NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication
November 2018
#TammyTalks
Tammy Christian, Penelope
I think it is safe to say, we are in the thick of our jobs as ag teachers. October is always a busy month, here in Hill County we have our major lamb and goat validation as well as our county validation. I am working on my roster, training LDE teams and preparing for the national FFA convention. I know many of you are anxious to hear how the process is moving along as we work to find the next Executive Director of VATAT. The deadline to submit resumes and letters of application closed October 1st. We have narrowed the field down and are working to get the next step finalized, which will be phone interviews. That step will help us narrow the field down to the finalists who will do face to face interviews at our December board meeting. That individual will have big shoes to fill, please know that we understand the importance of this hire and we are taking this process very seriously. Continuing my journey from last month, as I approached my senior year in high school and prepared to enter college and choose a major, the struggle was real. Like so many kids, I had given many things a thought, a veterinarian, a detective, a lawyer and now, maybe an ag teacher. I had enjoyed my years in ag and my FFA experience so much, it had changed me for the better. I thought it would be so cool to help students find themselves
and break out of their shell, as Mr. Hawthorne had helped me. Keep in mind, I would graduate in 1984, and in my area, I knew of only one female ag teacher, Peggy Ward, who was at Palestine. I grew up helping my Dad with cattle and assisting him with numerous mechanical tasks, animals, tools, and hard work did not scare me at all. He groomed me to be independent, and did his best, as most Dads, “to keep the boys away!” The biggest question for me was, could I find my place in a predominantly male profession? A large part of my family are Baylor graduates and my Dad did his best to convince me that I needed to major in accounting and stay at home, so that I could attend to Baylor. My decisions about where to attend college, were as indecisive as what to do. I went from Texas Tech, to Texas A&M, to Tarleton, to Sam Houston. I knew my major had to be something in the Agriculture field, my heart was there, and it was my passion. To be continued… When I began teaching, I remember other ag teachers saying, “if you can make it in this profession for five years, it will all get easier!” This is my 29th year, I think I work harder and more with each year. There are so many opportunities for our students these days and there is so much more that we are responsible for. We
tend to be our own worst enemies, it is our nature, we continually add to our tasks. One of the hardest things I have to do, is prepare to be out of the classroom. It is so much easier for me to be at school, than not. I encourage you to leave work that is relevant. Do your best to make it easy on your substitute, I realize many of you are not fortunate enough to have the same folks consistently. I also realize, it sometimes a challenge to find those that meet our expectations, and every school has a different system for securing substitutes. Leave instructions that are detailed and easy to follow and do not assume anything! Continue on page 2