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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 823
 
Location: East Texas | Well, after 20 years of teaching HS science (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and coaching baseball, I have taken the ag teaching job at our school. While I am excited and looking forward to the change and new challenge, I am about to start feeling swamped with getting new certifications and having to learn 5 new classes to teach.
The ag program here has been non-existent for about the last 10yrs. Only a few have shown any animals and the shop has been used as the district warehouse and catch-all. I know I have irritated some by making them come get their stuff out of the shop so I can start cleaning it up and making it operational again, but oh well.
I know there are several ag teachers on here and anyone else that wants to can chip in for tips/advice on getting this program running again or easy projects to start the year off please let me know.
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
 
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Figure out what distric you are for FFA and get a list of all events happening. This will help you determine your schedule and what to teach. Don't forget that some students are better at Public Speaking than working with animals or their hands so keep that avenue open as well for students.
FFA has many different degrees that allow students to move up and hold office and eventually apply for College scholorships with. Make sure you are giving each Freshman the opportunity to attain these degrees.  |
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
 
Location: Displaced Iowegian | No advice....... but Congratulations on your new experience. In many areas, the Ag programs are slowly being phased out and there is a NEED to teach them! |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| Aren't you in Tenaha? Good luck with projects. That is the lowest socio-economic school I have taught in. Not sure but the state should have some good curriculum guides through TAMU. AQHA has some horse judging materials. TAMU has livestock judging materials. I think there is an Ag teachers convention in the summer. They may not have it any more. It has been a LONG time since I have been vocational. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 336
Location: Missouri | Not from a teacher's perspective, but a parent's. Our ag teachers (husband and wife team) retired two years ago and it has been AWFUL. They built the FFA program at our school, and our kids were consistent state and national level achievers. Thankfully, they still help "on the side". Agreed, the FFA program is a full time job in itself..hopefully someone in you district can guide you there. As for the class, I was so disappointed to see how much it had changed since I took Ag. The shop programs have almost been completely phased out. When I was in Ag, every single one of us learned to weld, basic mechanics, worked in the field at the FFA test plot. Now there is no specific instruction on practical skills like those. Only kids interested in that for their SAE project work in the shop.
The last ag teacher hired was fresh out of college, super nice girl but in way over her head. She had never worked with livestock judging teams, didn't have experience in the shop, nada. Loved her death and by golly she tried, but it just wasn't the same. She left after the first year, now we are starting the year with a new young teacher. By all means, do all you can for the FFA kids and programs, and I get there are required teaching units, but if you can put back the shop/practical learning into the curriculum I think it would be AWESOME! |
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Posts: 110
| I took high school ag last year, and some of the more basic things we did were learning about animals, crops, irrigation, soil types, livestock auctions, and tractors. We did all of that through basic methods like readings, lectures, powerpoints, etc. We also did some more hands on things, like welding tables; bringing in animals and teaching kindergartners from a nearby school about them; making raised flower beds and growing flowers and vegetables in them; and we had imaginary livestock, and were given a budget. We had to make weight and "sell" them at the end of the year, and the grand/reserve champions were given extra credit. These projects were super fun and educational, some of them are a little tricky resource wise though. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 823
Location: East Texas | streakysox - 2017-08-08 12:40 PM
Aren't you in Tenaha? Good luck with projects. That is the lowest socio-economic school I have taught in. Not sure but the state should have some good curriculum guides through TAMU. AQHA has some horse judging materials. TAMU has livestock judging materials. I think there is an Ag teachers convention in the summer. They may not have it any more. It has been a LONG time since I have been vocational.
I am in Tenaha and you are correct about the socio-economic school. Which means we prob will not be showing some of the larger animals, but I may loan some of mine out, I have a friend who may do the same. We are in a county where poultry is huge, and that is fairly inexpensive to get started. I made it to the conf. It was a couple of weeks ago and made some good contacts. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 823
Location: East Texas | Thanks for all the input. I am new to teaching ag, but not new to agriculture. I grew up farming and ranching, my daughter shows, we rodeo, and have a cow/calf operation. So I am hoping to put some real life skills into these classes. As was said, ag classes are not what they used to be. The shop part seems to be slowly going away and more focused on the classroom. That maybe because ag teachers that know all of that are getting harder and harder to find. The FFA part.... I am going to be on a steep learning curve, but I know several of the ag teachers at surrounding schools and they are helping me with that end of it.
With that being said, and the hands on shop aspect is not what it used to be.... I think I will have a weekly segment called "stuff you need to know how to do". I may start an new thread on that topic and see what ideas everyone can come up with. Stuff like: how to switch out a light fixture or install a ceiling fan, change a tire, rewire a trailer, cut and glue pvc pipe, run a washer/dryer, etc.
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 No Tune in a Bucket
Posts: 2935
Location: Texas | You are giving your students and their parents a major gift by adding this type of education to your curriculum. To be able to learn to do these things from a knowledgeable person who actually knows how to teach. Quite a concept. And to learn to do some of these things in a non-emergency situation is a blessing. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 356
| CrossDRanch - 2017-08-09 10:38 AM
Thanks for all the input. I am new to teaching ag, but not new to agriculture. I grew up farming and ranching, my daughter shows, we rodeo, and have a cow/calf operation. So I am hoping to put some real life skills into these classes. As was said, ag classes are not what they used to be. The shop part seems to be slowly going away and more focused on the classroom. That maybe because ag teachers that know all of that are getting harder and harder to find. The FFA part.... I am going to be on a steep learning curve, but I know several of the ag teachers at surrounding schools and they are helping me with that end of it.
With that being said, and the hands on shop aspect is not what it used to be.... I think I will have a weekly segment called "stuff you need to know how to do". I may start an new thread on that topic and see what ideas everyone can come up with. Stuff like: how to switch out a light fixture or install a ceiling fan, change a tire, rewire a trailer, cut and glue pvc pipe, run a washer/dryer, etc.
This is an awesome idea. My husband is a pretty handy guy, but he has a lot of friends that don't have a clue about how to do some of that around the house maintenance stuff and he constantly gets roped into helping them! |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| I teach HS out here in CA and we are an ag Magnet school. Students and teachers come from all over the USA/world to see our AG facilities etc. If you have any specific courses in livestock, vet science, Ag Econ,. Ag Government, Ag Mechanics, AG US History, AG World History, Horticulture, Ag Bio, Ag Chem, Ag Robotics, etc, I can put you in contact with specific teachers of those courses. THey are all awesome and a lot of help. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | CrossDRanch - 2017-08-08 10:16 AM
Well, after 20 years of teaching HS science (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and coaching baseball, I have taken the ag teaching job at our school. While I am excited and looking forward to the change and new challenge, I am about to start feeling swamped with getting new certifications and having to learn 5 new classes to teach.
The ag program here has been non-existent for about the last 10yrs. Only a few have shown any animals and the shop has been used as the district warehouse and catch-all. I know I have irritated some by making them come get their stuff out of the shop so I can start cleaning it up and making it operational again, but oh well.
I know there are several ag teachers on here and anyone else that wants to can chip in for tips/advice on getting this program running again or easy projects to start the year off please let me know.
Thanks
I just want you and the other teachers on here to know we think y'all are wonderful---you do one of the toughest and least appreciated jobs in the world. My high school English teacher begged me to teach English/writing/literature, but I KNEW better. . . I simply don't have the patience for how some kids act these days. So thank you teachers for taking on this monumental task. (Special kudos for ag teachers!!!) |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| Thank you. I appreciate that. My students come into my program with the most horrible things that happen to them. It makes me wonder why some people even have children. I think the most touching was the girl who did not have anyone to keep her baby. Got her graduated and just happened to be in the office when she came to check out. She started to cry. Made me cry too. I think the counselor was about to lose it too. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 823
Location: East Texas | FLITASTIC - 2017-08-09 3:12 PM
I teach HS out here in CA and we are an ag Magnet school. Students and teachers come from all over the USA/world to see our AG facilities etc. If you have any specific courses in livestock, vet science, Ag Econ,. Ag Government, Ag Mechanics, AG US History, AG World History, Horticulture, Ag Bio, Ag Chem, Ag Robotics, etc, I can put you in contact with specific teachers of those courses. THey are all awesome and a lot of help.
Sounds like an awesome idea for a magnet school, and thank you, I may take you up on that offer as the year progresses. Our school has a robotics program set up and running. I will see if any of those kids are in my classes because that may be an easy transition and a way for us to jump right in. |
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 Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | We did a LOT off FFA stuff in our ag class. Our first year we had to memorize the creed first, learned how to tie ties and give a good handshake. Then we moved onto livestock judging where we learned how to judge everything. Parliamentary procedure was next. My teacher just entered us in stuff, which I hated but it sure made me learn a lot about different things. I never could get out of livestock judging or parli pro though lol.
Edited by brlracerchick 2017-08-16 11:12 PM
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Addicted to Baseball
Location: Where the stars at night are big and bright, TX | My kids love FFA! Good luck - I think it would be a fun job. We lost both our county agent and our FFA teacher to other areas of the state this summer. No one wants to move out back of the beyond here to take their places. Right in the middle of kids having to find animals for 2018 livestock shows.  |
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