BY: R AY P I E N I A Z E K A G R I C U LT U R E T E A C H E R S A S S O C I AT I O N O F T E X A S E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R
LEADERSHIP ROLES IN YOUR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY Leadership is not a position or title; it is action and example. As an agricultural science teacher, you have many options to show leadership by action and example in your school. There are many opportunities for you to step into a role and be a model for your students. Most schools have committees used to meet requirements of making decisions within the school district, such as attendance, site-based decision making, community relations, and many others. By stepping up to serve on these committees, you show you are interested in and involved with what is happening in the local community.
You may be in a school where athletics is front and center to the community. Show your respect to the coaches and players by attending the events or offer to be an announcer. Also, students will love to see you. What better way to show the community and parents that all students are important to you than by showing up as support at other activities? It thrills me to see when teachers post they were honored by a student at an athletic event. This action shows your leadership is respected in the classroom.
“Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader… they set out to make a difference. It's never about the role, always about the goal.” - Lisa Haisha, If you are asked to assist with Motivational Speaker. an inservice, jump at it! Share how things happen in your Our goal as ag educators should classroom. If you want to show be to create more leaders, not them you are teaching real- followers. It is our job to set an world topics, show off what your example of leadership for our program is doing. Offer middle students. school and elementary teachers help to do agricultural-related Your community will look to you topics in their classroom. If you for leadership. Whether it be at have a greenhouse, offer it to church, the city council, county biology teachers or any science government, civic groups, or teachers to use. If you grow getting your students involved bedding plants, deliver them to with activities, there are the elementary school to grow countless ways to be a leader in their schools or classrooms. locally. I was asked to be a 30
member of the agricultural extension service community advisory council and served four years or more. It was a great way to connect with other members of the community and build a relationship with the extension agents in our county. If you live in a small community, leadership roles may be limited but will be available. Seek out the established leaders in the community to ask how you could be involved in what is happening. Take your students to see how things operate and get them involved in the civic groups or other communitybased organizations. We should be modeling servant leadership for our students. Your visibility in the community as a leader will go far in your relationships with parents, students, and community members. As John Quincy Adams stated, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, you are a leader.” You will never know the power of your actions until far down the road when your students become the leaders in their communities. Have a great winter, and reach out if you need us.
