Chesnut's Corner


	Chesnut's Corner



This is a page designed for people to get to know me better and a place for a few words of wisdom.

7-7-05 We are about to leave for the State Convention in a few days and with my birthday only two days away, i'd like to reflect on my involvement with the FFA. This Fall I will start my 29th year of involvement. I remember back to the fall of 1977 when I entered my first ag class. It was Mr. Edwards, and he was the reason I wanted to teach. I notice the impact the "Ag Teacher" has on the lives of students. Many people these days always seem to want the quick way or the easiest, but some of the best lesson i've learned were not those. As a teacher my one and only goal is for my students to be better people because of my class. Now does that mean they need to win grand champion at a stock show or win state in a judging contest? My answer to that is definately no. Too many times when something like that occurs, just the opposite happens. That person becomes Mr. Know-it-all. Some of the best situations have happened when a student realized that with the hard work they have done, the winning is not all that important. Don't get me wrong, I like winning as much as the next person, but I feel that the impact on a person life after "ag" is more important. Well enough of that, I am still on summer break so I will put more up later as we get closer to school starting. 11-3-04 I am sitting here reflecting on another successful event of the Marble Falls FFA Chapter. It was on the way home from the leadership contest that I started to really appreciate being an ag teacher here at Marble Falls. When I see our students succeed at something it makes everything seem right. In these contest it doesn't matter how much money you have, where you live, what grade your in, it just depends on the person and what they are willing to do to win. I could not be prouder of our students. This is what it is all about. The students were so excited, we are the champions my friend. I want to personally thank each student for working so hard. In some contest we won and some we didn't do so well. BUT it took everyone that went to win the sweepstakes award. For those who qualified to go to area, work hard because this one will be tough. I know we can be successful. As I said on the bus, I don't show much emotion about this, but I am smiling on the inside. I'm not smiling for me, but for the accomplishment you did. Six years from now, I will still be training the quiz teams and telling them that if we don't advance they fail, but you will remember the success we all shared in 2004 forever ( and hopefully the music). I want to thank you again for working so hard, and let's go get them at area. 7-18-04 We had a blast at the 76th Texas State FFA Convention. We got to hear many speakers, retiring speaches, new officer speeches and spent 4 days in Ft. Worth with the average of 5 hours of sleep at night. Normally that would be OK, but I just celebrated my 41st birthday just prior to the convention, and I feel old now, but it was worth it. Many of the students came back motivated to have a great year. We even saw Billie Smith wear a tie for what he said was "the first time". I heard the 7 words I hate to hear as an ag teacher several times during the convention. These are the words we are trying to never hear at Marble Falls. Many students don't fully realize what the FFA can do for them, or what they can do for the FFA. My goal is to go a full year and after we have competed in, gone to, and done everything there is to do in that one year is not to hear those seven deadly words. I made a decision when I was a junior in high school to be an ag teacher. I spent the next seven years preparing for something I was not given in high school. Let me explain, all the retiring officers get to bring their ag teacher or teachers to the stage and thank them for being a friend, mentor and role model. Many officers said they will always remember their teacher for what they did for them. When I was in ag, my teacher did motivate me to follow a career in ag education, but lack the skills to get me fully involved. My senior year, I chose my last high school baseball game (we lost 7-0, I went 0-4) instead of pursuing a scholarship. I let a great opportunity pass me by. When I got to college and found the many, many, many, opportunities there are in agriculture and the FFA it promised myself, all my students would be aware of all the contest and other opportunities there are in the FFA. So when I hear the Seven words "I wished I would have done more" it makes my sad. A student finally realizes the opportunities and it is too late. Please tell your friends, relatives, and especially yourself, "get on board, or get left behind". The students we have, we only have for four years maybe less. We want all the students to reach their greatest potential. I heard the Yankees owner George Steinbrener say "everybody can do 110% of what they think they can, I want to work on the 10%". I feel this is very true. So everyone get involved before it is too late. Let's make Marble Falls FFA the best in Texas. 5-20-04 I am wore out, but it was worth it. I think the students did a great job. As I said, usually at this time, I can't and won't even start thinking of next year. Well right now I can't wait. As the saying goes "Get on board, or get left behind". I see great things for the Marble Falls FFA in the very near future, be a part of that. It's gonna be like a snow ball going down a hill, and we won't be stopped. To all the naysayers, get ready. Our officers and future officers worked very hard and we had a great turn out to finish the year. I wished everyone had the chance to work with these young people. Another saying I use is "Strive for perfection", well except for a few mistakes, this banquet was perfect. Many times the FFA competes at contest with now spectators and the students work hard with the only gratification is self gratification. Tonight was your time to shine and you did. I can not begin to thank all the officers and students who worked hard for this night, but I can say thank you one more time. Rest up and get ready for the ride of your life. NEXT YEAR STARTS NOW!!!! 5-4-04 I want to personally thank the members of the Nursery/Landscape Team. They worked as hard as any team i've ever trained in my 17 years of teaching. We came up short of winning the state contest but we are getting very close. Next year, everybody better watch out. As we get ready for our Banquet, I stop and reflect on the past year. Help us celbrate this great year at the Banquet. We started off the year with a new teacher. Ms. Dukes has worked very hard and done an excellent job for the Marble Falls FFA. I see nothing but great things for the future. We had a very successful LDE season, winning Sweepstakes and advancing 4 teams to Area, where we took 2,3,4,5 in the respective contest. (best ever for Marble Falls) Then we had a very busy stock show season, with so many great moments and placings. We finished off the year with our Judging contest. I guess the best thing to say about this years judging is we had quality versus quantity. We didn't have as many teams as we've had in the past two years, but what we had was very good teams. The last contest was the State Nursery/Landscape Contest. The students finished 20th but we know we are going to improve on that next year. And now we are in the process of selecting our officers for next year. Every year they seem to get better, and this year is no exception. Ms Dukes and myself are looking forward to next year with great anticipation. Mr. Torrex always says we are striving to make Marble Falls the best High School in the State. We are taking that to heart by trying to make the Marble Falls FFA Chapter the best FFA Chapter in the state. We have the greatest students anyone one could ask for. There are some people still out there that try to put the FFA down for one reason or another. This thing is going to grow into a great program for the students and the community, hopefully the naysayers will change the minds and get on board. If they don't, they are just going to miss the bus. Again, congratulations to all the students. 1-14-04 My feeling after the County show is one of satisfaction. After many hours of working with their animals, the students finally get to see the results. Some students found out that what we have been trying to get them to do with their animals was the right thing to do. We hope everyone had fun and enjoyed themselves. Remember, the reason we have stock shows is to show off what the students have been working with during the project period. If someone has to win grand champion for their project to be successful, then they need to reevaluate why they are doing the project. Some of our kids expected the county show to pull them out of debt. Sorry, nothing is guaranteed in the field of agriculture. If you had a disappointing county show, evaluate why, and make changs next time. As always, we need to strive for perfection. 11-19-03 In my 161/2 years of teaching Ag Sci and being an FFA Advisor, I can honestly say, I have never been more proud of a group of students. The Leadership Teams have worked very hard and it shows. It makes me feel like we are doing something right. The kids don't get scholarships or big money for placing high at the contest, just a great feeling of accomplishment. For the past 2 1/2 years we have worked to make the Marble Falls FFA Chapter a well rounded chapter. I think its working. When me and Mr. G first came here, about the only thing people did was stock shows. Our goal was to be very competitive at everything we did. Many people laughed when we took those first 4 teams to the district leadership contest. We did OK, nothing to bother the competition with. But we got it started. And now after this year, we have some of the best leadership chapters in the state worrying about Marble Falls. And for them, it's only going to get worse. The kids are already planning on ways to get better for next year. That's what it is all about. When the students are excited and want to get better, our job is easy. I want to say "GREAT JOB" to all those students who gave of their time and energy. I think it was all worth it. A quote that comes to mind is "success breeds success". If you want to be a part of this "new winning tradition" jump on board because it's only gonna smowball from here. 11-11-03 A lot of people don't know the dedication I have for the Marble Falls FFA Chapter. I want this to be the best FFA Chapter in the State. Not the best stock show chapter, not the best judging chapter but the best all around. I have noticed that in the past we have been primarily all about stock shows. I think stock shows are very important, but I believe we can be more that just that. We (Janell and myself) may not be exactly what you want in an Ag Teacher but I think once you get to know us, you'll find out that there is no one more dedicated to the success of the Marble Falls FFA Chapter, the whole chapter. I guess because i'm older, many people must feel that they can't approach me with a problem. I've been here for 2 1/2 years and it always seems like my teaching partner (Mr. G or Ms. J) always get caught trying to solve problems with our chapter. I am pretty firm in my beliefs about what is the right direction for this chapter, but I am in no ways unapproachable. Please feel free to email, call or visit me anytime you think there is a problem.
It seems like in the 17 years I have taught, there have been more misunderstandings in the past 2 1/2 years than ever before. It could be the constant change for the past few years with all the new ag teachers from year to year. Maybe we can answer some of the questions people are having about our program. Let me first say that every decision, I mean every decision must answer a few questions. #1 What is best for the overall chapter? #2 What are the cost to our chapter (not monetary)? #3 Will it positively impact our students? #4 Does it conform to school policy? Once we get positive answers to our questions, then we proceed. I take the job as one of the Ag Teachers at Marble Falls very seriously. I want to positively affect the lives of our students.
Here are some answers to some of the questions that I have heard. #1 Some people have said that I think parents should not be involved with the students projects or grades. I do not believe in either of these. I have said "parents should not be doing a job that the student should be doing". If a goat needs walking or washing, its fine if everybody pitches in. I have seen, in the past, parents do all the work while the students are playing with a game boy or goofing off. That's not right. I have had a parent tell me that they won't let the kids feed because they spent to much money on feed and don't want the students to screw up. My question to that would be "why have the project, isn't the students project". I ask a parent one time why they were feeding the animals and they said that the student was to busy and didn't have time for the project, again, why do it. I'm in the business of developing young minds to become better adults. #2 Another one I heard recently. Mr. Chesnut is trying to do away with stock shows. This one made me laugh. Again, this came through the "grapevine". I told a group of students that "if we did away with stock shows, all our headaches would go away. No one asked or questions us about the Quiz team!" I love stock shows, but it goes back to, why do we do stock shows. Is it for the parent or the student to prepare, feed and groom the animal. I try to tell the students that the project is really the time you get the animal until the show. If they learn responsibility, record keeping, nutrition, health and maybe a little math then I think the project is a success. Some people think it's the amount of money they receive in the auction ring that determines the success or failure of the project. Many times when I question students about their project, and believe me I do question, many students have no clue about their feed nutrients, rate of gain, amount fed per day or even the basic facts about the project. I think many times we miss a great learning activity that can be done as a family. So do I want to do away with stock shows, absolutely not, but I wish we would use them as the tool they were intended to be. #3 Some people are upset with the mandatory things we require. (Meetings, Ag Days, fund raising etc.) I was very disappointed when I heard a person last year say, the only reason they chose FFA over 4H was they heard all you have to do is pay your dues. "You don't even have to show up to the meetings". My philosophy is that if you are going to be member, be a member. This is one of the things I will always require. I have been a part of FFA for over 26 years and I will not let it be taken advantage of. We are up front with all our requirements. If people disagree with the requirements, there are other alternatives to the FFA. I respect anyone who chooses not to go with the FFA. That's better than having someone always trying to tear down the students organization.
We always want our students to have a great experience through the FFA. Their time in High School is so short, we want them to get the best. A few words of wisdom I like to share with my students are: Always strive for perfection What's wrong with doing what's right? What ever it takes, no excuses Education is not the dissemination of information, it's formation We are very excited about the future of the Marble Falls FFA Chapter. As with all families, there will be disagreements, arguments but as long as we keep focusing on the real reason we do all of this, we can't lose.
Some other thoughts I have........... Many times people run down the school. "They waste money, why can't our kids learn better, how come our sports teams lose, and my favorite one is-that teacher doesn't like me". A lot of times people and students don't see what really goes on. It takes a lot of preparation to get things done. If people would just look at why some of the things are done. One complaint i've heard here recently is about the speed bumps. Everybody is complaining about them. Someone even tried to take them out. My question would be "why do you think the school put them there in the first place?" My answer is for your safety. We have had some accidents at that very corner. The school did it for the safety of the students. If my sons, when they get up here, are a little safer because of them, i'll be grateful. Some people got a little upset because it took a little time during the entry meeting for them to get there cards done so they could leave. Well guess what, when I got home my kids were asleep. I spent all day preparing other peoples entries and didn't even get to see my kids. Some may say well that's your job. I guess your right, but we could do it like others schools and just tell you when they are due and good luck. I don't mind doing that, but understand it's not going to bother me one bit if you have to wait an extra 5 minutes. What really bothers me is those people who "forgot" or had something better to do that night and then come in the next day acting like we owe them something. We put out a schedule and announced it several times before that night. We are trying to instill responsibility in our students. I know I want my own sons to have those qualities. So the next time you feel burdened because of to much "required" from the Ag Teachers, just try to understand where we are coming from. And if you can't figure it out, done go complaining at the local hangout, just give us a call. Everything we do can't be perfect, but we will always "strive for perfection". Because the end result of everything we do is to make our students and your children better people.