As Written By Ashley Buhler

As Written by Ashley Buhler

Starting in November of 2004, I wrote my thoughts of the day and what I did everyday for four years. I filled up four journals worth of personal writing. As a child, I also wrote songs and short stories. I wrote a few chapters of a book about an underground migrant network for getting Mexican children into the U.S. I think I started writing it after I read Esperanza Rising. My journals mean the world to me. I occasionally read what I wrote on the day in years past to reflect on my experiences and growth. It has been fun to compare my journals with my husband's and see what we were doing on the same days miles apart. I consider myself a writer beyond my journals, as you've probably noticed through my blogs. I love to write my thoughts. It gets them out of my head and somewhere useful where I can sort through them. 

In high school, I loved writing papers. In my senior English class I wrote a 10 page paper on food in Hamlet and Madame Bovary. My thesis statement was: Although different foods represent motifs in Hamlet and Madame Bovary, food plays a role in the downfalls of Gertrude and Madame Bovary. I loved doing the research for the paper and writing about food in classical literature. The words just flowed as I wrote. It turned out being twelve or thirteen pages. While I enjoyed writing English papers, I disliked writing proofs in math. I did not think "Side Angle Side" was a very interesting or exciting thing to write about. My husband loves writing in math, but that's his discipline, not mine. I don't really remember writing anything too in depth in my agriculture classes in high school. When I took English 2010 a few semesters ago and disliked the unguided methods for the papers I was assigned to write. 

Now I write things geared toward teaching and preparing for student teaching. I actually enjoy writing lesson plans and these blogs. I write papers for my Multicultural Foundations and Assessment classes. I try to write in my journal when I get a chance. I update my Facebook status about once a week, but it is never really anything lengthy. 

From what I've learned in high school and college, I want to give my students options in their writing. My high school English teacher gave us options and freedom to write, but within specified guidelines. My English 2010 teacher did not give us enough guidelines with which to know what was expected. I want to give my students freedom, but with defined expectations of their writing. I also want them to do daily quick writes about the topics they are learning about and also about their Supervised Agricultural Experiences that they can use in their record books. 

Why I Read...

Since I was a child, I have loved reading. I do not get to read for enjoyment as often now, but I'm currently reading three books when time allows and listening to a book on tape when I go to work at the dairy. From 8th grade until I went to college, I read 132 books. I recorded the books I read in each school year and summer. I love to read fiction novels. I read a lot of Anita Stansfield and Nicholas Sparks. I also read any books that my husband's cousin writes. Check her books out at www.kearytaylor.com. In school, I loved reading when we got time to read our own books. I didn't mind reading anything that was assigned. In high school, the only book I did not finish reading as assigned was Pride and Prejudice. I love the movie, but I just couldn't get through the book. I didn't like the negative, whiny tone of the book. I read books almost every night as a kid. Sometimes my mom would take away my books for a little while because I wasn't getting enough sleep because I was up reading. I read the 5th Harry Potter book in 2.5 days. My family, especially my grandma and cousins, encouraged me to read the Harry Potter books. My mom and church leaders encouraged me to the Book of Mormon. I've read it most nights since I was 8. Church leaders also encouraged me to read the Bible and other scriptures. Sometimes I really don't like reading scriptures because they are boring and hard to understand, other times I become so happy after reading.

From my experiences, I can help my students find joy in reading. I actually do not read much in the field of agriculture. Sometimes articles about agriculture interest me and I read those. I should start reading more about agriculture so I can be an example to my students of an interested reader of agriculture topics. I quite enjoy reading fact sheets from the extension website when I need or want to learn new things. I can definitely encourage my students to love reading, not matter what it is. I will also encourage them to learn through listening to books on tape. I want to foster a climate in my classroom that allows students to enjoy reading. From my experience with my mom taking my books, I want my students to know that there is a time for reading and a time to do other things. In my 9th grade English class, two boys who sat next to me read the entire class period every day with the teacher's permission. I want my students to be engaged in the lesson. If they enjoy reading so much, I can give them my notes for the day and they can read along as I teach. I could also assign students research projects to read about subjects they are interested in and apply it to agriculture. I will use the reading comprehension strategies we've learned in class to help my students get more out of what they read and feel confident in their reading abilities.

Agriculture from the Dawn of Time

With my parents' engagement picture looking like the one on the right, how could I avoid agriculture? I visited my grandparents' pig farm when I was a week old, showed pigs in my dad's arms at six months, and joined 4-H and FFA like my parents did when they were kids. As the daughter of two pig farmers, I learned the importance of agriculture advocacy. My parents taught me that too many people in the world do not know where their food comes from. They also taught me that we as agriculturalists have the responsibility and privilage of keeping our livelihood alive. My mom raised us in the city, but I do not think there was I day that I didn't hear her talk and dream about having a plot of land to have a farm. When I was in junior high, I wrote on a list of goals that I wanted to never give up my piece of land. I learned from my parents to love 4-H and FFA. My mom was the bigger influence in 4-H and my dad in FFA. My mom enrolled us in all the camps, trainings, and contests we could find time for. She was a 30 year 4-H leader. My dad, on the other hand, admired his agriculture teacher as one of the most influenial people in his life. He cried when I told him I was going to be an ag teacher. He has been so proud of me throughout my years at USU because I took his advice and aspired to be involved in agriculture. I will use the influence my parents had on me to inspire my students to take every opportunity given to them. If my parents wouldn't have helped me seize every 4-H and FFA activity, I would not be where I am today. I got a scholarship to USU from my service as a 4-H ambassador, which was one of the biggest reasons I came to USU. I can use what my mom taught me and what my dad continues to teach me to be the best agricultural advocate I can be.