Remember Friday night high school football games? Teams of players, rows of filled with adoring student body members ready to kick off the weekend with a team victory? I have attended many a high school football game in my time, both as a high school student supporting friends and as a high school teacher supporting students. At most games, the cheerleaders inevitably break out in song at some point with "2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate? [Insert team name three times], gooooooooooooooo [Insert team name]!" This chant, albeit fun and rhythmic, has never really made sense to me. If the football team is the group that has everyone's attention with the cheerleaders and crowd being the support system that keeps the team motivated to strive for success, shouldn't the football team appreciate the cheerleaders and crowd? Of course, one does not expect that a football team would break out in cheer for its supporters, but this scenario has made me think often about mutual appreciation of groups working together for the success of any agriculture program. What motivates community members, parents, students and district employees to contribute their time, energy and resources to an agriculture program? There are a myriad of responsibilities that are synonymous with teaching high school agriculture, and being sure that all contributors feel appreciated for their efforts, no matter the size or type of contributions they make to the "team" is simply another aspect of success in an agriculture program. Whileend of the year awards banquets tend to be the most popular method of recognizing the contribution "team," the list of ways to appreciate on a daily basis is end-heerleaders,bleachers
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