Lifestyles

Let us plant educational seeds

By BECKY NELSON
Bramblings
Local farmers are now looking at their soil, trying to schedule the right time to plant. Pretty early for any beans, squash, corn or cukes, brave souls are probably working their gardens and prepping to plant some peas. We are still working on the maple syrup process, so haven’t had an opportunity to think much of planting. Every spare minute not spent in the sugarhouse is being spent in the apple orchard, pruning last year’s overgrowth and managing the trees for best production.

I did take my seeds in to the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center in Newport the other day, however, and worked with a couple of students who were taking an inventory of seeds at the center, getting ready to plant seedlings to sell to support field trips and supplies for the center as the budget for the school is often hit with freezes and cuts as other educational priorities are set by administration and school boards. A couple of the students helped me plant my own seeds that I contract with the center to start for me, giving students an opportunity to learn about the science of growing and also making a connection with a real business involved in food production and prospects for employment in a field of science and technology that interests them.

Over the years, I have been witness to many changes in the SRVRTC both in Newport and it’s affiliated Claremont location with changing paths of class offerings and budgetary constraints that force changes. Technical teaching positions are hard to fill, with qualified individuals able to make better money in business careers in the industries they are trying to teach. It takes a rare individual who is willing to teach, either in the traditional paths of study for college preparation or the classes on the road to work. The sacrifices that teachers make are immense. Starting their day hours before the rest of us wander to the car to head off to our offices, dealing with several different groups of students each day with their individual needs, behaviors, strengths and deficits while trying to  relay information that can help form the personality, character and goals of young minds, staying long beyond an eight hour day for meetings, strategy sessions, classroom preparations, administration conferences, grading, thinking and more planning, then heading home and often grading papers or planning for upcoming events or classes while juggling dinner, family and personal needs … it takes a rare individual.

I have always admired teachers. Teachers made huge impacts on my own thinking, interests and career goals. Not all teachers were memorable, but those who were still enter my thoughts as an aging adult. We need to support our teachers in every way we can. We need to listen to their concerns about our students when they reach out to us. We need to reach out to them with our concerns about our kids and grandkids. Even if we have no children in the halls and classes at present, we need to stay involved in the struggles of our schools because those first, fifth and 11th  graders will very soon be the employees working beside us, the folks waiting on us at retail stores and restaurants, treating us at health centers and hospitals, assisting us at nursing homes and senior centers, repairing our furnaces, electricity and plumbing, building our houses, managing our investments, building and designing our computers, our phones, our futures as we age.

I think it ignorant of folks to disparage spending money on schools just because they don’t have kids in them. Those kids are your kids and are soon to be responsible for guiding your neighborhood, your towns, cities, states and nation. We had better be involved because their future is our future.

I cringe when I hear of staff turnover at our local schools because of administrative pressure, lack of support from the community or better pay available in the private sector. I hate to hear of programming hitting the trash bucket because of lack of resources or because the career paths being explored don’t “pay.” The lessons learned in career and technical paths are just as important as those learned in the algebra or English classes.

We need to wake up as citizens and stewards of our young population. We need to pressure our legislators in New Hampshire to solve the school funding crisis. We need to support our teachers and staff at our local schools so they can continue to afford to teach and keep their teaching careers joyful and productive. We need to reach into our pockets and provide living and fair wages for our educators. We need to talk to our school administrators with our concerns and thoughts for success, leave our perceptions and rumors and misconceptions of what is happening in our schools outside the door and spend time in our schools to learn of the challenges of today and see what we can do to help.

I urge you to plant some seeds and nurture them. For your gardens, for your schools and for your future. Talk to your teachers. Talk to your administrators. Talk to your legislators. Our students are our future.

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