Just a little rant

farmgirl1995

Songster
9 Years
Sep 8, 2010
386
3
109
Georgia:)
Yesterday, while I was at school, my pigs decided to rip their water buckets and food bucket off of the walls as well as bend the gate. Luckily the hose wasn't frozen when I got home. Last night they decided to do it again so now I'm staying home from school to repair a pig pen. The water hose and pipes are frozen so it'll probably be about 2 or 3 by the time I can make myself useful so here I am with a little rant for you guys. First off, my high school doesn't have a big agriculture program. We have 1 greenhouse and 1 show animal(mine) in the entire county's FFA. We have a new ag teacher this year. She's fresh out of college, first year teaching and all that. She really is great. But students have a tendency to take advantage of her. We have 11 people total on our junior and senior officer teams. I, the sentinel for the senior team, and about two other people are the only ones who show up for meetings, events, etc. I have tried every event and competition and taken every opportunity given to me and succeeded in all of them. I find it odd that I have to hold authority in the meetings, that I have to take on the roll of president and other officers in ceremonies because THEY DON'T SHOW UP. Every Wednesday morning we have a senior officer meeting in the ag room at 7:30. The secretary and I are always there on time. About 8:00 maybe 8:05 the president and vice president roll in with their bags of breakfast from burger king and immediately disrupt the meeting by goofing off with the secretary, who is fine until they get there. Then at about 8:15 (school starts ar 8:30, by the way), the rest of the team shows up and I am forced to tell them everything I have planned for the next chapter meeting while the president and company continue to goof off. These people back out of everything, show up to nothing, and goof off when they do show up and I'm really sick of it. Some people really want this program to take off but it won't happen with "leaders" like these, you know? Our teacher tries her very hardest to do everything she can for us. She is the best thing that has happened to our school and yet her officers are so disrespectful to her. If they think this is just one big party then they need to quit because they are wasting the time and money of all the people who are invested in this.Thank God it wasn't my teacher that picked the president but the teacher before her. If she had I would've questioned her good sense. I can't wait until elections because I am going to deliver the best interview they have ever seen and when I am president, there's going to be big change with the officer teams. I have spent my every last dime on this program by going to trainings,certifications, events and competitions that no one has supported and I'm done with it being wasted. Now I have to go clean the kitchen...
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Sorry about the pigs. As for the students would it be possible to pick new people for those not working out? I would want that done,or just try my best to tolerate the current situation if I really wanted to participate.

File a complaint if you are uncomfortable speaking with them directly.Perhaps that alone would get the students to focus on what needs to be done.
 
Time to stand up and be FIRM with the committee. If they don't show up for x amount of meetings, the committee will decide that person's fate. Yes it is HARD work running a club, doing things to go smoothly and fairly but you would have "bad" apples that would just ruin the purpose of the club.
 
Unfortunately, we have held several officer meetings in which the topic was their behaviour. We've told them if they say they're going to come to something and then don't they had better have their parents call or write an excuse and that got my teacher chewed out. We've tried to address their behaviour during activities but for some reason they don't think we're talking to them. The next time the president is acting like a child during a meeting I'm going to straight up tell her to cut it out or resign. I don't want to seem like the bad guy but that's hard to do with such a small team
 
Do they get grades for this? Seems like it should probably be a part of the curriculum or an additional elective, and graded as such. Then they will care: both students and parents as it will affect their GPAs.

If you can't do that, put in place rules relating to participation in the fun events; those who do not participate in the planning cannot participate in all teh fun activities. Put in place rules that remove people from office for non-participation (use the same rules the school already has in place regarding excused and unexcused absences for academic classes).
 
Sorry about the pens
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. And even more sorry about FFA
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. My chapter (way back when) had about 30 students in it and some who truely just goofed off, I had several people with me that we're more serious and thus we improved the club. Couple of questions, are you involved in you regional area? Apples to Oranges when I was in, regional officers were dedicated and I loved going to their activities. How involved are you in state, nationals? Compared with the outside our club was really silly but... I loved it! I went to Nationals 3 years in a row, truely heartwarming and very inspirational! The friends I met there were pen pals for several years. At state I was mildly involved, went to camp two years and competed at the state level all 4 years in something or another, state choir. Again I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.

My advice is to make friends with regional people they can give extra tips on how to improve the chapter. Your teacher even though new should be looking at ways to improve. Sometimes this is looking at the members and figuring out where they would want to compete, get them motivated in a direction they might see that the chapter has purpose other than just hanging with their friends. (not that it is a bad thing to hang with friends). Sounds like the chapter needs to figure out the direction they want to strive for!


Good luck and hang in there!
 
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Oh Lord, I wish they did get grades for this! FFA is considered extracurricular. Although, if you are enrolled in a class taught by the ag teacher then you are automatically in the FFA. Since all the officers are, it seems like applying the school's policy to the team would be a logical idea...but...it hasn't happened and I doubt it will. The teacher we had last year gave everyone free rein so they seem to think our teacher now should let us do the same. Her being a first year teacher doesn't help at all.
 
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The pens are all good now:) Glad to meet a former FFA member! Were you an officer? If so, what position did you hold? Unfortunately, no. I have not had much oppurtunity to be involved but I wish I was. Wednesday morning we held a meeting and discussed National Convention. I would really like to go and if I can get the money, I will. We are just the most poorly equipped, non involved school I have ever seen. My teacher's administrator had three of the greenhouses and our pole barn taken down years ago so now we have one greenhouse and a shed. We also have a trailer that's cemented to the ground and a truck we think runs but can't be taken out of the county. Plus we can't rent buses. So if we can find a way to National Convention, we should be going. Hopefully.

I love going to the events and meeting the people. It's so nice to meet other people who are passionate about it and it does give me some hope. Monday I will be having a chat with my teacher to tell her how I feel and what I think should be done.
 
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The pens are all good now:) Glad to meet a former FFA member! Were you an officer? If so, what position did you hold? Unfortunately, no. I have not had much oppurtunity to be involved but I wish I was. Wednesday morning we held a meeting and discussed National Convention. I would really like to go and if I can get the money, I will. We are just the most poorly equipped, non involved school I have ever seen. My teacher's administrator had three of the greenhouses and our pole barn taken down years ago so now we have one greenhouse and a shed. We also have a trailer that's cemented to the ground and a truck we think runs but can't be taken out of the county. Plus we can't rent buses. So if we can find a way to National Convention, we should be going. Hopefully.

I love going to the events and meeting the people. It's so nice to meet other people who are passionate about it and it does give me some hope. Monday I will be having a chat with my teacher to tell her how I feel and what I think should be done.

I held office as Historian in our local chapter, but I think I held another office as well (it is +10 years ago so...). I competed in a lot of activities, can't say I was very good at a couple but I tried my hardest at the time.
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dairy foods, not recommended if you like to drink milk... I would drink the milk instead of swirling it and then when you were supposed to be clearing your taste buds the aftertaste would hit me, but I learned a ton about it! Small animal team got going when I was in 12 our team went to state and I think I would have done that another year. Floral design, 9th grade information, I did some sort of speech and then of course I was actually really involved in the local level. We had FFA week and in which we would have a school assembly and sit at the Bank informing the public. We would also sell FFA fruit and I had the misfortune to head that two years in a row, I was also the top seller and sold WAY too many boxes. We would also go into the elementary school. I took almost all our Ag classes during my high school years and thought heavly about being an Ag teacher or another Ag job. In the end I chose to work with younger children but my years in FFA defiantly helped shape some of my goals in life and helped build the base of what I am.


Keep at it, try and change what you can and PLEASE go to Nationals, you won't be disapointed. But even if you don't go to your regional event, there should be a vote for officers in which your school gets a vote as to new officers. I thought those meetings were very interesting and helpful and a chance to make friends in the greater area. Good luck and know we are cheering you on (or at least I am).
 
I cannot say much about the FFA dilema but maybe change some rules that weed out the slackers. As for the pigs I can relate I am heading out in a bit to "pig proof" the water trough as the nipple is done with the freezing temps and all.
 

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