There are so many words we can use to describe agriculture educators: friends, teachers, role-models, and advisors. You are the one constant for your students' lives. When they graduate high school, the memories they made on school trips and in your classroom will allow them to look back at high school fondly. When they graduate high school, you may lose contact and you may grow apart, but you'll always remain a large part of their heart. I hope you never forget the impact you make.
I know how hard it is. You have students with terrible pasts, students who have never been shown love and students who don't know how to behave. Sometimes, you want to pull your hair out and just quit. But don't. If you look past that, you'll see that that student who has a terrible past has someone to talk to. The student who has never been shown love feels the safest in your classroom. The student who doesn't know how to behave has improved so much since they started taking your class.
Your students all attribute their success to you. They know how to work harder and be a better citizen. They know how to public speak and be a better leader. You helped to develop them into the best people they can be.
You're shaping the next generation. You may never know how great your impact is. You've been their voice of reason, the biggest role model in their life and the person they knew they could always depend on. You've given up your lunch breaks for them, held them in the worst of moments and made them feel valued even when no one else did. This shows how big your heart is. You're underpaid, overworked and exhausted, but you still make your students feel like a million dollars.
As National FFA Convention just concluded, and you're still trying to catch up on sleep, we thank you. When you have to wake up earlier than the sunrise to educate and mentor the next generation. We thank you for the dedication you show your students. We thank you for showing them they are valuable. Thank you for being the one person they can always count on. To us, you are valuable; you are changing the world. You are our superheroes, we hope you never forget that.
