Act 2: Quality Acts of Frog Eating



On the journey to becoming an agricultural educator each student is required to complete a 15 week student teaching internship. During those 15 weeks we will work with a cooperating agricultural educator at that school. In order for each individual student and cooperating teacher to have the best experience possible it is important that each of us create a positive connection prior to student teaching. One way Mr. Curt Turner and I are working to establish our working relationship is through reading Juggling Elephants by Jones Loflin and Todd Musig. 

 After a brief intermission, welcome back to the circus. The circus is filled with a whirlwind of events, changing at the drop of a hat, that circus is indeed my life. Just as each circus act performs at the best of their ability for the approval of the attendee, I find myself doing the same. Of course, I may not be standing in the middle of a ring on top of a unicycle, juggling flames, with bright lights, and the crowd’s full attention on me, it sure does feel like it some days. Returning from the previous chapters of Juggling Elephants I have learned, “The ringmaster cannot be in all three rings at once,” and “the result of juggling elephants is that no one including you, is thrilled with the performance.” Looking at my own life I have some pretty big elephants to juggle but being in control of my circus means I must learn to balance and get my “acts” together.

Lets take a peek at some of those rather large elephants that seem to need their own acts in my circus. There’s the obvious ones like school and work, these two acts take up a BIG part of my daily life and require a lot of my attention. I would be lying if I didn’t say napping wasn’t one of my main acts as well, for those of you who know me well, know this to be true. I’ve saw this meme floating around Facebook questioning how one person can: get straight A’s, get 8 hours of sleep, make time for friends, etc., etc., but they just can’t seem to get it all together. I indeed feel the exact same way, and that also bring me to the next act in my circus, Facebook, that little time waster that I can’t seem to get around.
Two recent Penn State, agricultural education graduates shared some wisdom with my peers, as well as myself. I would have to say these two ladies sure have mastered the circus act of being an agricultural educator. They shared the idea of two very important topics “time wasters” and “time consumers.” Time wasters would include that ugly Facebook habit I have, while time consumers would include school and work. There’s a place for both in everyone’s life but finding that balance can prove to be a challenge time to time. Following along with the circus theme there is a way to find that balance, understanding the RULES to, frog eating. Rule #1 If you have to eat 2 frogs eat the ugly one first and rule #2 If you have to eat a live frog at all it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it long. I’ve learned if you are able to master the concept of “frog eating” you indeed belong in the circus because you have become a ring master of your own life through making decisions, self-discipline, and determination.

One way to know exactly what is going on in the circus and your life is to follow along with the program. “The key to success of the circus is having quality acts on all three rings,” by maintaining the following list you will indeed have quality in the work that is produced.
  •   List the acts that should be in the ring.
  •         Review the program (list of acts).
  •         Look for new acts that may need to be brought into the lineup.
  •         Line up the acts.
  •         Determine how to make the existing acts successful.

It’s all about getting your act together, just as a day has only so many hours, the circus can only go on for so long. In the short amount of time you have to spend in the spot light, which acts will you wish to perform? How many rings is it feasible to maintain? And most importantly when given only one chance in front of the crowd, how will you leave your impact?

Check back in a few weeks to see what’s going on in my circus, what frogs I decided to eat, and how I want to leave my mark in the spotlight.

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