AN EARLY CAREER PERSPECTIVE AN AGRICULTURE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS MENTOR PROGRAM INTERVIEW M E N T E E : K A Y L A B R O C K , B L A N C O H I G H S C H O O L A G R I C U LT U R E S C I E N C E T E A C H E R M E N T O R : R O N W H I T S O N , R E T I R E D H I G H S C H O O L A G R I C U LT U R E S C I E N C E T E A C H E R
What made you decide to teach ag?
I knew I wanted to be an ag teacher my senior year of high school. My own ag teacher, Mrs. Rumfield taught me so many things, some ag-related and some about life in general. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students, just as she did for me.
Why do you believe ag education is so important? Agriculture education not only teaches students how to raise livestock and grow crops but also develops knowledge, responsibility, and leadership skills. The combination of classroom instruction and applied agriculture experiences build the foundation for these students. There are too many adults in the world we live in that have no idea just how important agriculture is to their everyday lives. My hope is that 20
when they leave my classroom they will have knowledge of why agriculture is so important to our community and spread their knowledge. In addition, I hope they leave with the drive to be respectful young adults wherever their journey leads them.
What is one thing you wish you had been told before you started this year? I learned that things don’t always go the way you plan. My first year was in the middle of COVID. I had all these plans for in-person activities, field trips, and contests and I did not get to do most of it because of mandatory online learning and restrictions. However, I did not let that stop me doing my best to give my students all the knowledge they needed. I had to change up a bunch of different lesson plans and move things around on the schedule, but I made it work. I just had to remember to go with the flow and everything will work out.
