Where in life do we go wrong, for many of us it
starts at a very young age. I don't know everything about what happens to my
students, but what I know for sure is, that they end up here. Here, is
alternative education for juvenile delinquents; and here in this private school
is where I start my journey to help change the lives of my students through
agriculture education. I hope through agriculture education that I can
make a difference, and create hope for a better future. This place is one that
breeds contempt, that breeds hopelessness, but it is out of the children's own
lives that this air is created. Let us start from the beginning; I am an
agriculture education teacher from the Penn State. I recently finished 5 months
of conventional high school agriculture education. It DID not prepare me for
this next step.
I came here to change
how many of these kids see school and just maybe the world. These students are
very different than those in a typical High School. Have you ever wondered
where those “bad” kids that got dumped in your department go when they stop
showing up? They go to lock up, or placement. Many of these students have been
in and out of what we call “placements” for a large majority of their lives.
These students have committed crimes and have been victims of abuse. They do
not know agriculture, and they really don't know much about the world in
general.
Their world, typically
consists of what they call the block. Every now and then we get a student from
a rural setting, but they seem to be rather isolated and display the same type
of behaviors. I think that the students come from a place that is almost like
another world. What they know, what they place value in, is alien to most of
us. To them, teasing or bullying comes with guns and violence; it is not some
kid on the bus calling them names. Bullying to them is life-threatening. Basic
teenager things are much more serious. Many of them have seen things that my
typical agriculture student can't even fathom. This teaching environment will
be a true test of will, an educational battlefield where college training alone
won’t be enough to gain ground. While walking through these halls all I can
think of is,
 |
| This is the other ag teacher being shy |
“Welcome to tough agriculture.”
So how does one impact a child that has seen more
life than you, but knows so little about it? I am about to find out.
Fast Forward!
What you have just read was from my personal blog several months prior to this. I was asked to blog about unique circumstances in agriculture education. So here it goes. I teach agriculture education in a juvenile detention facility, also known as a placement. My partner and I currently teach Ornamental Horticulture, Small Animal Care and Management, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. We have brand new text books, a beautiful greenhouse, support of our administration, and the some of the worst behaved students in the state. What a recipe! Recently, many schools have started dumping students into agriculture departments because they don’t know where else to put them. This can be a huge pain to the teachers, now imagine all of those “dumped” kids in one classroom. My kids come from every county in the state, with a few from Maryland and West Virginia for a little diversity. On that note, the mix gets even more dynamic when you take into account the backgrounds and the socioeconomic status of my kids. I teach agriculture to them because it is my passion, but also because these kids have had so much life happen to them but have no idea how it actually works. I follow the PIMS code descriptions for my classes as well as utilizing the “SAS” and “AFNR” standards to make sure that each lesson is up to par. The rest of it is up to me, and my partner to make sure that we not only impact our students academically but personally. Our team also teaches about FFA and does an entire unit on it to make sure that our students have positive options when they reach the real world again. We likewise spend time on and conduct many surveys and learning style assessments with our students to ensure that we are teaching them in a way that they can learn easily. What we have discovered is that troubled students are such because they don’t know how to be students, and that the majority are tactile learners. Who knew right? Agriculture for tactile learners? There are many things to consider when teaching from the trenches so to speak. Here is the best advice for those hardened students that need you the most:
- Vigilance people! Do yourself a favor and see the bigger picture. Monitor everything to include but not limited to: behavior, verbal and non verbal clues, work levels, comprehension levels, family trouble, social dysfunction, anger control issues, coping skills, ownership of behavior, distorted reality, tool safety, and your own teaching methods.
- Get dirty! If you are not willing to get down and pull that weed, or dig that hole, neither are they. Many students need to know that hard work is important, obtainable, and rewarding. While of course you teach them everything from tools names, to plant anatomy.
- Be Flexible! Many difficult students have fallen through the cracks of “No Child Left Behind” and really truly don’t know much of anything. Do be afraid to change the level of your work. There comes a time where you must consider quality education of quantity.
- Become one with the special education department! Behavior and ability level are often linked, be sure to get the run down on your students. This really helps you in the long run to have smoother classes.
- Make even the little, tiny, teeny-weeny things hands on. Be creative with your lessons. Make as much as you can hands on. It helps with retention and visualization.
- Front load everything! Giving clear instructions at a moderate pace is the goal. These should include not only the procedure but the expectations for behavior.
- Process behavior! Follow up with your students that are struggling as much as possible. They may be struggling with thinking errors and ownership for their behaviors. They won’t know it’s wrong till it’s clarified. Have them explain what happened, why they did it, why they thought that way, consider their actions, and then make a plan for better behavior.
- Take every opportunity to build relationships. This could be during a behavioral process, or pulling some weeds, or just listening to them after class.
- Take accountability! Please know what you have supply wise, tool wise, or really just everything . That missing sharp object could be the thing one of your kids uses to hurt themselves or others. Set yourself up for success not failure.
- Take classes! Please consider classes or professional development opportunities on some of the following: Human Trafficking, suicide preventions, gangs and gang violence, abuse of any kind, CPR, first aid, wilderness training and first responder, HIPPA, etc. If you think these things don’t apply to you or your AG dept you are wrong! A recent study showed that Pennsylvania human trafficking cases and child abuse cases have shot up. If your school is near a major highway it is definitely in your area.
Through Agriculture we can reach those students that have been left behind, or labeled, or misunderstood. We have a rare opportunity thanks to the dynamics and diversity of our field to make a difference.
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