it has been a journey.

It is nice to see that we have made a lot of progress and that we still have a lot of the same struggles. I didn't recognize, and I think that still many people who are not involved in the educator community, do not recognize that being an educator is much more (or should be) than teaching. An exemplary educator must plan, effective and engaging lessons teach and assess those lessons as well as be competent at managing conflict, helping students on their rough days, discerning learning abilities and tailoring instruction to help students who are struggling with the content, and that is just when students are in school. Now as we are in home stretch, that understanding does not discourage or overwhelm me, but I feel that my experiences are preparing me to be a better teacher and a better person. And that thought is very encouraging.