What Message are You Sending?

At this moment, a little girl somewhere in the United States watches her mom in the kitchen and tries to act just like her. Somewhere else, a little boy sits on the couch with his daddy and observes his reaction to the latest football score. The little boy imitates the same emotion expressed from

the other end of the couch. When children look to their parents or other adults and say... "I want to be just like you when I grow up," often we feel flattered, smile and pat them on the head. However, what happens when these children grow a little older and say, "I want to be an ag teacher just like you when I grow up?" Do we still feel flattered, smile and give them a pat on the head? Or, do we quickly run down the laundry list of reasons why teaching agriculture is NOT the greatest job in the world? What message do we send our children, either our own or those who sit in our classes day after day, about our job?

Without a doubt, many of our high school students probably spend more time with us than their own parents. Because of this, we have an incredible opportunity to be successful role models for them. Generally, we do a pretty darn good job of it... in my opinion. Why then is there an exception made for the way we portray our career choice? It's true; our job is demanding, at times thankless, and requires a tremendous investment of our personal time. However, it is also true that we chose this career - and most days, we wouldn't have it any other way! If that is the case, why do our actions seem to say, "Do as I say, not as I do?"