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Successful education has many componentsMy educational experiences were in public school settings, but I find myself involved in something quite different as a homeschooling father. This morning was my first official teaching session for this school year at our Elm Creek Academy. This will be the third year I have assisted with some teaching. Most of it is reading and discussion at our breakfast table prior to my going to work; but I also get involved in some special stuff, such as the 14-night series on astronomy coming up soon--a great opportunity to get our telescope out and behold the canopy of heaven! While it requires a lot of time and commitment, our homeschooling endeavor has been successful academically and immensely rewarding relationally. With this school year starting up, my wife and I have been involved in some preparation. In fact, we even delayed the beginning of the school year because we weren't quite finished with some improvements to our school room. I've always known that education is preparation for something more--life and what it holds. Lately, I've been learning more about how much preparation is required to educate! I've also been thinking about what else goes into education. First, successful education at any level involves both inspiration and instruction. This speaks of touching the heart as well as the head. Effective teaching and effective learning really requires a good blend of the two. As I look back over my formal education in public school settings, I can remember all sorts of teachers and their impact on me. Those that mean the most to me today effectively blended inspiration and instruction. Next, successful education involves appropriation and application. Appropriation simply means to take ownership, or to transfer that which is universal to a personal level. Appropriation could be described as "make it mine," while application might be better described as "make it real." It is the "lab" component--learning how to take things that have been learned academically and apply them. It is one of the great challenges of formal education, no matter the venue, to make quality instruction both personal and relevant for students. Lastly, successful education involves patience and practice. By patience I mean not as much moment by moment patience, but more endurance, or sticking to something over time. Twelve years stretches out a long way in front of a kindergartner and it involves patience to make it. Sometimes those with college degrees are accused of not having practical "common sense." While that may or may not be true, the reality is that employers often value a college degree nearly as much for what in means in this area of patience as any other. Practice I would describe as just the development of capability over time in an area--probably a combination of all the preceding factors combined and the fulfillment of education. Beyond my own children in primary school, and the children of our farm and ranch family readers, how is this whole topic of education relevant? I'm thinking of a couple ways: 1) Agriculture today, in all aspects, is increasingly complex and continuously changing. Those of us in agriculture of course know that, but we often don't dwell on what it means in terms of lifelong learning. The skill sets and capabilities required in agricultural production are changing as the environment changes. An extreme but relevant example spanning the last 100 years is the different skill set required to work with a dozen other people than to work with a dozen horses or mules. Some are more intuitive with "people skills" than others, but in reality, it requires some preparation for all--ergo, education. That education can take a lot of different forms--reading, visiting other operations, or taking a course. One suggestion at this time of year is to think deliberately about winter education opportunities. An example of one that our firm has been involved with is the DTN Ag Summit. It provides a great opportunity to learn from other producers and professionals about myriad aspects of our changing industry. 2) As true as it is that skill set requirements are changing in agriculture, it is also true that those skill sets are more distributed among various people. Therefore, clarity around roles and responsibilities in an agricultural business is increasingly important, as well as preparation and development in those roles. It is more important in modern operations to best match the roles and responsibilities required with the capabilities of the people. Sometimes that involves seeking new people or services to meet requirements, but often it means developing new skill sets to meet them within existing people--ergo, education. Allan Nation, of Stockman Grass Farmer, has written about this matching of capabilities and skill sets in an insightful way. He has said that not many ranchers have decided to become a doctor on the side of their ranching business, but a lot of doctors over the years have bought a ranch and decided to become a rancher on the side. But ranching, and farming, is as challenging as becoming a doctor and involves just as much education! Editor's note: Greg Wolf is a consultant with Kennedy and Coe, LLC (www.kcoe.com) and works to help clients of the firm navigate toward better returns in all areas of their businesses. He is based in the firm's Pratt, Kan., office and can be reached at 620-672-7476.
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