September 2016 by Texas Ag Ed

NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication

September 2016

Spotlight on Agriculture Education Shane Crafton, Henrietta

I am not too proud to say that writing these articles is far from the reason I ran for VATAT office. I will be the first to admit that I am not a writer, and I can give you the names of several English teachers who will attest to that very fact, but I will give it my best shot. It’s hard to believe that summer has already come and gone! Like most of you, I am trying to get back in the swing of school and feel like I am already behind. Even though this will be my 27th year in the profession, I feel the apprehension of being behind, so I can only imagine how you first time teachers are feeling about now. Just know we have all been in your shoes; it has just been a long time ago for some of us. On August 18, 1990 I received a phone call from Newman Young, superintendent of Midway ISD, offering me a job. It was one of the most exciting days I had ever had until I realized this was Friday, and school started on Monday. I had just turned 22-years-old, had a wife, no place to live and no idea what I was getting into. Why would Mr. Young take a chance on a young teacher who had never even been to Clay County and absolutely no contacts or ties to this area? He never told me until he retired that he had received a phone call from Gail Christian and Calvin Hudson who had convinced him I was the guy for the job. Those 2 individuals were my supervising teachers, first two mentors, and two reasons I am an ag teacher today. Mentors are an important part

of the ag teaching profession and will be a very important tool in keeping young teachers as we go forward. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I might remember, involve me and I learn.” Those words were so very true in my early career. I was very blessed to begin my career in a county that had ag teachers that involved me in everything right away: teachers like Tim Martini, Mike Jackson, Tony Dunkerley, Murry Don Dawson, and Johnny Simmons. These five mentors didn’t just tell me what to do and when to do it; they included me in every part of the ag education program I needed to know. I will never be able to repay them for what they did for me. I still to this day call on these men for help when I need it. The best way we can repay our own personal mentors is by passing it on to the next generation of teachers. Make yourselves available to the “new kid on the block” for help. You don’t have to be pushy and try to run their business for them, simply let them know you are there for them if they want it. Young teachers are very unsure about approaching us seasoned teachers because they feel they will look foolish. Young teachers need to realize that we were once in your same shoes and if not for help from mentors, we might not be where we are today. I know I made lots of mistakes, but that is a whole other story. I know in my case I can attribute any of my successes in the profession to many ag teachers who were unselfish enough with

their time and knowledge to help me along the way. As you go back to your classrooms or as you enter the classroom for the first time, always remember that you are a mentor to your students every day you come in contact with them, like it or not. There are kids in your classroom for which you may be the only adult role model and mentor they come in contact with. This is a huge responsibility that comes with the job. Some of them just want a chance to be a part of what you are doing. Get them involved, and they will learn. I hope each of you have a successful year. I have realized that like it or not, we are mentors to so many students who are watching what we do, and to them we are always in the spotlight.

VATAT News

My Last Chance to Share Ray Pieniazek, Past VATAT President As my VATAT President term comes to a close this may be the last chance for me to share my thoughts with you. I know the school year has started, so I hope you have at least taken the chance to motivate your students to be involved and be the best they can be. As I reflect on my years of teaching, I must have done some good to inspire some of my students to excel. I got very emotional when I saw a picture of four of my 2010 graduates standing together. One was a vet student, one had just become a game warden, and two were ag teachers. Wow, it really was impressive that each of them had achieved their career goals. It made me think, “How many others have reached their goals and I just don’t know yet?” I have several other former students that are ag teachers and they are making me proud by achieving great things both within their classroom and with their FFA members. I also have many student teachers that are now making their own name in the teaching world. As a teacher, don’t ever forget the true influence you have on your students. You never know how much you affect them or mean to them. Keep inspiring our students and taking chances to reach out and develop minds. Good luck in your new year and keep taking chances.

YOUR CONFERENCE CERTIFICATE IS ONLINE NOW! You can find the document on your membership account online at vatat. org. Please contact Karen@vatat. org or call (512) 472-3128 if you have any questions.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE VATAT................................................................1 - 3 Texas FFA........................................................6 - 7 Foundation....................................................8 Young Farmers.............................................10 - 11

Name: _________________________________________ Phone Number: _________________________________ Address: _______________________________________ Send Order Form and Payment To: VATAT Attn: Buckle 614 East 12th Street Austin, Texas 78701

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VATAT News

The 2016 Conference is in the Books Barney McClure, VATAT Executive Director By now most of you will be back in the classroom and focused on your job at hand. Our Professional Development Conference is in your rearview mirror. I sincerely hope that each of you see our Professional Development Conference for what it is. In 2007 we were informed by TEA that they would no longer support our conference financially, or with any staff help. Due to the cutbacks in funding, we were forced to do it on our own since 2008. In the nine years since then, our Association has worked hard to put on the kind of professional development we could all be proud of. It is funded by your dues, conference fees, exhibitors, sponsors, and carried out by our staff and an army of volunteers. I want to thank all of you who participated in any way to make our conference a success. We tried to host a variety of workshops to prepare you for the coming year. We offered twenty additional topics this year compared to last. Most were led by experienced educators or industry experts and provided insight on the topics covered. The general sessions allowed you to hear an outstanding keynote speaker, see a number of educators recognized for their tenure or awards. Then on Friday, the major livestock shows had an opportunity to address your questions face-to face.

The meals provided served to cut down on teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expenses for the week, and we want to thank Fuddruckers/CafĂŠ Venture catering for serving great meals, and Ag Workers Insurance for sponsoring family night. This year saw the further progress on some important member benefits. Gordon Davis, founder of CEV, which is the title sponsor for Conference, announced an important initiative to endow our VATAT scholarship program. He plans to make some major contributions to this endowment fund, and there will be more information on this later. Our VATAT Board of Directors made several decisions concerning some additional member benefits that we are working on. We are also working to establish a Professional Teacher Mentor Program to assist early career teachers. Money was allocated in our budget for the development of such a program with the idea for a pilot program to begin in the 2017-2018 school year. Again, there will be more information forthcoming. I hope you have a great school year. Please let us know if we can ever be of assistance.

Email barney@vatat.org if you would like to provide conference feedback.

VATAT News

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VATAT News

UPDATE Membership Matters

Tom Maynard, Texas FFA Executive Director About this time of year, we always receive questions regarding membership eligibility. Some are easy to answer and some are a little more complicated.

events or agriscience fair. They can participate in LDEs, but can only exercise greenhand eligibility once. Once it is played, it must be considered spent. Participation in the other genres of FFA events do not impact greenhand eligibility since this condition Greenhand Eligibility is confined to the LDEs. Perhaps the most commonly asked questions One issue that has surfaced as it relates to about middle school programs are in regards to Discovery FFA Degree students competing in greenhand eligibility. This has two programmatic agriscience fair is whether or not it would be credited touchpoints, Leadership Development Events toward a student developing a research and and SAE-based awards. The answer is fairly experimentation SAE and competing for Greenhand straightforward. When addressing the Chapter FFA Star in Agriscience honors. Again, remember that Degree, the Texas FFA Constitution references the Greenhand year and SAE starts with instruction instruction at ninth-grade level or above, which clues at the ninth grade level or above. Therefore, research us in that the preceding degree (Greenhand) is also hours spent before then, would not count as part of at the ninth grade level or above. The Greenhand FFA the student’s SAE. They can win recognition, earn Degree requires “satisfactory plans for a supervised scholarships and qualify for national competition, agricultural experience program.” A Supervised but the none of the hours count toward SAE until Agricultural Experience starts with high-school level instruction at the ninth grade level or higher is instruction. However, the issue becomes a little initiated. clouded for us when we are teaching a high school Active Middle School and Junior Membership class on a middle school campus. Is it middle school or high school? The answer: it’s high school. The Another common question centers around middle class requires an SAE, is at the ninth grade level and school agriculture programs and the junior FFA. goes on the student’s high school transcript as credit The source of the question is usually a long-time toward graduation. Texas FFA simply views eighth- junior member livestock feeder who, for whatever graders taking Principles for high school credit as reason, is not enrolled in an agricultural education freshmen. course offered at the middle school. If one offers an As it relates to the Greenhand LDE division, agricultural education class at the eighth grade level, the general rules (Rule 10(a)) states “only students can students NOT enrolled in that class be junior enrolled in the first year, first semester of high school members? The answer: no. credit in an agriculture, food and natural resources Texas FFA Constitution, Article V. Section B. class are eligible to participate in the Greenhand addresses junior membership and states that event with the exception of chapter conducting, “Membership in the Texas Junior FFA organization where the teacher or any active member may serve shall consist of students enrolled in public schools or as advisor. Members in middle school classes for accredited private schools who are in the third grade local credit may participate in fall LDE’s, but will and eight years old and may continue until they be required to compete in the senior division in become eligible to enroll in the Agriculture, Food and subsequent years.” Natural Resources instructional program.” A student Students enrolled in a locally developed class may continue as a junior member until he or she is as a middle/junior high school elective, are not eligible to enroll. Once they eligible to enroll, they greenhands, and would earn the Discovery FFA may no longer be a junior member. Degree. Can these students participate in FFA competitive events? There is nothing in policy or What About Career Portals? rule which would preclude these students from We are frequently asked about the middle school participating in CDEs, LDEs, speaking development Career Portals class. The membership policy states 6

VATAT News

any class approved by the State Board of Education to be taught by an agricultural science teacher is considered an AFNR course for FFA membership. The best two examples are welding and the CTE professional communications courses. However, Career Portals is a different animal. The content contains some AFNR elements, but also contains other cluster content. In some cases, it is split between different CTE programs. Therefore, for the purposes of FFA membership, it may or may not be used for Discovery FFA Degree level membership. It is up to the discretion of the teacher. However, if it is counted for active FFA membership, no students at that level may be junior members.

no such requirement. Therefore, from a Texas FFA standpoint, a homeschooled student who comes to the high school to take AFNR classes would be eligible for membership and participation. Ultimately, these are local decisions. Historically, local administrators have been less than welcoming to homeschooled students for a variety of reasons. For example, many believe that students in a homeschooling environment are evaluated by a different standard when it comes to academic eligibility for extracurricular participation. Thus, while it is possible for a homeschooled student to participate in FFA, precedent and history tells us that the odds are stacked against it.

Homeschoolers and FFA As it relates to FFA participation, the status of homeschooled students is a big question, since according to the Texas Homeschool Coalition, about 350,000 Texas students are currently homeschooled. Parents exercise this option for a variety of reasons. Legally, a homeschooled student is considered to be enrolled in a private school. Periodically, we receive emails from you because a student has left the school to be homeschooled or a family in the community has questions regarding this matter. Can a homeschooled student participate in FFA? Maybe. We always return to the idea that FFA is integral to the instructional program. First there must be enrollment in a program that is established in accordance to the State Plan for Career and Technical Education (Texas FFA Constitution, Article III, Section B). In a nutshell, that is a program with a certified instructor teaching state adopted standards. Second, there must be a local chapter, chartered in a school pursuant too constitutional and policy standards. There is some precedent for students of one school being a member of another school’s FFA chapter. On occasion, public schools have partnered with other public schools for the delivery of CTE content. An example is the case of Dustin Clark, who served as 2000-01 State First Vice President and later as a national officer. Dustin was a member of the Waxahachie FFA, but graduated from Avalon High School, which, at the time, did not have an agricultural education program, but partnered with Waxahachie I.S.D. to give their students access to the program. Dustin drove to Waxahachie everyday to take agricultural science classes and therefore, his FFA membership was in Waxahachie. There is nothing in statute that would keep a private school or a homeschool from entering into a similar arrangement. As long as the student was enrolled, from a Texas FFA standpoint, he or she would not be any different from any other member. Currently, we differ significantly from the University Interscholastic League on this issue. The UIL Constitution defines a school in such a way to preclude a homeschool from being classed as a school under its constitutional definitions (Subchapter C., Section 5(n)) and UIL participation requires that a student be “a full-time, day student in the member high school the student represents.” UIL rules do not apply to Texas FFA and Texas FFA has

HAVE MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS? WE HAVE THE ANSWERS. CAll the Texas FFA Office at (512) 480-8045.

VATAT News

UPDATE It is Not What You Say … It is What They Hear Aaron Alejandro, Texas FFA Foundation Executive Director During the 2016 VATAT Teachers Professional Development Conference, we wanted to learn more about how teachers are communicating and what platforms best serve their interests. Of the more than 200 teachers we surveyed, here’s what we learned: • 75% prefer text messages • 84% utilize emails • 76% use Facebook • 26% use Pintrest • 15% use Twitter • 23% use Instagram • 19% use Snapchat The numbers from Texas agriculture teachers, Texas FFA members and the general public are crystal clear … we are a mobile society and we like to socialize. Social media and UGC (User Generated Content) is the leader in effective communication, marketing and advertising. The Texas FFA has always been known for its leadership, and we are doing it again through an initiative of Texas Team Ag Ed led by the Texas FFA Foundation. MYTEXASFFA is a leading edge approach to communication and one garnishing the Texas FFA national attention. The MYTEXASFFA website and app are designed to give students, teachers, parents and stakeholders the information they need – at their mobile fingertips – to create user generated content for the Texas FFA. Bottom line, we are taking charge and telling our incredible Texas FFA story in an incredible way. Here’s what we have and how you can connect.

MYTEXASFFA Website • Compelling Videos • My Texas FFA Story (homepage) • What’s Your Story (in the menu) • Teacher Video (coming Sept. 2016) • Stewardship Video (coming Nov. 2016) • Fan Kit - download and share images • Texas FFA Facts / Stats (homepage) • Corporate Sponsors 8

MYTEXASFFA Mobile App The app allows students, parents and stakeholders to stay connected to all things Texas FFA. Alerts and notifications keep you up to date with the latest in the Texas FFA and possible special offers from our sponsors. It also allows the user to share images, information and content from the app to their personal social media platforms – creating Texas FFA user generated content (UGC). The Texas FFA Foundation is proud to support the students and teachers of Texas agriculture science education and the Texas FFA. We hope you enjoy our new leading edge technologies and welcome your feedback and critiques. Send questions, comments or feedback to: info@texasffafoundation.org.

VATAT News

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VATAT News

UPDATE Notes From the Executive Secretary Don Beene, Texas Young Farmers Executive Secretary I would like to thank everyone for visiting our booth during the Texas FFA Convention and the VATAT Conference. I have misplaced the names of the winners of the ice chest from the VATAT Conference, so if you won one of the them please contact me at dbtxtfa@ gmail.com. I would also like to thank those teachers that attended the mini workshop and allowed me to share information about the Texas Young Farmers. I was amazed that most of those in attendance had never heard of the Texas Young Farmers. We were organized in 1954 and at that time all Vocational Agriculture Teachers were required to teach so many hours of adult education each year. At that time it was primarily designed to keep farmers and ranchers abreast of new innovations in agriculture. At this time 35% of the population earned their living farming and ranching. Today we are still in need of adult agricultural education, as less than 2% of the population earns it living farming and ranching, however we have individuals in DC and Austin making laws regulating agriculture and they do not understand its importance. There are those that believe we should stop killing our cattle and just go to the grocery store and buy our meat. Yes, we have people in our society today that are that ignorant about agriculture. We, the Texas Young Farmers, still encourage adult agricultural education but we are aware that the primary purpose of most adult organizations in schools are to support the local FFA Chapters and assist the teachers with the chores. We in the Texas Young Farmers can be this organization, however we still encourage each program to have a couple of educational programs a year. If you are interested, please get in touch with me and I will be glad to come visit and assist in any way that you desire. I have visited two programs since the conference, Wortham and Chapel Hill. Both have begun their organization by getting their EIN, writing their constitution and electing officers. At each school there 10

was a lot of enthusiasm and I am looking forward to the great things these chapters will achieve in their communities. It is that time of year to begin collecting dues, electing officers, planning this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities. I also encourage each of you to provide clear email addresses and correct mailing addresses when you fill out your dues information. Each member will get a quarterly email from the National Young Farmer Organization (NYFEA) and received this VATAT Newsletter by mail. Let me know if I may be of assistance. Young Farmer Awards applications are due to me no later than November 1, 2016. Go to www. txyoungfarmers.org for the rules and applications. The Texas Young Farmer State Convention will be held in Gonzales, Texas on January 5th, 6th and 7th. The board has planned an excellent convention that I know you will enjoy if you attend. Remember, at the convention we have a Scholarship Auction, this is where we get the money to provide the $7,500 in scholarships each year. Come help us get the funds to extend our scholarship program. May this be a productive school year and many successes to all.

STAY CONNECTED WITH THE

TEXAS YOUNG FARMERS TXYOUNGFARMERS.ORG

VATAT News

Texas Young Farmers at the Texas FFA Convention & VATAT Conference

Attached is picture of Teague FFA member Addison Stuver receiving the first Sharon Beene Memorial Scholarship. Pictured with Sharon Beeneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family - Scott Beene, Kim Beene, Brice Beene, Hunter Choate, Addison Beene, McKenna Beene, Clifton (Donnie) Beene Jr. and Don Beene.

2016 Texas Young Farmers Scholarship Recipients photographed with Robert Bland, President Texas Young Farmers; RaeAnne Coward, Regan Williams, of the Cranfills Gap Buna FFA; Katherine Jones, Chico FFA; Kailey Keach, George FFA, was named the winner of the $100 West FFA; Addison Stuver, Teague FFA; Michaela Cheyne, A&M give-a-way at the Texas FFA Convention. Consolidated; Jhett Jackson, Quitman FFA. 11

VATAT News

VATAT

614 E. 12th Street Austin, Texas 78701

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Upcoming Events September

October

1st Swine Validation Begins

November

1st - 31st Sheep and Goat Validation

12th Texas FFA Board of Directors Meeting

11th State Fair of Texas Agriculture Awareness Day 13th Prairie View A&M Invitational LDE Contest 19th National FFA Convention

1st FFA Dues Deadline 1st Tarleton Invitational LDE Contest 5th Aggiefest LDE Contest 7th Late Priority Swine Tag Order Deadline 30th Last Day to Validate Swine

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Contact www.vatat.org

(512) 472-3128

vatat@vatat.org

Officers Shane Crafton, President

Michael Meadows, Vice President

Tammy Christian, Secretary/Treasurer

Staff Barney McClure, Executive Director

Ashley Dunkerley, Communications

Karen Jones, Membership Services