As the regular school year has come to a close I find myself sitting here reflecting on the school year and my career as an agricultural educator. Throughout my 11 years as an educator, there have been many of lessons learned. Some have been more easily learned than others and some have hit me like a eighteen wheeler running down the interstate.
Though not a new lesson to many of us, but probably one of the most important lessons, is the importance of building relationships.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to not only build positive relationships with my
students in the classroom but also through the FFA organization. I find many of my week nights, if not working with FFA career development events, following my students and their athletic teams. Through my attendance at these activities I don’t only develop positive student relationships but develop relationships with their families also.What some overlook is that those relationships can often make or break many of our students and us as educators too.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest kids in the world. Though there is a couple of experiences that stick out the most. One of those this spring a group of student and I traveled the state every weekend from mid February through the end of March traveling from one FFA contest to another. Over 1,000 miles spent in a van, you get to know each other pretty well. They definitely expanded my knowledge of popular teen music, as the first stop we ever made was to buy an aux cord. During one of our practices one student’s statement really made me realize the importance of positive relationship building. This student told me I was the closest thing to a dad she had ever had. She appreciated that I cared about every aspect of her life, just not the academics. The role we take as teachers is continually evolving. To some students we do become that parental role for others it may be a different. Continue reading “Student or Teacher???”
discussing the fact that they don’t let their kids do the laundry. The reasoning for this was that they didn’t have the patience to teach their children how to use the washing machine and that the kids never folded the clothes the way they (the moms) like it.
If we don’t demonstrate patience for our children, how will they know what the skill of being patient looks like? If we don’t teach them how to use the washing machine, who will? Some nice lady at the laundry mat?
with my kids is that they are learning. They learn how to make food. They learn how to clean up. They learn how to work as a team preparing, making, and serving our meals. Plus, my time with them is so precious in the evenings; it is nice to be able to do something productive.
they each created a unique and whimsical fairy garden. The garden of each child was an terrific representation of their personalities.
Can you relate?
I know what you are thinking…”Where is the motivation here, Melanie?”
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