Mysteries of Teaching

What happens when you open an egg that was in an incubator, at 100 degrees, for almost 30 days? I'll save you the trouble of running out to your local farmer to get some eggs, incubating them and then cracking them open... It's just plain gross. I had one of the best, but gross experiences with 2 of my classes. We had tried incubating eggs, but the majority of them either weren't fertilized or didn't have the capacity to grow past the first week. So this is how the class went: I passed out plates and eggs, the kids cracked the eggs and the contents fell out, they gagged, and then I gagged. There was mass chaos right after the first egg had been cracked. Kids were laughing, they were grossed out and they were learning. It was bliss.

"What an Ag teacher does for her/his students," is what my cooperating teacher said after we had completed our incognito mission. After only 2 chicks hatched out of around 80 eggs the kids were a bit disappointed and well... who wants disappointed kids? Not me! So conveniently enough, the chickens and ducks were in at tractor supply! You can put 2 and 2 together. Ultimately,  we have happy kids and the chicks were donated.

I find that Ag teachers all across the board go out of their way for their kids in a way that can only be admired. That's why I truly believe that being an agriculture educator is a calling. Giving so much of your time, life, and compassion to making the lives of these kids better isn't as hard as I though it would be. The hard part is seeing how ungrateful the kids can be. They take a lot of what happens for granted, but I can't blame them! I was in their shoes at one point too. I didn't realize how much any of my teachers did for me, especially my agriculture teacher. However, I am more thankful now then ever for all of the teachers who have been doing this for years. I don't look at the kids any differently for this, I still think they are amazing it's just an observation I have made from the different schools I have had the pleasure of visiting.  Thank you for reading!