New Students in Rural Education

I was fortunate to grow up in rural America. My graduating class had 27 students and we knew everything about everybody. The high school was surrounded by quaint homes with well-manicured lawns. Farms, feedlots, and small cattle and horse ranches encircled our community.That was 16 years ago. Thanks to the positive experiences that my agriculture teachers provided for my classmates and me, I now have the opportunity to teach in a similar small town, surrounded by picturesque homes with desert landscapes. Crops irrigated by pivots and cattle ranches can be seen as one drives along the highway. The 2014 graduating class has 25 students. Not much has changed, or has it?Students in our rural schools face many of the same challenges they did 10 years ago. The active students struggle with time management due to their involvement in sports, band, student council, youth group, and FFA. When school is not in session, teenagers strive to find activities they can be involved in without causing trouble.Today's rural agricultural education students do not appear to be that much different from me when I was in high school. Students with various ethnic backgrounds can be found in the agricultural education classroom. Many of the students live on a farm or ranch; and there are students who do not appreciate the agriculture industry because they cannot see the direct benefits it provides to their community. There is a generation of students who are illiterate in agriculture production; technology has presented new challenges, students have a different perception of work, and their decisions are largely focused on themselves.The differences that have been perceived in today's rural agricultural education students are ones that may be similar to students who live in the city. Even though many of our rural students have some connection to the agriculture industry, they do not always have a personal association to agriculture. Economies of size have taken most of our small family farms away. Farms are very rarely passed down to the next generation, therefore there is a vast disconnect between the understanding of food production and our students. There are aggressive organizations that use the media to tell the public about the horrors of animal production and genetic engineering and many of our students believe these accusations to be true. A few years ago a local Farm Bureau representative, who had judged our state public speaking contest, addressed our teacher organization stating that there were several false statements made in the students' speeches. As embarrassing as it was for us to hear, I knew it was my responsibility to become more proactive in addressing the misconceptions of agriculture with my students, even the rural ones.The consistent use of technology has developed a generation of students who want answers now. For example, after our state Floriculture Career Development Event this past fall, my students texted me all weekend wanting to know the results. They did not consider that the event was held on a Friday; therefore, we would not receive the results until Monday. The various social media applications, such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter, have created constant distractions for our students. It is too easy for students to waste an hour on Facebook, when they could be preparing for the national Extemporaneous Public Speaking event or updating their record books.Even with the hurdles that progressions in technology have created, there are several benefits. When the students have a question about a breed of cattle they see on the way to National FFA Convention, they can complete the research on their phones. Technology has also fostered a different type of relationship between the teacher and students. Since the students have grown up with computers, cell phones and iPods, I frequently request their help with technology issues. Social media applications also offer a way for FFA members to connect state and nationwide, and serve as an effective recruitment tool. …