Still, within these 80 men and women beat the pulse of Oregon FFA.
The educators were members of Oregon Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association, an educational organization that recently met in Union County for three days of classes. Most of its members, who are from all parts of the state, are advisers for their high schools’ FFA chapters.
The educators share a bond uncommon for educators who live great distances from one another. So many are such good friends that the name tags they wore almost seemed superfluous.“They know each other so well they always finish each other’s sentences,’’ said Sherry Cole of the Union-Baker Education Service District, who is the regional Career and Technical Education coordinator.
Cole knows Oregon’s agriculture teachers well because CTE works closely with the Oregon vo-ag teachers group. It is no mystery to her why Oregon’s high school agriculture teachers have such strong bonds.
“They share everything they know. They help each other keep current on content,’’ Cole said.
They also share a passion.
“They live what they teach,’’ Cole said. “They don’t just teach agriculture, they are agriculture people.’’
They are also FFA people. The teachers association was formed in 1920 about 10 years before Oregon’s state FFA organization started. The vo-ag organization has been linked to FFA since since then.
This year’s meeting was based in Imbler where educators learned about curriculum development, new state and federal education requirements and changes in agricultural technology during three days of classes.
“The science of agriculture is changing every day. We need to keep up with it,’’ said Tom Hall, president of the association for the past school year.
Hall is an agriculture teacher at Bonanza High School in Klamath County. He agrees that Oregon’s agriculture teachers share a connection that teachers in many other disciplines do not.
“We communicate and work together more effectively than any other group of educators,’’ Hall said.
One reason is that they share a belief in FFA and what it can do for students. Hall, Bonanza High School’s FFA adviser, has seen many times what involvement in the program has done for young people. The benefits include the development of critical thinking and leadership skills, work ethics and more, Hall said.
FFA is now officially known as The National FFA Organization, but was known as Future Farmers of America its first six decades. The organization’s name was altered to reflect the changing face of agriculture. Today many people work in agriculture-related fields but a small percentage of them are farmers. Many instead work in agriculture-related business, industry, law and technology fields, Hall said.
The National FFA Organization title reflects this. FFA’s name may have changed but not the blue corduroy jackets its members have worn since the 1930s. Most of the public understands what they represent, and so do the students in the program.
“When they put that jacket on, they are all business. You see a transformation,’’ Hall said. “You know they are good, they are ready for business.’’
Only students wear the FFA jackets, Hall said.
“I have kids tell me that when they put their jackets on they are in the zone,’’ he said.
