Honesdale High School Visit Reflection

I had the wonderful opportunity to zoom with Mrs. Pohle, the coordinating teacher at Honesdale High School, and discuss with her the potential of me student teaching there. I was then able to visit her in-person on March 15th, to actually get to see and interact with her Ag classes and students. During my visit at Honesdale, I was able to observe her Horticulture, Introduction to Agriculture, Animal Care and Management, and Animal Science classes. This was actually my first ever experience within a high school Ag program and to be honest I never knew how immersive and hands-on the material is taught. I was able to observe Mrs. Pohle's teaching instruction and how she manages her various classes and grade levels throughout the school day. 

I spent the first two hours of the day in the greenhouse with her two Horticulture classes and was able to help the students who were transplanting by creating some labels for them. The classes were small and each student was given a specific task to complete during the class, which I thought was a very effective way to manage the class while also getting stuff done. Within the greenhouse, the students worked on an aquaponics system where fish in a tank were providing nutrients to various plants in raised beds, such as lettuce and basil. A few of the students I talked to were really excited for the spring flower sale they were having and it was awesome to see how passionate they were about horticulture and their hard work. 

The Aquaponics system within the
Greenhouse at Honesdale High School

Mrs. Pohle's next class was her 9th grade Into to Ag course, where I observed a lot of good teaching strategies that I will definitely implement in my future classroom. She asked a lot of questions and had various checks for understanding throughout her lecture, which really engaged students and encouraged participation. Her next two classes were focused on Animal Science and Management and each were fairly small. I loved getting to observe the community of students and how Mrs. Pohle interacted in a very personable way with all of them. Overall, I had such a fun experience at Honesdale and gained valuable information for my future student teaching endeavor and Ag Ed career.