Leveling the Playing Field

When I saw the call for manuscripts for The Agricultural Education Magazine on the theme of enhancing diversity, the first thing I thought about was a phrase from a popular church public service announcement... "Isn't it about time?"

Tools at Hand

Helping our students feel more welcomed

and to understand they are of equal importance to our program regardless of race, creed, religion or economic status should be our priority. The best way to accomplish this is through time. In agricultural education time is available through the utilization of a tool we have always had-namely, supervised agricultural experience visits.

This ready tool, in our arsenal of agriculture teacher tricks, is the best tool for enhancing diversity and increasing the feeling of acceptance in our programs. Acceptance is exactly what our young people seek today. More than anything else, they yearn for acceptance from those around them. When you take the time to visit a student at their home or workplace, you are not just leveling but rather tilting the playing field in the student's favor. You are going on their turf, to the epicenter of their comfort zone and saying through your actions that you accept that student. You are taking the first step, as an instructor, to indicate a willingness to help the student succeed. You are opening yourself to their culture and exploring their world.

I have witnessed my program achieve the goal of all students being treated as equals through a commitment to visiting each and every student. I have appreciated an improvement in my own instruction because of exposure to other cultures. At Willcox, I have visited families who are 7th generation ranchers, living and ranching continuously on the same property. I have visited migrant families from Mexico, where the only English speaking person in the family was my student, but I have also visited migrant families who have moved to the area to work in the greenhouse industry from England and Holland.

All of the visits were, of course, different, but all were also the same. Same in that every parent regardless of what they do or where they are from wants the best for their child. They want their child to succeed and they appreciate someone taking the time to visit with them about their child. Are you really reaching out to the families in your community? Do you care about your students as individuals? Are you trying to make a square peg fit a round hole? Or, is your program dynamic and flexible enough to fit the needs of each student in their quest for success?

Top Ten SAE Visits

As I spent a few moments reflecting on the value of the SAE visit and its relationship to diversity, I thought of some visits that shaped my perspective:

1) Flying High - You reach a whole new level of trust when you put your life in the hands of your student. I was fortunate enough to have a student achieve a pilot's license the summer of his sophomore year, so his junior year fall visit was in the air. It not only gave me a wonderful view of the Sulphur Springs Valley and the bird's eye view of our agricultural industry, it changed my perspective on the future of my pilot! To say the sky is the limit for this dedicated young man is no longer true.

2) Working the way through-One of my first SAE visits is one I will never forget. I was visiting a ranching family that had ranched in the Willcox area since the mid-1800's. I had one of the daughters as a sophomore that year and her younger brother and sister were on the way up. I arrived at 5:30 A.M., was given a horse, and completed the visit at 4:00 that afternoon. A long day, but that time commitment gave me a fresh appreciation of all the ranch kids in the program.

3) Driving for Success - Walking 9 holes of golf is a great way to have time to talk to a student and parent about opportunities while enjoying yourself! It also allowed the opportunity for the student to teach me a few tricks and improve my golf game. This was especially good considering the student's career interest and SAE is in turf grass management. The reinforced concept is that all students seek a time for individual attention.

4) Hunting for Student Success - You quickly get to know yourself and the student when you have the chance to spend 3 days on a mule with a pack of dogs hunting mountain lions. We were working a ranch north of Willcox that had lost several calves from the recent calf crop to a mountain lion. SAEs in wildlife management can offer a variety of interesting perspectives!

5) The House of Glass- Willcox enjoys a unique twist in agricultural production with over 225 acres of hydroponic greenhouses surrounding the community. Many families from England and Holland have immigrated to work in this industry. With those students in the program, the learning opportunity about different cultures and the greenhouse industry has been wonderful. It was awesome to give the students the opportunity to brag or show off something they are proud to be a part of. Their perspectives regarding America changed as much as our perspectives regarding their home countries.

6) Bridging the Language Barrier- Willcox is located approximately 60 miles from Mexico. Forty percent of our high school is Hispanic. Unfortunately, the Willcox Agriscience Program does not reflect an equivalent percent Hispanic enrollment. It is an issue that I have been very concerned about. When visiting students' homes where the parents do not speak English, I have used a variety of sources of communication. Perhaps the best was taking the Spanish teacher with me to serve as an interpreter. Even though I still left those visits with more questions than answers, the looks on the faces of the families told me they appreciated the fact that I appreciated their children. I was very excited to see the National FFA develop a task force on engaging Hispanics in our Agriscience programs. They specifically identified that the strategies that do NOT work include lack of individual encouragement and contact while utilizing a one size fits all concept. We provide individual instruction through the SAE visits.

7) Great Meal- As a bachelor Ag Teacher, one of the best things about SAE visits is the occasional meal! It always helps to have a student involved with a Food Science SAE plan. I was visiting a freshman at his place of employment. The student's family owned and operated a BBQ establishment. It was the responsibility of the young man to order the meat for cooking, prepare the smoker/fire for cooking and to run the smoker throughout the morning and afternoon/evening for the BBQ. This student really enjoyed ag, but did not think he had an SAE. I pointed out that his duties would fit in the Food Science area and he was very excited to combine the family business with his favorite class. This lead to his family catering our annual banquet for 600 people at a rate of $1.83/plate and a great meal that day! Student success over BBQ sauce, can it get any better?

8) Growing a Future- SAE visits may be the greatest thing to build pride and allow students to demonstrate pride. Another first visit was to a young lady who lived in town. Her parent's were not involved in agriculture and did not know the definition of an SAE much less what their daughters SAE was going to be. In fact, because they understood the importance of SAE to the program, they were contemplating removing their high achieving straight "A" daughter, as they did not want to set her up for failure. I started the young lady with a food science SAE from her interest survey. That concept did not pan out. But, because of the visit, because of keeping a student engaged in a program, a short time later this young lady was employed by our local resource conservation district. Through that program she wrote a grant to start a community garden for our program. This past year she received her State Degree and was recognized as the GiIa Southern District Star of Agribusiness. This garden is in its second production season and as the current student director graduates she is training another student to take over. Student success that was cultivated over time!

9) Blaine's Triumph - And sometimes the visits just create great stories for the classroom that provide laughs for years to come. I was visiting a student with registered Brangus cattle. I thought it would be cool to use the digital movie camera to record the student talking about his cattle for my freshman livestock evaluation unit. As Blaine walked up to his heifer, speaking with great confidence of her attributes, he was kicked in the stomach and hit the ground rolling. Fortunately, he was okay aside from a bruised ego. Needless to say, I still use the video in the unit and the sound picked up me laughing hysterically. Who says Ag Teachers are not sensitive? As we visit those students with actual production SAEs you show your students that you are willing to get your hands dirty in the building project of their lives.

10) Every Single One: The bottom line is that every single visit I have ever done has created a positive energy. It is what has kept me going as a teacher. It is what helps me feel that I am making a difference. Even the visit where I left not feeling like any progress had been made, that student left knowing that I cared enough for them to come to their home.

SAE visits are not just for students with expansive production enterprises or with livestock projects. SAE/Home visits are the vehicle we use to change students' lives. SAE visits are how we make students feel welcome. They are not optional. Without them, we are nothing but a glorified science class with a club.

Total Student Success

Understand that our end goal of total student success is a holistic goal, a big picture concept that we have three tools to work with to accomplish: SAE, FFA, and Classroom instruction. The mistake we commonly make in regards to involvement in all three areas is to sell the student and not the parents on the value. It is critical that all strategic partners are educated on the value of involvement in all three components. This partner education can occur on many different levels during an SAE visit.

It is through the SAE area that we have truly changed the lives of students. This process allows the teacher to provide a dynamic program that changes to fit the needs of the students and help them achieve Total Student Success. SAEs and home visits have also provided the opportunity for the Agriscience Instructor to serve as a goodwill ambassador to the community for the entire school district.

It can not be overstated how valuable this component is to what can be accomplished. At the same time, it should not be underestimated regarding the amount of time and energy that is required to properly conduct this aspect of the program. A properly conducted and supervised student SAE program is not only beneficial, but is integral to the entire program. You see again, it is about time.

On of my favorite stories is of Sir Winston Churchill visiting with FDR requesting help at the beginning of WWII when the Nazi's were violently attacking Great Britain. He is quoted as saying, "We shall not falter, we shall not fail; give us the tools and we will finish the job." As agricultural educators we have been giving the tool to change the lives of students, the tool to recruit and retain a diverse student population and the tool to simply enjoy the profession that we are in. That tool is Supervised Agricultural Experience visits.

Agricultural Education is a diverse field. Our students bring a myriad of diversity through their choices of SAEs. In addition, they bring a richness and depth to the human component of our programs with their individual backgrounds and cultures. As educators we want our students to succeed, regardless of their background or uniqueness.

In order for agricultural educators to help students achieve Total Student Success we must have courage. It takes courage to interact with our students in an authentic way. It takes courage to realize that students want to know that you care, before they care what you know. It takes courage to show that you really care. The courage to deliver the total agricultural education program, the premier educational delivery system in the world.