NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication
October 2015
Are You Making The Most Of Your Chances? Ray Pieniazek, East Central
Howdy! By now you are off and running with a new year and a new group of kids. Last month I quoted the book Forty Chances by Howard Buffet. He notes “that you get a limited number of chances to do what we do.” Have you taken any chances yet? Have you used a new strategy to help your students in mastering a concept? As Buffet works to assist communities in solving hunger problems he states that “a recipe developed in one country or context may not work in another.” I love to share my lessons and activities with others. However, I wonder if they work for others as well as they work for me. Be sure you evaluate each lesson to see how it is working for your students. Were your students able to master the goals and objectives you set for them? Each day we have students with a variety of backgrounds walk into our school. Sometimes we know their backgrounds, and sometimes it takes us a while to uncover them. Howard Buffet notes his dad had a concept he calls the ‘ovarian lottery’. The concept is defined as the notion that the degree to which you are likely to prosper is largely
determined by the circumstances of your birth. Think about that statement as it might relate to your students? Our job should be to help students overcome this situation by showing them opportunities to improve themselves and make themselves more competitive in the future. Some students may not even let on to the fact that they have things at home holding them back. You may not even know if they have had a meal today; maybe the only meal they get on that day is what the school serves them. It seems sometimes we don’t even have a clue that it is happening. According to Buffet, in many households “items like rent, utilities, transportation and insurance bills are not negotiable.” These items are paid first, leaving many families little left to eat on. Hunger can make a difference in a student’s attitude. I often have snacks in my class and watch some students literally knock others out of the way to get a handful of animal crackers. Are you doing things to battle hunger in your community? As fall shows arrive and leadership competitions get under way, be sure to share where you
are going and your schedule with your administration. It has been said time and time again, maintaining communications with your administrators is important. This is one way they can better understand how you spend your time and why you may be gone so much. I wish you luck as you continue to prepare our young people for the real world. Never forget you were hired to be a classroom teacher first and foremost. Keep positive and it will rub off on your students. See you next month and continue making the most of your chances.