NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication
It Takes All
of
December 2017
Us
Michael Meadows, Simms
One of the many honors and privileges of serving as President of the VATAT is getting to represent Texas ag teachers at different functions, meetings, and activities. One of these opportunities is the National Association of Agricultural Educators Convention. During this convention at our regional meetings, our officer team gives a report on the state of agricultural education in Texas. It was at this meeting three years ago that I realized how fortunate we are in Texas. As I sat and listened to the reports of the other six states in our region, I realized how much I had taken for granted in my career. I guess I assumed every other state had an active ag teachers association with an executive director, staff, and benefits like we have. I guess I assumed every other state had ag education representation on staff in their state education department. I guess I just assumed every other state had an aggressive fundraising foundation that helped fund scholarships, awards, and provided support to their ag teachers. I guess I just assumed all state FFA associations were fully staffed, financially stable and provided tremendous support for their local chapters. Boy, was I wrong; my eyes were opened! The National Association of Agricultural Educators convention is a great event with educational and informative workshops and sessions. I have learned things
that have helped me in my profession the last two years. However, the biggest benefit I have received from attending is a deeper appreciation of our ag ed family, and how each member of this family contributes to help us do our jobs as ag teachers. I see it as a journey. It all starts with a destination. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?” The FFA mission, along with the TEKS of the courses we teach, gives us a destination for the journey. It gives us direction or a roadmap, if you will, of what we need to accomplish through our programs. We have an advocate in the Texas Education Agency in Ron Whitson, a former ag teacher, who helps develop this “roadmap” of where we want to go. Not all states have this. With any journey, you need a dependable vehicle. I see this as the Texas FFA Association. The FFA is our vehicle to get our students to their destination. These FFA opportunities make what our students learn in the classroom come alive, allowing them to apply what they have learned in a real-world way. Austin Large and his staff do an excellent job in providing opportunities, structure, and support for local ag teachers to accomplish the mission of the FFA. Not all other states have this. Who is driving this vehicle? Vehicles are useless without a driver. That is Texas ag teachers.
We drive the vehicle, following our roadmap to our destination. The driver is always in control of the vehicle so how we “drive” it will have a huge effect on the quality of the journey and if we make it to our destination. The VATAT helps us along the way. As vehicles change and adapt, drivers need to be trained. We do this at our Professional Development Conference each year. Brand new drivers sometimes need some extra help and training to get started on their journey. The VATAT has a professional mentoring program designed to do just that. We want all our drivers to reach their destination and enjoy the journey. Barney McClure and his staff are constantly helping,supporting, Continue on page 2