NEWS A Texas Team Ag Ed Publication
June 2017
Spotlight on Agriculture Education Shane Crafton, Henrietta
I hope June 1st finds you closing out another successful year of agriculture education! Career development events are over, banquets have come and gone, and the next big tasks on the horizon are state degree check and the FFA convention in Corpus Christi. It has been a busy year, but it seems the more years I teach, the faster they seem to fly by. My best advice for this month is to make sure you plan some down time this summer for yourself and your family to rest and recuperate to prepare for another year. I realize this is a hard thing to do, but make an extra effort to be away from the job and spend time with your families; they need and deserve that time together. Don’t wait and look back and realize you should have made time for them. This month I would like to focus on those who helped make our careers as agriculture teachers possible. In my life, I have had a couple of people who went above and beyond to ensure that I had every opportunity to be involved in agriculture from the time I was very young. Believe it or not, I was a big city boy until I was in the third grade. We lived right near downtown Ft. Worth, Texas, until I turned eight at
which point my dad moved us to the country to live near my grandparents. My dad was one of the hardest working men I have ever known. He moved us to May, Texas, to get us out of the city and where we could be raised in a small town and small school system. Who knows where I would be today if not for that decision? My dad sacrificed 40 years of his life driving to Ft. Worth on Monday morning at 4:30 a.m. to be at work by 7:00 a.m., lived in town all week, and then would drive home on Friday night in time to watch whatever sporting event I was involved in. He was an electrician who loved agriculture but knew he needed to keep another job for our family to have what it needed. Dad planted the seeds of stewardship and hard work in me at an early age and continued to foster my love of agriculture right up to putting me through Tarleton State University to earn an agriculture services and development degree. From an early age, there was never any question that I would be involved in agriculture in some form throughout my life because of the example and role model that I had in my dad. We as agriculture teachers, whether we choose to be or
not, are that same example and role model for our students each day. Always remember you are being watched by your students. Make sure your actions promote stewardship and a love of agriculture to help foster that same love for future generations. Think about this; one of us has the agriculture leadership of our towns, states, country and world in our classes right now. Don’t drop the ball; advocate for agriculture in class every day. I know I would not be where I am today if not for a huge agriculture advocate in my life. Thanks again, Dad, for shining a bright spotlight on me to foster that same love of agriculture that you had.