Week Seven: Agriculture Education as a whole

Cows on the tallgrass prairie in Oklahoma.

Youth in agriculture. Youth in education. Youth empowering the world.

I never planned on being in the classroom after graduating from college. If you would have asked senior in high school Saydee what she was going to do with her life, she would have proudly answered that she was headed to Utah State University to double major in agribusiness and engine mechanics and once she graduated she was headed right back to Shelley, Idaho to farm fulltime. I had never even toyed with the idea of doing anything else, just farm. I love the lifestyle and it seemed to be a natural next step for me. I had the unique opportunity of serving as the Idaho FFA State President right after high school. I choose to take the year off and serve fulltime. I was able to visit 60 different high schools in the state of Idaho. I was truly touched by the impact agriculture educators had on their students. I came from uninvolved FFA chapter and had no idea the things you could do for your students as an ag teacher. I was overcome with the desire to give back to youth in agriculture. I am naturally drawn to folks that come from a farming and ranching background and I love the hard-headiness of high schoolers. So, being an ag teacher fit me perfectly. I enjoy the challenge of getting them to open up and helping them reach their highest potential.

While taking this farm literature course, I have come to further appreciate the impact agriculture has had on so much of our history. I am in awe of the ways farming has shaped so much of who we as a society. I feel the pressure to convey the importance of agriculture to my future students as well as to the community in which I live. I am fully convinced that if every single human being had to work on a farm or ranch for a season, we would be living in a much different world. I believe this is where I have the opportunity as an ag teacher to fill that gap for my students. I think of my high school experience, I was one of 2 students to come from fulltime, production agriculture backgrounds. My friend group was made up of kids who were involved in agriculture in some way but didn't have the fulltime lifestyle I've been blessed to lead. This is where agriculture classes can make all the difference for those type of kids. I hope to find students who need a place and help them thrive within agriculture and the world.

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." - Albert Einstein

I want to bring my life experience from the farm into everything I do as an ag teacher. I believe that the best way to learn is outside of the classroom. I don't plan to be a conventional teacher in the slightest. I have kept a running journal of ideas and notes for once I am finally in the classroom. I am so passionate about youth in agriculture. They are the future of the industry and I want to give them all I can to succeed in life. I will never stop advocating for agriculture and the important part it plays in our world. We have the unique opportunity as agriculturalists, to tell a story, a vital story that desperately needs told.

Here's to ag kids everywhere. May we empower them.

As always, thank you for reading.

*tips ball cap from the tractor seat*