Doing to Learn: Life Skills in the Show Ring
McKinley Garret (pictured above) and Myla Rives are learning life skills through livestock.
For many FFA members, some of the most valuable lessons are learned outside the classroom. Through raising and showing hogs, Florida members McKinley Garret and Myla Rives have gained hands-on experience that has taught them responsibility, perseverance and dedication in ways that textbooks never could.
Dedication in Action
Both members have shown livestock for four years, and through that time, they have learned success does not come easily. It takes early mornings, long days, patience and the willingness to keep working, even when things do not go as planned. Garret, who has spent the last two years showing hogs on the Florida Junior Swine Circuit at the state and national level, says one of the biggest lessons the experience has taught her is dedication.
“The most important skill I have learned is commitment and dedication,” Garret adds. “I have had some difficult pigs over the last two years, and I learned to stick with it, no matter what.”
That kind of persistence is something both members have had to develop through firsthand experience. Unlike classroom work, showing livestock requires constant effort and hands-on care, with no shortcuts and no days off.
“Showing pigs is different from what I learn in the classroom because everything is hands-on,” Garret says. “No matter what, the pigs have to be worked… there are no off or slow days.”
Myla Rives shows off her showmanship skills in the ring with her hog, Nosey.
Skills Beyond the Classroom
For Rives, that daily responsibility has helped her understand how closely livestock projects connect to real life. She believes showing a pig has taught her skills that will stay with her long after her time in FFA, especially when it comes to handling challenges and carrying herself with maturity.
“Showing a pig connects to the real world by teaching responsibility and dedication,” Rives says. “As an adult, I will face many challenges but, with the values I have learned through showing pigs, I will be able to overcome any hardship.”
Of course, not every lesson comes easily. One of the biggest parts of raising livestock is learning how to adapt when animals do not cooperate, and that challenge has taught Rives just how important patience and problem solving can be.
“The most challenging part of raising a hog is when they refuse to cooperate and you have to find a way around that challenge,” Rives adds. “By doing this, I have learned patience, problem solving and communication.”
Skills That Last a Lifetime
Although the banners and placings are rewarding, the real value of these projects goes much deeper. Through showing hogs, Garret and Rives are gaining more than ring experience; they are developing the work ethic, resilience and life skills that truly exemplify what it means to be “Doing to Learn.”
