Years ago, I proudly wore the National FFA Organization (FFA) blue corduroy jacket while attending Oregon (Wisconsin) High School. Recently, I was asked to serve as a judge for one of the speaking contests during the Section 5 FFA Leadership Development Event at my alma mater.
Of course I agreed. It’s events such as these that help FFA members develop their skills in communication and advocacy, and I loved the idea of going back to walk through the hallways of my youth, even though so much has changed.
I was assigned to judge the FFA Prepared Public Speaking Contest where students prepare a six- to eight-minute speech concerning an agriculture-related topic. Students memorize and present the speech and then answer questions about their topics.
The other speaking contests included: middle school quiz bowl, extemporaneous speaking, discussion meet, parliamentary procedure, employment skills and creed speaking.
As a student, I remember participating in the creed speaking contest while I was a freshman, Parliamentary Procedure Contest for two or three years and during my senior year, I participated in the Prepared Public Speaking contest. However, I don’t recall the title of my speech.
A week before the contest, I received the written manuscripts and a rubric to review for composition. The titles of the six manuscripts were:
- "A journey into soil microbiomes." At the very root of agriculture lie tiny, inconspicuous, microscopic organisms we know as soil microbes.
- "Biodiversity: Finding value in all living things." Explore how biodiversity has diminished, why it’s essential and what we can do as agriculturists to maintain biodiversity.
- "How can we help the sheep industry grow?" The sheep industry accounts for less than 1% of all livestock profits in the U.S.
- "Moving forward, and upward." The future of chemical applications, yield science, food production – a future filled with drones.
- "Paws for thought: Exploring mental health concerns in the veterinary field." The reality is that the veterinary profession experiences some of the highest rates of mental health challenges.
- "The importance of urban agriculture." To unearth the benefits of urban agriculture localizing food economies.
I read each manuscript carefully, noting any grammatical or spelling errors or other inconsistencies and, using the rubric, I scored each one on topic relevance, persuasive explanation of position on topic, alternative viewpoints, logical order and unity of thought and quality of resources. Then I made a list of questions for each student during the oral presentation.
The afternoon of the contest, I arrived ahead of schedule and this quote met me as I entered the high school: "Living History Past … Present … Future …"
The judges for each contest met, went through orientation and then were escorted to classrooms with a student timekeeper, a student observer, another rubric, feedback cards and a final placing sheet. It was our responsibility to rank each of the contestants – with first and second place being announced and the first-place student competing at the State FFA Convention in June.
During the next several hours, the three judges for prepared public speaking listened to incredible presentations by six students using no note cards. They confidently answered questions with complete knowledge of their topics.
Working with the other two judges, we consistently reviewed our rankings after each presentation, which made our final rankings much easier, and for the most part, we agreed on the results.
We stayed as the first- and second-place students were announced, provided each student with our feedback cards and answered any questions. This was an amazing experience with an incredible group of students, judges and organizers, and I certainly believe in these words:
“I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds – achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.”
