Tradition of Inclusion
Miss Geritz - Camas County FFA
In the 5th and final paragraph of our FFA creed, EM Tiffany talks about the best traditions of our national life. What comes to your mind when you think of these best traditions? Hard work? Equality? Honesty? Maybe something else. For me, as both a student and now as an advisor, inclusion has been one of these traditions. In the three circle model of agricultural education, there is space for everybody in every circle. In my personal classroom, I look for ways to innovate and be sure everybody has a place at my table. Perhaps my favorite way to do this so far has been working with a junior named Logan. Due to a lot of medical challenges, Logan has often times been prevented from being fully included. Here, in Fairfield at our school, he is included in everything, even SAE. Logan’s team sat down and found the best ways to incorporate what he is interested in into an SAE. He has a keen sense of smell, so making hand sanitizer and soap out of Logan’s unique blends of essential oils seemed like a good way to help him build his knowledge of food and aroma science, and marketing and business. Logan and his team will also be selling these items to our community members, to help fund his experiences in class and the FFA. Last week, I had the opportunity to use my FFA jacket to help measure Logan for his own and I am excited for him to participate in our life changing organization throughout the year. Take time in your own life and look at all the tables you belong to. Church, sports, classes, and even your friend group and family. Are you making space for everyone to join? I firmly believe EM Tiffany would take great pride in the level of inclusion in our programs and find, just as I do, that making space for everyone is one of the best traditions of our national life. If you see Logan around, give him a high-five! He can’t wait to meet his new FFA family.
