Caledonia Argus

Teaching ag rewarding for Allen Dittmer

Posted: 6/1/04

Editorís note: Allen Dittmer is retiring as Caledonia High School agriculture instructor teacher this year after 30 years at the school. The Argus sent him some questions about his career. They are printed here with his answers.

High school English teacher Ken Wright is also retiring this year after 32 years at the school. He did not respond to a questionnaire from The Argus.

Argus: When did you start teaching?

Dittmer: Started in the fall of 1974 and continued my entire teaching career here in Caledonia.

What grades/subjects did you teach?

All grades (9-12) in Agriculture were taught: Agriculture Exploration, Horticulture, Forestry-/Fish/Wildlife, Power Technology and Welding, along with FFA activities.

What was the most rewarding part of your job?

The best reward of this job is the opportunity to work with our students who attend Caledonia Public Schools. I not only had the opportunity to work with them in the classroom, but also through the FFA Chapter activities. Some of these are: monthly FFA meetings, Fruit Sales Project, Awards Night Program, Judging events - which are called Career Development Events (CDES), Regional FFA meetings, State FFA Convention and National FFA Convention.

What were some of the highlights of your teaching experience?

I have had the opportunity to work with some exceptional people while in Caledonia. The members of our faculty and staff are all top-shelf, every last one of them. The board of education and the administration have both undergone changes as the years have past, but I have always felt that I could discuss any issue that was a concern for our Ag program or FFA Chapter with them.

The parents in the communities of Brownsville, Caledonia, Eitzen and Freeburg are very interested in the educational opportunities that our school system can offer our students. It has been a pleasure to get to know them and work with their children.

This community has supported many building improvements over the years and the Ag Department has benefited from many of them. In the last 30 years we have moved to newer facilities three times. Many ag teachers will stay in the same facility for this same amount of time. This would never have happened without the concern for a quality education for our kids from the entire community.

A highlight in my career happened last Friday evening (May 21) when I received the CEA Teacher of the Year Award. This is an honor I hold in the highest regard. My name was added to a list of some very special instructors who have taught at Caledonia. I do not think you could find a better faculty and staff to work with. This goes for the board of education, administration, community, parents and students too!

How has teaching or school changed during the time that you have taught?

I have seen some changes over the years in Ag Education. One has been in the area of production ag classes - there are very few of them offered today. Newer areas of interest seem to be Horticulture, Power Technology (small engines, mechanics), Metal Work including Welding, Small Animals and Wildlife and Forestry are popular also. Dairy, General Livestock and Soils classes just are not offered like they used to be. One great thing is that the FFA has kept many of these areas alive with career development events, proficiency awards and Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs (SAEPís).

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a teaching career?

Go for it! The rewards are tremendous! Getting to know our students, their parents, the community they live in, their peers in the teaching profession is something you canít describe, but what a wonderful feeling! The hours are long and sometimes all your responsibilities seem overwhelming, but that is everywhere - in every job or career.

Another advantage in teaching Agriculture Education is in working with other ag instructors in your region. Not only do you become active with your school, faculty, etc., but you work with other ag instructors and their students and FFA members in many activities. You get to know their programs and learn what works and may not work for them and maybe you can use one of their ideas to improve your program. Teaching agriculture has always been exciting and I believe it will always be exciting. Remember, the kids make a lot of the programs fly ñ it is not just you.

What will you do now?

All I can say is that the summer will go by way too fast! My wife and I will be here ñ Caledonia is home! Our son, David, is a student at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. We are very interested in his education and his goals for the future. I can always say, now I have a chance to do all the things that I did not have the time for at home, but I have to stay busy. I believe I will be looking for a job to keep me active very soon.

Any other comments?

Caledonia has been very good to me. I met my wife here, my son was born here, my entire teaching career was here and I plan to stay here. I have always been thankful for the chance to teach here. The board of education, the administration, the community, the parents and most of all, the students gave me that chance.

Thank you!

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