10 things I've learned since becoming a teacher...

In high school, I was an average student. I was the kid the that had to do every homework assignment to get a B in the class, because my text scores were so poor.

As an Ag teacher, I have had the privilege of teaching all levels of students from the ones who struggle like I did to those who are amazingly brilliant. I've learned tons from all my students, but as I met with a group of UC Davis student teachers yesterday, I was forced to focus on what has helped me be successful or at least pretend to be successful. Bottom line... It's the kids!

Here are my top 10 things learned from my kiddos:

1. Organization is key

Some days organization saves my life, seriously. It's the only way I can function, if I'm not organized there is no way I can ask the same of my students and FFA officers. One of my kids always quotes, "don't talk about it, be about it" and that is how I think of being organized.

2. Pick your battles

Senior ditch day? Work with them not against them. Arguments on the officer team? Be the calming force and lay down the law when needed. Determine early on what is a hard line priority and stick to it. 

3. Be fair

All my students rock my socks. Some put in more effort than others, that's a given. But don't treat them any different. Fair time, congratulate everyone equally and be genuinely proud of everyone because at the end of the day those with ribbons make you look good and those without will try harder to be in the hunt next time. 

4. Find friends on campus

Kids have friends on campus, why shouldn't we??? Find the funny English teacher or the wacky math teacher or even the silly secretary. Befriend them, they understand what happens on campus and they always think you're a crazy person for spending weekends with kids which keeps convos interesting.

5. Be real 

Kids know the difference. Be genuine, be straightforward, be real. Simple.

6. Be firm, but warm hearted 

Make rules, stick to them always. But don't forget that sometimes kids can't control their circumstances because the adults in their life suck. These kids need you more than most. 

7. Be adaptive 

Roll with the punches. Be a chameleon, change as needed. Being a single person department has contributed to my understanding of this. I have to adapt or I fail... 

8. Bring your A game

Every dang day! Give 157% and if you can't, find what works for you but never give less than 100%. Your students deserve more, as long as they're putting the effort too. They notice what they are or aren't doing. Social media has made this incredibly apparent for kids. 

9. A little fear is good 

I'm good with kids being a little afraid of me. Obviously not scared entirely, but being able to pull out the "crazy person" occasionally works in my favor. But keep the crazy contained most days or it becomes ineffective. 

10. Don't forget to laugh

Laugh everyday! It's the best part of the job! One of my favorites was the time I was reading a New Horizons magazine which has jokes, I began reading them to the class. After two lame ones I read, "why does snoop dawg carry an umbrella?" Then I announced, "Fo drizzle!" I started laughing so hard I cried. The kids erupted in laughter, not because the joke was awesome but laughing at me because I couldn't stop. Did it take time from the planned lesson? Yes! Was it totally worth it? Heck ya! Do kids still remind me of the day? Of course... Laughter is key to sanity.

State degrees, Proficiencies and Star! 

Regional officers, such goobers!

Let them be silly! Keeps life interesting 

It takes a village

The past few weeks have been some of the most rewarding in my short career. Kids are going on educational tours, winning awards, being recognized for their dedication, and representing our FFA chapter in the most positive way. 

I feel like everywhere I have been lately someone is congratulating me and my kids on a job well done. While I'm not a big fan of being in the spotlight, I do love helping my kids get there. From proficiencies to conferences, and state officer candidacy to CDE practices, my kids have been killin' it. Although I make sure to humble them on a daily basis, I couldn't be more proud of their accomplishments, except their dedication and hard work is really what's paying off. They are finally seeing that the time invested is what gets them closer to achieving their goals. Nothing is promised or guaranteed, which means busting their butts is inevitable. 

At the same time, I feel so fortunate to have so many fellow Ag teachers in the state that I can call for help and advice. Rarely when one of my kids does well, is it just me and that kid putting in time. More often than not, I've talked to, emailed, or texted, one or more Ag teachers to get their help. Frequently, people tell me they think it's so hard to be a single person department, but in reality I'm not. Some days it's more like a 10+ person department, just via phone and computer. 

Speeches, resumes, proficiencies, interviews, applications, conferences, etc. It takes a village to make sure they're ready to go. I tell my kids constantly, I will help them reach their goals best I can, not because I know anything, but because I know the right people to call for help. 

That's one of my best pieces of advice for a new teacher or single person department. Find friends who are better than you and don't be afraid to call them for help. Because it's not about being the best yourself, but making your kids the best they can be. 

Kids at the State Capitol during SLE

Bee Tour at UC Davis

Sectional Speaking Contest 

FFA week

Purpose....

General education teachers... They are great!
But some days I worry about their general understanding of the importance of student leadership organizations.

For the past three days I have been at the Educating for Careers conference in Sacramento. Multiple workshops were related to student leadership organizations. Now, I'm obviously very partial to FFA, but there are others like SkillsUSA that seem to be very purposeful and effective as well. The weirdness has been from the teachers in the workshops and their questions during them. It is amazing some of the questions people ask about why we need these organizations and if they actually impact our pathway. People just don't get it, they seem oblivious to the benefits of student leadership.

Apparently, I have taken it for granted because its completely ridiculous to me, to teach without built in student leadership. Is it easier to teach with students who take ownership, or to ask to do more? Uhhhh hello, of course it is!!! Does it occasionally require more work outside of class time for a teacher? Yep! But impacting kids and giving them the opportunity to take ownership and experience student leadership is invaluable, Money can't buy that...

The day prior to this conference, I took students to the UC Davis Field Day. Now, by no fault of theirs, I messed up registration. I am definitely not proud of this and when I told the kids my story, they laughed at me (thankfully). Instead of saying forget it, lets sleep in, THEY asked if we could still go and see what the campus had to offer. When kids offer to get up early, wear a uniform and want to tour a college... You say yes! We went and ended up touring and even attended a workshop at their Bee Facility. It was awesome! They learned about a new industry and one was even inspired to start planning her next agriscience project. This day did not go as planned, but it actually turned out better than I could have planned. That is the purpose of a student leadership organization.

It's the buy-in
It's the dedication
It's the inspiration to do more
It's the teamwork
It's the consideration for others
It's the drive to be successful
It's the fun days
It's the hard days
That's the purpose...


"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek." Mario Andretti

Bees Wax! 

They are my purpose...

FFA Week thoughts...

FFA Week begins today... What does that mean?
"Each year, FFA chapters around the country celebrate National FFA Week. The week-long tradition began in 1947 when the National FFA Board of Directors designated the week of George Washington's birthday as National FFA Week in recognition of his legacy as an agriculturist and farmer. The first National FFA Week was held in 1948."

Thinking back to when I was in high school, I can't honestly remember anything about FFA week. Now, scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, I feel like it is an Ag teachers duty to find the best, coolest, and most awesome activities to execute during the week long celebration (with the help of kids, of course).

Why is it so important for us to have these explosively successful activities that have kids screaming "I love FFA!" at the tops of their lungs?! Isn't it more important to win over hearts of high school kids throughout the entire year? Are we spinning our wheels to plan and have activities that look great on social media?

I feel like every FFA chapter could now have a reality TV show during FFA week. But how many could say they could have that much excitement during the rest of the school year?

Should we be peaking during one week of the year or should we be consistent throughout the year?? Reflecting back on what my students remember over the past few years, it usually doesn't include an FFA week activity. Maybe we are doing it wrong? But what if, we are doing it right? --stick with me here

My students remember trips, conferences, community service projects and CDE practices before they remember something like corn hole... Now, it's important to have things happening during FFA week, especially things that involve the whole school. But, what if we did that all year? Why do we concentrate it into one week and expect amazing things? 

Wouldn't we be better off to coordinate one day a month, all year (August-June) to incorporate FFA, Ag education, Ag literacy, service and the entire school? Would it be more memorable? Would we be serving more of our student body?

Now, don't get me wrong-- I understand and value FFA week and it's purpose. But why can't we do more? Think global, act local type of thing... Something to think about for next year... 

Until then... I'll continue to enjoy all the Facebook and Instagram posts of other Ag teachers and their ideas... 

Happy FFA Week! 

Tug O War

Chalk Square Challenge 

Sack Races

Blast from the past Senior Photo in my FFA uniform... 

That Admin life...

Last week I went to a Mentoring Conference hosted by CATA and UC Davis (I think?) for Ag teachers. One of the workshops I participated in was related to what else you could do/become beyond the classroom. There was a Community College educator, a school administrator, and a teacher with a PhD giving the workshop. They had really interesting perspectives on what other things Ag teachers could do beside be in the classroom.

Now this might sound rude but.... We are struggling to find Ag teachers all over the state, so why would we want any decent one to be lost to other careers? Especially ones that are not in the classroom, like administration?? Community Colleges? Sure yeah okay, teach agriculture at a higher level, sounds good... But become a principal, vice principal, anything remotely close to that? Heck no, no thanks, never in a million years!

Last night, we had our Sonoma Section CATA Administrator & Supporter Night. It is basically a dinner to thank admin, counselors, district staff, boosters and advisory members. I think our section does a fairly decent job with hosting the event because they always find great presenters for a discussion/education portion of the evening. However, after sitting through this dinner, all I could think was I cannot believe we have to present about the importance of agriculture education and CTE (Career & Technical Education), year after year... Isn't it obvious?

I think it is sad honestly. One of the comments during the discussion was, "you (meaning admin) would never be at this type of event with your math department, or your special ed department". How true is that?! I mean seriously? Since I always take my token English teacher to events like this, I asked her what she thought. As always for her, attending "Ag things" gets her jazzed because they do not do things in regular education like we do in Ag education. Rarely, if ever, do English teachers from multiple schools in the county, get together to catch up, hangout or have meetings... But in Ag we do!

So it begs the question, why would someone go into administration? To make things better? Give their opinion? Stand up for a specific demographic? Make a difference?

YOU can do that as a teacher!!! Hello people!

Ag Education is a rare, wild, tenacious, and energetic beast. But it also fights for kids, teaches real skill, makes public speakers, encourages academics, and changes lives. Being an Ag teacher allows me to watch kids change so much! Sometimes overnight, sometimes over four years. But the change is inevitable. I'm not sure administrator can say the same about their job. Which makes me sad for them. They have to worry about all these balls in the air and rarely have the opportunity to appreciate one program over another, let alone specific students.

Ag kids are the coolest kids. No matter the school, district, or region, Ag kids understand how to be productive. We need more kids like that. I wish administration could say the same about every program on campus.

This sums up Ag education perfectly...

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." Martin Luther King, Jr.

These are what cool kids look like! Give kids purpose and watch all the amazing things they do in and outside the classroom!

Never ending fight...

I vividly remember sitting with my high school counselor in her office towards the end of my freshman year. I was about to schedule my classes for the next year. It was a pretty exciting time as I would no longer be a weird freshman (well partly correct). I had already been elected as an FFA officer-- the reporter actually, which may be why it remains my favorite office, who doesn't love being stationed by the flag???

I had already selected classes I wanted on my paper schedule, now all my counselor needed to say was "looks good thanks!" Unfortunately, she looked at my paper, looked and me and blurted out, "you know if you take this class, you won't be on our track for college, so I won't counsel you to be college prep anymore". The class she was referring to was my Ag class. I replied that it was fine and she took a red pen and crossed out my name on her "college prep" list in her scheduling binder. From that day on, she never met with me again to schedule classes. I continued to fill out the papers each year so that I would have all the requirements for a CSU-- by myself. When other kids in my classes got call slips for scheduling, I just dropped off my paper schedule in the office.

Having someone completely ignore my existence for taking a different path than she thought I should, did not hurt my feelings. It really shaped my high school experience, because I knew that not only did other kids think Ag was lame, but adults did too. I think that is one of the reasons I enjoyed college so much? Yes, college life is good but I think I enjoyed the experience because I was around people who had the same appreciation for agriculture that I do. I felt empowered by going to college because I was simply around people who were like me... Well had the same interests, anyway.

I very much appreciate my high school experience because it taught me that if I wanted something, I had to work for it to make it happen. I wanted to go straight to a CSU and therefore, I had to make it happen because I loved agriculture and no adult at my school understood that I could have my cake and eat it too!

I think I had forgotten the subconscious fight I had while in high school? I had forgotten that some people just don't get that agriculture classes are important? I had forgotten that not everyone values people who work hard within the agriculture industry? Until recently. It's an interesting thing to work diligently through high school, then college and even grad school to then have someone tell you that none of it matters. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I know I do a good job for myself and my students. If you disagree-- please stop reading my blog lol.

People forget that every person who attends high school is going to have some impact on our community. Good or bad, high school teachers have the ability to put some pressure on kids to make sure it's a good impact. That is the hope right? Making kids into community minded citizens who will contribute? By not providing different outlets for kids to find what they are good at, we will stifle communities. If we make every kid do the exact same thing and take the exact same classes, some will always feel like they are not good enough. They will live the rest of their life thinking it too. But if kids find out what they are interested in and excel at it, why should we cross their name off the list? Just because it doesn't fit into the cookie cutter mold? Last time I checked, plumbers don't go to a 4 year college, yet they are successful community members whose work is important.

My question is... Why do people who go to school for long periods of time think they are so smart? Now, don't get me wrong, I got my Master's-- but just because I took some classes and wrote a paper doesn't mean I am smarter than a teacher that didn't??? I think anyone who puts in the time to get experience working, is way more knowledgeable than someone who didn't. They understand the process more than a person who learned about it in a classroom. Takes me back to part of the FFA motto, "Learning to Do, Doing to Learn..." If teachers, administrators, everyone and anyone took that approach, we might start being successful in the grand scheme of life. We need more people who are learning to work, more learning to be good people, more who want to succeed and more who have dreams.

One of the things I am certain of... Every kid is innately good, it's the processes and influences that change that. Every kid has more potential than they are ever given credit for because some adult somewhere, doesn't recognize it. Get to know kids, do what's best for them to help them succeed! Pretty simple.

These are the reasons I love my job, regardless of someone else's opinion of my qualifications...

The purpose of the classroom...

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The more time I spend in the classroom, the more I become a critic of basic fundamentals of traditional classroom skills like testing. That in itself, is a frustrating statement... "Skills like testing"

Now, growing up I was not a star student, not the valedictorian, not a 4.0 kid (okay one semester I was). But there were so many experiences in high school that taught me the value of education. I learned very early on that I was not a test taker. No matter the time I spent studying, whether 4 hours or 40 minutes, I more often than not, ended up with a C. Because of this realization, I spent many hours completing homework to balance out that C or D average from my test scores. This was the only way I could guarantee (most of the time), a B in the class. Occasionally, I got lucky and managed to squeak out an A but this was less typical. This trend also continued in college, although I found smarter friends (thanks Joe, Kristen, Amber, Brittany) that helped me study in true study groups (occasionally drinking groups). 

Now that I am a teacher, I feel like I have subconsciously minimized the amount of tests I give. I watch each year as students freak out over studying for finals. I don't envy them at all. While there are many careers that have high stress moments, rarely are you going to go into a career that requires final exams. Because of this, I feel like projects are a better representation of student's commitment and follow through, while being a better example of something they might do again in their life. Many careers have presentations to bosses or meetings with clients-- this could be someone's future. Giving kids the freedom to decide on their tailored project, gives them a way to meet the goals while making it personalized. Adding that bit of character to their project, shouldn't that be the goal of education? Who cares if kids can take tests if they are not going to take real tests in life? Now I know, life tests us all but I mean pen and paper or pencil and scantron type tests... 

Do we really care if a student can pass a content specific test in 100 minutes? Shouldn't we care more that a student took time out of their day to research, compile information and figure out how to convey a message to a group peers? Doesn't that teach them more about themselves? Presenting to peers is the hardest test most high school students have... Talking for 8 minutes to the class, is rough for many... Vulnerability during a presentation teaches a kid not only about themselves but the audience also learns compassion and acceptance. Isn't this what we want kids to learn?? How to be better adults? How to work with others? 

While I think content is important (hello I am a teacher), I think the methods are just as important for teaching life skills. So many of our kids will end up with jobs outside their specific interests. But, if we are using content to teach methods, we win. Things like using computers, which shockingly many high school kids cannot do, to creating a collage, canning a jar of jam, programming a scrolling digital sign (sorry Mr. Davis, I can never remember their technical name) are all skills that kids can take beyond the classroom. 

At the same time, giving every kid the same type of test and using it as a factor of learning or proficiency in a content area is just not my cup of tea. This might be my skewed perception based on being one of the first in my immediate family to complete college. However, my education does not translate to being able to be skilled in any area. My mom did not finish college, yet she is the leader of an entire office of people-- some with education far beyond hers. Yet, she has worked at her job for 35+ years and has more first hand knowledge and experience than anyone they could hire at her office. She leads others, handles people, files reports, and works in a professional manner. How many people can say that? Rarely can a recent high school or college graduate come close. While her job may not be a dream to many, that is what we need to teach kids-- it's not always a dream but such is life. Do your job, do a good job, show up everyday... It will lead to success.

We are not doing our due diligence to educate students in high school to be individuals with the dedication and professionalism to be part of the adult workforce, We need more kids that work hard, more creativity, more professionalism, more dedication, more follow through, more compassion, more drive... Do tests teach that? 

High school should be about learning life skills with basic content knowledge and college and careers should be about content or specific areas of study. We have become so consumed with kids getting a jump start to get into college, it starts as early as pre-school. Kids can barely wipe by themselves yet we are worried about sending them in the right path and blah blah blah. 

If we focus on making them better people, learning about how the world works, avoiding temptations, doing more for others than themselves, being committed to something and dedication, they will find the right path without being shoved. 

Final project presentations of life maps...

From being a rodeo groupie as a kid to wanting to be a physicians assistant... Such a fun way to show a life map-- layers of clothes!

Hannah Mae reports... This kid is the next Amy G!