Week 10; March Madness

Spring break has an entirely different meaning this year. I remember two years ago I spent spring break chasing kangaroos around Australia for college credit. This year I sit frantically finishing my thesis, applying for jobs, and lesson planning for my final weeks at MacArthur. There's no time for rest or relaxation and surprisingly I feel energized without it. Ok, honestly, I spent nearly all of Saturday in my bed, but don’t think I wasn’t dreaming about all the work I had to do.

Week 10 was over as fast as it started and thankfully the week provided plenty of learning opportunities, for me and my students.

#1. Every day there's something to cry about. This week I signed a paper that permanently excused a student from my class and from MacArthur for good. This student is impossible to describe. The first few weeks in class he hardly talked, sat quiet and small in his desk each day until the bell rang. I would watch him in between classes scurrying down the halls sort of like a raccoon, dodging people like trash cans and clinging to the walls out of the light. This student, however, started to come alive in equine science, getting involved and doing decently on tests. Then on Wednesday he approached me with form from the front office asking for my signature of approval that he and his records be released from Mac High School. Puzzled I turned to the student as asked what all this was about. "I have to go Miss", was all he said. I could feel tears in my eyes and I think I saw some in his too. He explained that there had been trouble at home and his dad kicked him out and he was going to go live with his mom. I asked if he was going to enroll in high school where his mom lives and he said he would try. I wanted to tell him trying was not going to be good enough, but for this tiny, confused, and obviously upset high school student I decided we'd make the last day of equine science a good one. Every day I look at his desk and wonder if my student is sitting in a different equine science class in a different high school. I really hope he is, though life has taught me not to be so optimistic.

#2. Every day there's something to celebrate. This week it was Texas Independence Day; March 2, the day Texas became a sovereign state of the United States. I wanted to celebrate by grilling up some grass-fed Texas steak and watching re-runs of George Bush's State of the Union addresses, but instead we discussed lap welds, horse dental issues, and the battle of San Jacinto.

#3. Every day there's something to laugh about. I decided to paint my fingernails a very bright pink to celebrate the upcoming arrival of spring break. While washing hands after welding class I asked some of the gentlemen gathered around the sink what they thought of my choice in color. I asked if they thought it was as fabulous as I did and explained that I had to go bright pink in honor of spring. One student, who reminds me of a slightly edgier Jonas brother said he really liked the color, then held out his own hand to reveal two of his nails painted nearly the same color of pink. Look at that, I thought, we really aren't so different.

#4. Every day there is something to be thankful for. I am convinced I am spending 14 weeks with most interesting, most entertaining group of agriculture teachers I have ever met. I look forward to taking joint field trips to the Rodeo with some of them and the bi-monthly meetings we have as a group. I know that Mr. Johnson and Mr. Arkadie will make me laugh, even if it is just because they showed up in their matching denim jackets. I cherish every conversation I have with Arkadie. I can ask him about Texas and roping calves, we talk about diversity in agriculture, I tell him about the Iowa State Fair, and he taught me how to say San Antonio like a cowboy. I told him he MUST visit Iowa someday and he said he'd come up for my wedding, whenever that might be. I’ve never met anyone quite like him. If this experience has taught me anything it’s that good people are everywhere.

#5. Honesty is the best policy. At the beginning of the week we had open house at MacArthur, which is an opportunity for guardians to visit teachers and inquire about how their student is doing in their classes. While similar to a parent-teacher conference, this is a parent-teacher-student conference. Whatever is said the student is present for, which can be both good and bad. Because these are my students now Arkadie let me talk to the parents, or at least talk to the translator. At first I was really nervous to say something too harsh, after all, I still want these kids to like me. But being nice is not going to help anyone graduate high school and thankfully most high school students carry a grudge that lasts about 3 class periods, at most. It was neat to finally meet some of parents of my students and understand the family structure they were coming from. Many parents left phone numbers or email address for me to contact them if their student in still tardy or being disrespectful in class. I haven't had to use any yet and don't foresee that happening. Just asking "is this a cell phone or a home phone? Should I call after dinner?" is enough to get a grin from a student and calm them down for the rest of the day.

#6. Reality is harsh. Students in my livestock production class have been begging for a swine or cattle slaughter video. Tiffany found one that she thought was appropriate and I decided to show it to my students. My welding class asked why there was a TV in the classroom and I explained I was showing a slaughter video in my livestock class. They convinced me to let them watch it too, which I was fine with since Arakadie was gone and I was not completely comfortable giving students reign of the shop with just the deputy on duty. This video was very, very educational, and VERY disturbing for the vegetarian substitute that had been assigned to our classroom. My students, who would sleep standing up in the welding booth if I couldn't see them, watched the 43 minute video without sleeping, speaking, or blinking. Many decided they either 1) wanted to work at a slaughter house or 2) be a vegetarian. I told them not eating meat would not keep any of this from happening (we all know beef by-products go into toothpaste, medicines, clothes, shampoos, and soap). I also looked at the vegetarian substitute teacher's leather shoes with a look that reminded him he wasn't saving anything either.

#7. Reality has always been harsh for these students. Most of these students don't have dreams of being doctors and lawyers. No one has ever told these students that they can do and be whatever they want when they grow up. These kids were never really kids. At one of our student teacher meetings we discussed Dr. Payne and the work she has done in preparing teachers to work with students from poverty, including generational poverty. All these students have known is the reality of their circumstances. Within social structures Dr. Payne has identified hidden rules of society. Students who are products of generational poverty believe (generally) that the future is up to fate, and that the circumstance you are born into will likely be the same you die in. Many of my students have accepted their situation, and believe an education will not necessarily change things. I ask students if they could do anything, absolutely anything, what would it be and few can answer the question. Opportunity, adventure, and possibility are as foreign to them as Chunturo boots are to me.

#8. Cowboy boots are my crutch. I can't explain my infatuation with cowboy boots. I crave a great pair of cowboy boots the way some long for career success or marital bliss. I see cowboy boots as usable art, as a thing of beauty, and as my wearable security blanket. I stand a little taller in my cowboy boots (literally) and both times I have been observed I've worn my cowboy boots certain they would give me the extra bit of oomph I needed for the day. Wherever I end up teaching in a few months, my cowboy boots and I are going together.

#9. You don't have to travel far to take a student somewhere they've never been. Since the first of March, Space Town has been blessed by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. While it's a far cry from the Iowa State Fair, the Rodeo is neat and a great place for students to experience Texas agriculture. This week we took students to AG 4 U Day, a day of workshops, games, and forums for young people to learn more about the importance of the agricultural industry. After AG 4 U Day we sold souvenir programs for the Rodeo and Concert in Reliant Stadium. When the day was FINALLY over I had one student approach me and say "miss, I have lived in Houston for 14 years and have never been to the rodeo before." Excited for my student I said "well, we got a little closer today, didn't we" as I wasn't sure if he was talking about the livestock show in general or the ACTUAL rodeo. He looked at me said, "no, miss, we got a lot closer today."

#10. The end is near. I just finished my tenth week at MacArthur and the end is very near - about a month away. I have been thinking a lot about where and if I want to teach when this 14-week high school experiment is over. I'm constantly torn between wanting to stay in a somewhat urban setting and finding the least populated, most desolate school with a rural route address. I used to think that perhaps I wouldn't be challenged agriculturally if I have to start every semester reminding students the difference between a heifer and a cow in an urban high school. These last few weeks I've started to feel differently, however. For me, agriculture was more than a science and a study. Agriculture was a word synonymous for home, and comfort, and family. When I think of agriculture I don't think of biotechnology labs or a meat locker. When I think of agriculture I think of my parents' farm on a warm summer evening and how green the corn looks when the sunset has cast a hazy yellow film across the field. It's not an idea in your head; agriculture is a feeling in your heart. Keeping that in mind, if I create an environment for my students that is first one of comfort and stability, a safe place where they can be themselves and forget about the worries of the day, higher-order thinking and in-depth agricultural conversations are sure to follow, no matter where I am.