Three Day Glimpse of Teaching at Juniata High School

Last week I had the opportunity to teach a three day unit of floral design to 20 students in a Plant and Soil Science class at Juniata High School in Mifflintown, Pa. These three days of teaching was a great snapshot of teaching agriculture and it gave me a great appreciation for the career that I am entering.

In the weeks prior to my micro teaching experience I communicated with Mrs. Morgan, the high school agriculture teacher at Juniata. Mrs. Morgan requested that I teach the students how to make a Thanksgiving floral centerpiece for their holiday dinner on Thursday, November 19th. I thought, that was awesome! I personally, love floral design so this would be perfect!

So the week before teaching, I created my lesson plans as to how I wanted the three days to be structured. Three days before I was to teach, Mrs. Morgan and I were still communicating as to when the flowers would be delivered and how this would impact our instructional time. This was stressing me to no end. Fun fact about Ms. Timmons, I am a perfectionist and kind of controlling when it comes to my teaching. I like to have all my "I's" dotted and every "T" crossed before I begin teaching. So when we were still discussing what to do, three days before 'go time' I was a little frustrated.

Also, my students that I was teaching have had no experience of floral design yet. Which was great! I wanted to teach them as we went along...But there is so much to know I felt like I did not have enough time to teach them everything they needed to know about floral design and how to create a cohesive, balanced arrangement.

Ready or not Monday came and this is what I wanted us to complete for the day:

Day 1 (Monday)
- Students will be able to properly prepare Oasis floral foam in a floral dish.
- Students will be able to describe the purpose of floral foam as it relates to flower preservation.
- Students will be able to construct a double butterfly bow to add to their arrangement.

We learned about Oasis and its functional purpose. How to cut and properly soak Oasis using the 'free float' method. Each student prepared their floral dish will saturated Oasis, taped it down, and added a candle holder. Then each student received a task sheet of how to construct a double butterfly bow. We read through the instructions together and then began to create our bows until the end of class.

Day 1- Success

Initially I had planned that on Tuesday we would learn how to prepare fresh cut flowers. We would discuss how to cut the flowers at and angle and why, etc. Then we would begin with foliage/greenery. Well, after Monday's class Mrs. Morgan got the flowers and had a student go ahead and prepare them for our class on Tuesday to save time.

Therefore, my plans for Tuesday changed to include:

Day 2 (Tuesday)
- Students will be identify 3 different types of foliage used in our arrangement.
- Students will describe the functional purpose of foliage in an arrangement.
- Students will construct the foliage portion of our arrangement.

We identified 3 different greens that we were using in our arrangement. Baker's Fern, Lemon Leaf Sala,  and Seeded Eucalyptus. Each student collected their greenery and we examined the stoma pores on the underside of the leaves and briefly related this to transpiration and photosynthesis. We then discussed cutting stems and finally began putting our greenery in our arrangement. I demonstrated the floral process as if this was a cooking show. My students followed each step that I made.

We ran out of time adding our foliage/greenery to our arrangement.

Day 2- Success but not complete

So Wednesday we had to get moving and get these arrangements done:

Day 3 (Wednesday)
- Students will identify flower structures (florets) of Chrysanthemums.
- Students will analyze balance and proportion of floral arrangements.
- Students will finish constructing their Thanksgiving floral centerpiece.

We began right away getting our arrangements out and constructing. I gave the students a timeline today to make sure we got done. I told them they had 10 minutes to finish greenery. After 10 minutes we were all moving on to flowers. And we all met that timeline and did just that. By the end of class we had completed our arrangements and were adding bows.

Day 3- Complete Success...finally.

What I learned from this experience:

1. All I want for Christmas is...a watch! Each day we ran out of time. I did not realize how quickly 39 minutes goes, compared to my cooperating school which is 52 minute class periods. It will take some time for me to adjust my pace of instruction.
2. Adapt and chill! I feel as though I am a relatively laid back calm person, but when it comes to teaching I know what I want, how I envision something and that's what I expect. So when flowers arrive at different times and we don't get a task completed that I had planned, it's okay! I am learning to be more patient and go with the flow.
3. I have the ability to set the mood! If I allow my students to lollygag and mosey around they will do just that. That is why on Wednesday I felt I needed to set time stamps for us to ensure we would get our tasks completed and I felt that was a good management strategy on my part.
4. I LOVED IT!! I felt very good about my experience at Juniata. My students were great and did not want me to leave (which was a great feeling). I am proud of myself and my growth as an educator. Each day my confidence grew and I am beyond thankful for this experience.

"I will hold myself to a standard of grace not perfection"
-Miss. Timmons