May....
May, I have some more time....Does that ever happen to you? It's mid-May and I feel like I've run out of time to do anything. Time for school, time for fair, time for anything that requires thought or planning.
I am running on fumes. We have our fair next week and things are going haywire!! No, really... I have 35 kids showing a bazillion different species. It really is a fun experience because the fair is unique, small and so supported by the community.
So fair is next week, then we have "dead week", then the following week is finals and we are done. While I am pretty pumped to be done with this school year, I can't say I am ready for the weeks following. Following school, I have our officer retreat, then CATA Summer Conference, then State Fair, then County Fair. It's a never ending list of calendar dates that I am slave to.
It's funny though... I follow a group on Facebook for Ag teachers, where people post questions or seek ideas about FFA, livestock, curriculum, officer things, etc. Not too long ago, I read a post from a teacher who had lost their "spark" and questioned their choice to continue being an agriculture teacher. Everyone commented tips and tricks of how to maintain the spark, along with others who know her commending the great work they see that she does. It made me think... Everyone always tells me they don't know how I do it, or how I have the energy I do, but in reality, every person who becomes an Ag teacher has the potential to give 150%. We choose when we want to give that and when we would rather conserve that energy for another time.
Some days are harder than others to choose. When we would rather be with family, or get drinks with friends after work, or do anything else-- Ag teachers choose to do a project visit, catch up on grading, work on a new class, or plan an officer retreat. This never ending choice is why people lose their spark. I hear more and more about Ag teachers moving to other careers or even move up into the district performing new jobs. But it's because we have allowed ourselves to make poor choices. We have chosen our "kids" over other areas of life (for some even over their own kids). Finding balance in our choices and accepting our choices is the key. We cannot constantly give 150%, choosing school over everything else and then resent our choices. WE CHOOSE! It's simple... CHOOSE BETTER!
"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility." Eleanor Roosevelt
Whenever I feel myself, starting to feel "less sparky", I peruse the last few years of pictures... It reminds me of why I choose them...
