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Feature Stories
Achieve Balance in the New School Year
Juggling Act: Finding a Balance Among the Three Circles of Agricultural Education
Agricultural Education: Career or Lifestyle?
Balancing Act: Two Agriculture Teachers Share How They Balance Their Career with Their Personal Lives
Achieve Balance in the New School Year
The new school year has begun, and, like many, you have probably vowed to do a few things differently this year. Maybe you’re going to add a new agriscience class or two to reflect the changing industry of agriculture; perhaps you’ve organized an advisory council to help with your SAE visits; or, maybe you’ve spent the summer updating the barn and are planning to introduce some new animals to your animal science class. We all have new goals and plans we add to our list each year. But no matter what is at the top of your priority list, it should always involve “balance.”
Whether you’re seeking balance between your personal life and your work life, balance between your program and FFA activities, balance when it comes to making your profession your “life” or your “job,” or ALL OF THE ABOVE, one thing is certain: balance should be near the top of your list this and every school year. This issue of Making a Difference is dedicated to balance and helping you achieve this ever-elusive goal.
Since most agriculture educators lack circus experience, they’re left to their own ingenuity when it comes to juggling. Yet all agricultural education programs are required to keep three balls (or the Three Circle Model of Agricultural Education) balanced and moving. The challenge is to keep them all moving forward without…well, dropping a ball! Read Juggling Act: Finding a Balance Among the Three Circles of Agricultural Education to see how three teachers make it happen.
There are so many opportunities in agricultural education that a teacher could probably work every single day of the year and still miss out. Juggling all of the demands of the classroom with engaging in SAE/FFA and attending to family priorities has long been a challenge for the dedicated agricultural education instructor. Check out Agricultural Education: Career or Lifestyle? to see what works for three teachers who seem to have the hang of it.
If there is a casualty in Desirae Weber’s ongoing battle to master her jam-packed calendar, it’s the laundry. For the active, married mother of a 19-month-old boy, it’s a sacrifice she’s more than willing to make. Weber would rather make time for the things she enjoys—an ambitious agenda that isn’t for the faint of heart. Discover how she and others balance their personal lives with their workload when you read Balancing Act: Two Agriculture Teachers Share How They Balance Their Career with Their Personal Lives.
In Finding Balance as an Agricultural Science Teacher, Colorado teacher Todd Thomas gives us a firsthand look at his experience achieving balance in his profession, whether it’s making time for a growing family or taking on a new agriculture program in a new town. Or, in his case, both at the same time!
This month’s LifeKnowledge Spotlight focuses on achieving balance in the classroom by engaging your students in their learning and allowing them to put more effort into their learning process. Check out the tips, and then try a free LK lesson plan!
And finally, interact with your peers when you visit the NAAE’s Communities of Practice forum to comment on Nina Crutchfield’s Question to the Profession this month: How do you Create Balance when you Can’t Even Find the Scales?
I hope this issue of Making a Difference finds you diving headfirst into the new school year and achieving some balance along the way. As always, we love to hear your questions and comments, so please keep them coming to astriegel@ffa.org.
Hope to see you at national convention in October!
Amber Striegel
Editor
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