Empowering Others

By: John Williams, CATA Secretary

In my last article, I expressed the need for the members of our association to speak up and say what is on their mind. After some reflection, I thought it would be good to talk about empowerment and what we can do to help each other speak up and encourage each other to serve. 

I understand that this is not easy for many of those in our profession. As we enter our careers, we hear names of teachers who have been in the profession for many years, and early on I remember feeling intimidated by experienced teachers serving in leadership roles. In many ways it seemed easier to let experienced teachers do all of the talking, leading, and serving. In my first job as a teacher, I had the privilege of working alongside an experienced teacher who had high expectations for our department and expected us to step up and serve outside of our campus and chapter. She was the person who encouraged me to run for section office and nominated me for my position. This type of encouragement and mentorship enabled me to continue to serve CATA through the Operation Division, Region Office, and now as a State Officer. This is just one example of how an individual can empower someone else to serve the teachers in our association and not be afraid to speak up when needed. 

Our association has hit a flat spot. Flat spots are nice—there is no resistance, however complacency may become an easy attitude to have for those who are in leadership roles. I am not saying we all need to rise up and do a complete makeover, but there are definite changes that need to be made to our profession to address teacher retention, home/work balance, and how we maintain a growing organization—not just in teacher numbers, but in moral, leadership and organizational change. How does this happen if we are in a flat spot? It is up to the members to take on new roles and bring in new ideas. We have an opportunity to really do great things in our profession moving forward. Society may be in shambles, but the great thing about the CATA is the ability to problem solve and move forward and ultimately move on from a very painful pandemic induced coma in our lives. I guess the question is how?

We have a very large population of teachers in their first ten years of their career. Statistically, we tend to lose teachers around years five through seven. I do not have an answer to this turnover, but keep in mind this is a prevalent issue for all educators—not just agricultural teachers. Those teachers who have been in the profession longer than ten years now have a huge opportunity and responsibility: to mentor, encourage and empower our younger teachers. When we go to region meetings and the “old dogs” tend to be the most vocal, it can be intimidating. Take a moment at those meetings and introduce yourself to the next generation. It is our responsibility to make sure these young teachers feel welcomed and that they are in an environment where they can speak their piece, ask questions, and have an opportunity to learn. I am guilty of assumption, I tend to assume all agricultural teachers know the Curricular Code, where to find information on AIG, or other things that come with experience—that is wrong on my part. I have to remind myself that I had great mentors that helped me along the way and many new teachers may not be as lucky as I was. It is our responsibility to empower these new teachers and give them a voice because the future of our profession is relying on us. 

The CATA is a dysfunctional family. I do not say that in a bad way, all families have issues just as our association does and we are allowed to be dysfunctional as long as we continue to address the important issues and move forward. I enjoy the “family” aspect of the profession. The fun part is that even when we do not agree with someone else, we can address our issues and still be at another event enjoying each other’s company. This brings me into the next aspect of this article: we need to stop taking things so personally. It is great that we have passion in what we are doing, but we cannot allow that passion to overcome our abilities to think and see another perspective. We might not agree on everything, but our ultimate goal is student success. It helps to remember that the other person has the same goals in mind as you do. When we can see things from a different lens, it allows us to see the whole problem and gain a better understanding of all parties. Agricultural teachers tend to lean on one side and can be narrow minded, but at a section/region/state activity our commitment to listening and understanding each other can help broaden our perspective. When we can understand one another better, we are able to become empowered to work through an issue. 

For the young/new teachers – welcome to the family! You may not feel your voice is heard and it might not be yet. I challenge you to meet and get to know some of the seasoned teachers. The best place to do this is at the social parts of our conferences and meetings. Sit down next to a teacher who has been in the profession for 15-20-25 years.  Ask them what it was like when they first started teaching. The stories you will hear will be memorable, but what you get out of it will last your career. If you do this once or twice a year/semester, soon those individuals will reach out to you or be incredibly open to sharing information, curriculum and help in general. In my brief 13 years of teaching, I have never once been turned away from a conversation from a seasoned teacher. The times I chose not to reach out are the missed opportunities I have had in this profession. Coming into this profession is a challenge, keeping up with all of the expectations of being a teacher can seem impossible, but remember every teacher in this profession has gone through some kind of adversity and when you realize you are not alone, you will better understand why the older teachers tend to speak out more. 

Some things to consider as we finish this school year: summer conference is right around the corner and is in-person for the first time since 2019. If you are a teacher who has been teaching at least 10 years, try to make a new friend, reach out to the younger teachers, and use this opportunity to teach them about the CATA organization and its value in education. Those of you teaching 10 years or less and are in need of help or have questions, take this opportunity at Cal Poly in June to also make a new friend, listen to some old stories, learn about the organization and gain a resource of individuals who want to help you succeed. There are multiple social events at the end of each day to allow for this to happen. I have many mentors and I have become a mentor to many as well—can you say the same? This year we have much to celebrate as an organization. Take some time to celebrate completing this year, catch up with people you have not seen in multiple years, and try to find a way to feel empowered. When you take the initiative, you will grow as a leader and may even become a mentor or gain a mentor. Hope you all have a great end of your school year.  I look forward to seeing you all at Cal Poly in June.