Keith Burdette
West Virginia Agricultural Education Coordinator
State FFA Executive Secretary
Teaching agriculture continues to be one of the most rewarding,
yet challenging, careers in education. It is my belief each
teacher must have a sound personal philosophy about what agricultural
education is and can do for its students if that teacher is
to be successful. A personal philosophy will guide one’s
actions.
With that in mind, I would like to offer some
suggestions that may help establish or reshape your personal
philosophy about agricultural education. These aren’t
my own ideas, but a collection of suggestions gathered through
the years from teachers I would put in the Ag Teacher Hall of
Fame – teachers who were effective in helping students
be successful; teachers who made an impact. These ideas are
undoubtedly consistent with the advice given in teacher preparation
classes, but I’ve come to realize we all need reminders
and encouragement from time to time to help us maintain focus
about what our program can provide students. Here’s my
top ten list (in no particular order):
1. Teachers should
attend the annual state teachers’ conference and state
FFA convention. My personal belief is that you cannot
afford to miss these events other than for sickness, death,
some other job responsibility in conflict with the dates (i.e.,
local fair) or a once-in-a-lifetime family opportunity. The
intention is not to lessen the importance of these conflicting
events, but to emphasize that these state meetings provide some
of the best opportunities for idea exchange. Dialogues with
other teachers can help you deal with problems you may be experiencing.
And how can your FFA chapter feel it is really part of the state
association without representation at the convention?
2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and things.
In most cases, people are eager to help the agriculture program
and/or FFA chapter. Parents and community leaders who are familiar
with your program often either have resources you need or know
how to get them. Don’t be afraid to tell your school and
county administration of your wants. It allows you to share
your vision for the future and demonstrates initiative and enthusiasm
administrators may not see from teachers in other departments.
3. Develop time management skills. Some of
the best agriculture teachers developed good time management
skills early in their careers. Most accomplish this by looking
weeks and months ahead, establishing deadlines, and “backward
planning” - planning with the end in mind. For the day-to-day
tasks, sometimes just maintaining a small dry-erase board in
the office will do the job. Take five minutes each morning to
update the “To Do” list, prioritize, and get moving.
Ask yourself – Am I normally submitting requested information:
a) before the deadline; b) on the deadline date; or c) late?
4. Clean house and organize (classroom, ag mechanics
lab, greenhouse, meats lab, etc.). Agriculture teachers
have large areas and countless resources to keep organized.
Add to that the paperwork required by the school, county, and
state, and then toss in some student work that needs graded,
and suddenly, the teacher can hardly find his/her desk. I am
also convinced teachers are so giving of their time to help
individual students achieve that they neglect the attention
their classroom, labs, and storage areas need. Dedicate some
of your planning time each week to catching up on the housekeeping
chores. Throw a lot of things away. Simply ask yourself a couple
of questions: If someone asked for anything (a paper, requisition,
textbook, or tool), could I find it in less than one minute?
Can an individual walk through my lab area(s) without having
to step over something?
5. Don’t sacrifice agricultural education in the
name of FFA. The FFA organization provides countless
opportunities for student recognition. It can be a fabulous
public relations tool. It is a mistake, however, to sacrifice
sound education in order to have a successful FFA chapter. FFA
should be an outgrowth of the program, not a substitute for
it. Try to hit that perfect blend of FFA activities that complement
the agricultural education program. Remember in the long run
that as agricultural education goes, so goes FFA.
6. Establish a network of program support.
You may try to do it all, but you’ll tire of it after
some time. Establish and regularly meet with your advisory council.
Ditto for an FFA Alumni or Boosters organization. While you
may need to provide some organizational leadership to both groups,
especially in their infancy, don’t view this as another
thing on your already congested “To Do” list. Rather,
view this as the way to allow others to be engaged in your program
and help you accomplish so many things you would never be able
to do alone.
7. Make supervisory visits a priority.
Probably some of the most valuable time you’ll ever spend
in your job is involved with student supervision. Be visible
to your students and in your community. And be sure to check
record books while making visits. Whether you like or dislike
the way students keep records in West Virginia, it’s the
only book teachers have endorsed at this time. I believe a better
record book and/or system will eventually emerge, but until
then, be sure to insist that your students maintain quality
records in the currently endorsed book.
8. Encourage scope in SAE. I have an unsettling
feeling that we may be losing the concept of scope in supervised
agricultural experience programs. Before you throw down this
article in disgust, please understand that I am aware of many
students with substantial scope and investment. Some of the
American FFA Degree applicants I see when visiting those being
considered for Star Farmer and Star Agribusinessperson have
very impressive operations. And I am not so far out of touch
that I don’t remember how difficult it is for some students
to develop meaningful SAEs – how good it felt if each
student was at least doing something which bore a semblance
of a SAE. I realize students can learn valuable information
and skill in SAEs with limited scope. I fear, however, that
many students who begin with “project” SAEs are
never challenged to grow beyond that in their upperclassmen
years. Perhaps my fears are unfounded but they are based upon:
a) the number of chapters that have (or rather don’t have)
State FFA Degree recipients; and b) the number of State FFA
Degree applications reflecting SAEs of a market animal each
year or unpaid hours on the family farm. I am not saying these
are not legitimate enterprises, I am simply asking if you are
encouraging students to expand beyond “project agriculture.”
9. Be professional and accountable. Look and
act like the best teacher and to some, you’ll be the best
teacher. Stay on task and your students are likely to do so
as well. And be able to defend that your instructional practices
and FFA activities have educational value. Have data –
in today’s age, student performance carries more weight
with stakeholders than the “warm and fuzzy” FFA
stories we like to share (although those can help!).
10. Tell everyone who will listen what you do.
Either because of modesty or busyness, we don’t often
do a good job of telling others what we do and how successful
our students are. Spread the word!
11. BONUS – Attend a quality
professional inservice. There are a number of great
professional development activities teachers have the opportunity
to attend. Many of these exist in West Virginia, but I would
encourage teachers to participate in regional and national activities
as well. We have some outstanding things happening in our state,
and you may not realize how good things are until you attend
activities with your counterparts from other states.
It is unlikely any agriculture teacher needs
to completely retool his/her personal philosophy about the program,
but all of us need to periodically review our mission. I challenge
teachers to scan the list one more time and find one or two
suggestions on which to focus in the 2006-07 school year.
Keith completed B.S. (1982) and M.S. (1990)
degrees
in Agricultural Education from West Virginia University.
He is the WV State Coordinator for Agricultural Education
and serves as State FFA Executive Secretary. He was an
agriculture teacher for 18 years before joining the department
of education staff in 2000.
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