I will tell the backstory in order to get to the next story.
I grew up in Shattuck, America. Shattuck had a local Ag Teaching legend– W.E. Bradley. He taught there for a lot of years. There were a lot of big name ag teachers that student taught at Shattuck, under Mr. Bradley. Larry Brady, Fred Krasser and Jimmy Harrel, just to name a few. He was already retired by the time that I was old enough to be in ag ed class. However, I made several Tulsa premium sales with steers from Mr. Bradley and I did some work for him, from time to time, when he needed help. Breaking calves, hauling hay, etc. I saw from a young age, the value of a strong ag teacher.
When I headed off to OSU, ag-ed was my major and I never changed. Sure, I could have chose other majors/career paths (I’m a really good test taker) but I new what I wanted to do.
In 1993, there weren’t many ag teaching jobs open in Oklahoma. I turned down a few in SE Oklahoma. I knew that I wasn’t a fit so why do it? Eventually, I got the job in Billings, OK. Little town with a crappy school but a lot of really good people. I learned about proficiency awards and public speaking. I served a 3 year sentence and then moved. We moved because Kela was getting ready to start school and I wanted her to learn to read.
In 1996, I took the Waynoka job. Strong FFA history in a really good small school with lots and lots of great people. There, I learned how to win at all facets of the FFA game. I also had to learn how to co-exist with other strong programs–home ec, tech ed, football, baseball, etc. Great environment that I have a lot of fond memories. I taught 9 years at Waynoka. We moved from there because Kela wanted a more challenging academic environment. So, in 2005, I took the job teaching at Fairview.
Fairview was/is a strong school with an intense FFA heritage and lots of really good people. This was now a two teacher program. James Roller and I taught for one year together. We won a lot. On the first day of school for year two, he took a banking job. $h!t!!! I made some phone calls and by week two, we had Mindi Clark hired. Yes, now, Dr. Mindi Clark. We taught for two years. We won a lot! Stock shows, speech contests, CDE events, proficiency awards, national chapter awards, etc. This was a great move for Kela. She loved it. Me, not so much.
Why wasn’t it a good fit for me? I about burnt myself into the ground. I couldn’t ever step away from work. I was on the OAETA board. I was hooked up with work. This goat deal was taking off and Fairview was showing a LOT of winning goats. It didn’t end well. Some flashing lights, a lot of discussion and I wisely chose to quit and walk away. (that is a whole other story for a blog to come at a much later time). Probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. I took 8 weeks off and just took care of my family. Way cheaper than a divorce and the best therapy that I could have gotten.
At the end of that 8 weeks, I went to work for Western Equipment pushing green paint. Then, I took over the store at Woodward. Really good job in the real world with lots of really good people. Even while I was at Western, I was still actively involved in ag-ed. Helping lots of kids with goats, judging shows, judging speech contests, helping with proficiency awards and attending lots of various fundraisers. During this time, we moved to Fargo and Duke was going to school at Shattuck.
I then quit my really good job at Western to chase the dream of raising livestock for a living. All of the stars were lined up but then GOD works in mysterious ways. After two months of being self-employed, we made the decision to go back to teaching for ONE year. This week marks the 8th year. Shattuck started as a single teacher program, then added another teacher but it was still kind of a single teacher program. So, on year three, we went back to a single teacher program. But, then, Dr. Clark called and asked me to take on a student teacher. It worked out well and we hired Annie Abbey. So, this will be the 4th year of a 2 teacher program. Through it all, the Dragon Lady has become one of the top ag teachers in the state, even though she has never taught.
All in all, I have taught ag ed for 22 years in 4 different schools. I have been in single teacher programs and in multiple teacher programs. I have worked with male (1) and female (3) co teachers. I have been in the real world where the almighty $ rules. I have been successful as a classroom teacher, with all species of livestock, public speaking, ag mechanics, proficiency awards, national chapter awards, various CDE’s as well as serving in all phases of OAETA leadership. Well, except for that role of president. That president-elect title was vacated when I hung it up in 2008. (that is a whole other story that involves another goat guru). I have always had a passion for FFA, Ag-Ed and most importantly for helping kids to find a way to succeed. And my definition of “succeed” doe not always involve a banner or a trophy. But, if you are giving out banners and trophies, well, then we might as well try to gather those as a result of the learning process.
I have a lot of experiences–good and bad. I’ve made mistakes. I’m not always liked by other ag teachers. Some find me scary. Some, that don’t know me well, think that I am a big RICHARD. Others, that do know me, know that I can be a donkey. I’ve never worried about what others thought, just that I was doing right by my students. And no one can argue my track record in that regard. I have a diverse set of perspectives when dealing with Oklahoma agricultural education. The passion is still very strong within me. I don’t know how much longer that I can do this but I will never half-ass it. This is the backstory that brings us to the next story. Through it all, I realize when opportunities have been missed.
Here’s to a day of Shattuck school in-service. Have a good one.
