Daniel Mattingly is one of two agricultural educators and FFA advisors at Marion County High School here in Kentucky. I chose to observe him simply because he was close to home -- Marion County neighbors Boyle County. After my first 5 minutes with Mr. Mattingly, I realized I was getting a lot more out of this than just convenience. Marion County High School is in Lebanon, where the population is a little over 5,000. Everyone knows everyone and the accents are almost as thick as Grandma's chicken & dumplings - it's the epitome of a small town. I started out my day with Mr. Mattingly at "Knight Academy," where he teaches an intro to agriculture class to 9th graders. He greeted me with a welcoming handshake and smile, and we headed into his classroom. Mr. Mattingly pulled up a chair next to his desk, which happened to be next to a group of energetic young men, all clothed in camo and cowboy boots. They were huddled up talking about how the hunting was over the weekend. Class started, Mr. Mattingly introduced me, and I immediately felt welcomed. It was also the first time I was addressed as Ms. Quesenberry! I was already enjoying my time, but with about 10 minutes remaining in class, I started to see the little, easy to miss characteristics that make Mr. Mattingly an effective teacher. This is the story of how I learned the value of the small things in a 7 hour school day.
"Mr. Mattingly! Mr. Mattingly! Can me and Austin go today?!" One of the camo-wearing boys next to me started excitedly (and repeatedly...and loudly) screaming. "No, you said me and Ryan could go today!!" I was confused, but soon enough, all four boys jump up and head towards the recycling bins behind me. When they came back from collecting recycling from across the school, all the students were up mingling with one another in the front of the classroom. Their politeness showed when a few girls came to talk to me about Boyle County. Mr. Mattingly was joking around and conversing with each student, asking about their personal lives (which it seemed like he already knew a lot about). The boys asked if they could get in the big recycling can to push the paper down, and my immediate thought was that that would be childish and unnecessary. After Mr. Mattingly said yes, I realized that some things may seem a bit silly to you, as a teacher, but can make the student's day. I've never seen two people have so much fun inside a trash can! The whole class was laughing as Mr. Mattingly helped Ryan into the recycling to push down the paper. That's the first lesson Mr. Mattingly taught me without even knowing: Say yes to your students more. It could be the "yes" that sets their mood for the rest of the day, or it could make the story that they go home and tell their parents after school.
We drove down the road a little to Marion County's regular high school to begin the day there. I quickly became acquainted with two FFA girls that were on the officer team. Mr. Mattingly and them seemed like good friends - not just students and teachers. One girl, Brittany, was telling Mr. Mattingly about her calculus exam that she was nervous about taking. Mr. Mattingly was fully interested in her concerns, and tried to help her in any way he could. At the end of the day, when she revealed she had passed, Mr. Mattingly stood up, shouted, high-fived, and congratulated Brittany. This amount of excitement and pure interest is rarely seen, even by a friend. Having teachers support you so much can make a world of difference. The dismissal bell rang, and instead of staying in his shop or classroom, Mr. Mattingly went to the front door of his classroom to greet his students as they walked in. The door was jammed with students upon students that wanted to stay and talk to Mr. Mattingly. His simple gesture of greeting his students is the second lesson on the little things Mr. Mattingly unknowingly taught me.
The rest of his classes were just as enjoyable as the first. The sophomores-seniors at the high school were a bit more calmed, but just as friendly and welcoming. Students greeted me, made conversations with me, and begged Mr. Mattingly to let them show me the cattle. They are so proud of what they do! FFA members and animal science students at Marion County are in charge of managing 4 calves - 3 holstein and 1 jersey. When Mr. Mattingly finally allowed Jacob to go show me the calves, I was amazed as several students were caring for those calves like it was their second nature. Not only were they amazingly good at what they were doing, but they were amazingly proud and passionate about it too. Students wanted me to take their pictures and be sure to include them in this report. Students' names in this post have been changed for confidentiality, but this one is for "Jacob!"
By lunch time I could tell that these students love Mr. Mattingly - as a teacher, as a mentor, and even as a friend. Mr. Mattingly definitely loves them too. His small gestures make the students respect and enjoy him as a teacher, and I learned that if your students view you like Mr. Mattingly's do him, your actual teaching will automatically be very effective. His students paid attention in every class, participated, and displayed high levels of agricultural knowledge. Mr. Mattingly and I talked during lunch and I told him about how I knew some people who know his co-teacher. He jumped up and told me he would introduce him to me, and as we were walking out a student named James stopped us. "Mr. Mattingly! I have something for you." Mr. Mattingly gave his full attention to James and stuck out his hand; it looked like he knew what James had for him. He pulled out a bright green apple and planted it in Mr. Mattingly's open hand. He made it seem like that apple was the best gift he had ever received. He bit into it right there, commented on how delicious it was, and thanked him again. James was so proud of his gift and was grinning from ear to ear. As Mr. Mattingly and I walked away, he turned to me and told me that James brings him an apple every day, and he makes a point to eat it in front of him because it makes him happy. After returning from talking to his co-teacher, Mr. Mattingly taught the entire class with that apple in hand. It seems like such a small gesture, but while everyone else was taking notes, James was still smiling.
I know from personal experience that an ag teacher has the power to be way more than just a teacher. I still talk to both of my ag teachers very regularly. They both help me with anything and everything I need, and they're always there to pick up the phone when I want to call and tell them an hour long story about an apple that makes me even more ecstatic that I am going to be an ag teacher. Myers and Whitaker have made so many impacts on be - both knowingly and unknowingly - it's impossible for me to every repay them. During one phone call to Mrs. Myers I was holding back tears after yet another breakthrough of just how incredible it is that I'm actually going to teach (how cool is that???) and she commented on how teaching is amazing, but being able to have these sort of relationships is priceless. She told me to wait until the day I got a call from one of my past students, ecstatic about his soon to be career. That pushed me even deeper in love with what I'm doing.
Agricultural education is based on a 3-circle model that includes classroom instruction, outside agricultural experience, and FFA (agriculture-based organization). When preparing to be an ag teacher in any way it is crucial to remember this model, however I believe wholeheartedly there is a fourth component: relationships. I've learned the meaning of these relationships both through my four years with Myers and Whitaker and my 7 hours with Mr. Mattingly. These three outstanding teachers are just a few out of thousands of teachers that will turn students' lives upside down before retirement. I hear too often of people mocking teachers, making jokes about laziness, how easy it is to major in education, etc, however it's plain to see that teachers are there because they care about their students.
Students: find a way to connect with your teacher. Your way of "giving him an apple." You won't regret it, but you will regret going through high school with no connections to your teachers.
Teachers: if a student takes time out of his or her day to do something special, please accept it with as much love and respect as Mr. Mattingly did. Showing little gratitude could discourage that student from ever trying to do something similar again.
If the teacher is there for the student, the student will be there for the teacher. Whether the student is 2 years graduated and is calling for the third time this week or is sitting in an animal science class giving out apples, a good teacher, especially an agriculture teacher, will always be there. I'm here to say that I know for certain: if you give an ag teacher an apple he will change your life.
