LEATHERWORK IN THE CLASSROOM HOW AN “OUT OF THE BOX” IDEA CAN ADVANCE YOUR PROGRAM AND REIGNITE YOUR PASSION FOR TEACHING B Y: M O N I C A PAT R I C K F R O S T 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
Many of us love what we do and regard our position as an agricultural sciences teacher as a true calling. For some of us rooted in tradition, the job description has changed drastically over the past few years, and I am not just thinking about the pandemic changes. When I first started my career, I vividly remember thinking that training successful teams, hauling winning livestock SAE projects, and helping students attain scholarships were a top priority. After a couple of years of experence, I grew up a little and realized that everything was about the impact on students, communication with school and families, and not the ability to give opportunities to win. Since then, I have tried to understand my personal limitations and communicate a clear vision for my ag department/FFA chapter with the administration, board of trustees, and community. This evolution doesn't often happen overnight, sometimes it takes life experience to place you in the needed frame of mind. Seven years ago, I had an opportunity to move schools within the county that I had taught in for fifteen years. My new school was smaller, more rural, and with a more diverse student demographic, including more affluent transfer students, rural farming families, and migrant workers. Frost ISD is a wonderful community where the motto is “cotton is king and friendliness is queen,” but the resources are more limited, and at that time the student experience was very different from what I was accustomed to. Many of the students are completely immersed in 4
