Similarities between teaching and farming
As school is back in session, I was thinking about the similar things related to farming and what my past career was, a teacher.
1. You never know what you will walk into. The barn could be filled with new babies you were not expecting and it overwhelms you. In teaching, a student may show up by waking up on the wrong side of the bed and you have to alter your plans to get them to learn.
2. People think they know what you do, but really they have no clue. Awesome, you have been to a farm and shop at a local farmers market. You know where your food comes from. You have been educated in the school environment and you know what a teacher has to accomplish. However, unless you live and breathe farm work or teaching you have idea what happens on a day to day basis to make sure you can succeed. There is what you expect from a farm- feeding, checking the health on your animals and crops. Teachers are expected to teach Math, Reading, History, and Science. Those things are attempted and completed, but behind the scene work is what makes things happen and completes the flow of the work. Farmers have to budget and reflect on how their farm will advance and become better, just like in teaching, educators go above and beyond for learners. Little things need to be done as well, like moving a car to a field or tying a shoe in the classroom. Little and big things make everything move correctly towards our goals.
3. You see the little joys and miracles every day. A lamb surviving after giving it medicine for a problem you think it may have, seeing the sheep run over to enjoy their food while you are sitting in the tractor, watching an ewe feed it’s baby for the first time. In teaching, seeing the light bulb go off when you have taught something new in the students’ eyes, seeing kids care about others, watching people work together for a common cause.
Even when I changed my career choice a year ago, I think about these similarities often, and teaching and farming are two highly respectable careers people should never ignore.
