Ag classes important to rural students, teachers in high demand
By Rachel Mergen
“Agriculture classes are more than just teaching, they include actual life experiences,” Amber Patterson, River Ridge alumna, stated. Patterson was a highly active member of the River Ridge FFA chapter, and is now studying at UW-River Falls to become an agriculture teacher.
Agriculture instructors are in great demand at the moment. At the end of the last school year, both River Ridge and Wauzeka-Steuben’s agriculture teachers departed from the districts. Agriculture and FFA are large parts of the rural schools, with 45 students participating to some degree on average each year at Wauzeka-Steuben and approximately 60 percent of the River Ridge High School student population taking part.
“Agriculture classes teach new ways to think about topics rather than a traditional math or English class. In general, they are very hands-on courses. These courses also do not just teach about agriculture, but also about leadership qualities, work ethic, common courtesy and so much more. In a world where projections show the world’s food supply will not be sufficient to meet the demands within our own life spans, it has never been more important to help educate those interested students to be the problems solvers of tomorrow,” Robert Sailer, Wauzeka-Steuben district administrator stated about the importance of agriculture in schools.
Patterson believes that agriculture classes are important in schools, because they allow students to have new opportunities, learn where their food comes from, travel across the nation and meet new people they wouldn’t have met without the agriculture classes and FFA organization.
Clay Koenig, River Ridge principal, reminded that, in rural communities, the traditions of agriculture and FFA are highly honored also. They do not simply affect students in the district, but almost every resident in some way.
Agriculture teachers over the years, like Pete Drone and Kory Stalsberg, of River Ridge, brought locals together by creating a strong program that benefitted the entire area.
“Agriculture classes affect more than just the high school,” Koenig stated. Grants have been received, through the work of the most recent agriculture teacher at River Ridge, Bret Iverson, which helped expand the River Ridge greenhouse to help educate students in all grades.
FFA chapters also work to involve the entire school in their programs, which, according to Patterson, helps make students realize exactly how large and important the organization really is. The River Ridge FFA alumni also is very active in making sure the community and the students have the best opportunities available to them.
On Wauzeka-Steuben’s FFA, Sailer said, “We are very proud of our FFA chapter. Numerous awards have been won by the students and the chapter. Within our school, they grow vegetables that are used in our food service program. The group also puts on multiple activities and events throughout the year that benefit other students and the community.”
Without many agriculture teachers currently in the working generation, and future ones attempting to receive the proper education, the number of candidates for open positions is decreasing.
“These positions can be extremely time consuming. There are numerous competitions, events and learning activities teachers can continually be taking their students to. Great programs are constantly involved in activities year-round. This is a large time commitment,” Sailer stated about the struggles an agriculture teacher faces.
In addition, he added, “Larger schools have larger budgets and can offer higher wages. Typically larger schools have more options of facilities than smaller schools. This is not just a problem in agriculture. Teacher shortages are rampant in all fields. Just six years ago certain positions would have 100 applicants, today those same positions have two or three. Positions that had two or three now may only have one applicant. Being a teacher in our current society is harder than it has ever been.”
Limited budgets in rural schools may mean that bigger opportunities are missed for students. These limited budgets do not reduce the positive impact agriculture classes and teachers can have on students though.
“I was inspired by Stalsberg,” Patterson commented. Patterson always knew she wanted to be a teacher, but after experiencing his class, along with her own farm background, she knew that agriculture was the best field for her.
Patterson said, “I look forward to the impact I’ll have on students, not just in the classroom, but in their overall lives.” She hopes that the lessons she teaches in the future will help her students succeed.
To reach this goal, she is learning about how to balance the work needed to be an excellent agriculture teacher with the attention she’ll have to put toward her own personal life. She also is being taught how to create lesson plans, along with all the information that is necessary to give students the best agriculture education possible.
Patterson hopes that her students will be comfortable enough with her to openly communicate about both their schoolwork and lives. She plans to be a mixture of strict and fun.
Sailer stated what he looks for when searching for a new agriculture teacher, “Someone who is knowledgeable and passionate about agriculture. Someone who is as excited to plant and grow a seed as they are to nurture and help mold a young adult.”
Koenig added that candidates should have the ability to communicate well with the community and their students.
“Farmers feed the world,” Koenig quoted the well-known truth. Agriculture is important to every community, and in the end, all schools hope to give their students the best education and opportunities possible by finding the right teachers.
The River Ridge agriculture teacher position has been filled, but Wauzeka-Steuben is still on the hunt for their next great teacher and FFA adviser. To apply, go to the website WECAN or submit paper copies to District Principal Tiffany Dums.
