The FFA creed is something I am very
passionate about and I am forever grateful that I decided to go out of my
comfort zone and compete in a contest I had no idea about. All my hard work
paid off because I won my district contest and advanced to the state level. By
doing my ethnography on the freshman FFA creed speaking contest I discovered multiple
things. I had no idea I would come across individuals like
myself that are so passionate about the FFA creed. I was able to interact with
others and discovered we have so much in common through something that is only
5 paragraphs long. Every
person I interviewed came from a farming background, so they knew the
importance of FFA. I was able to learn more about the contest itself and about
the individual person. Josh did the FFA creed contest because he wanted to
memorize the creed and be in a contest to be tested on his knowledge. Mr.
McGown memorized the creed because he is an agricultural education teacher and
FFA advisor, so it was expected of him to have it memorized and be able to
present it to students. Nick competed in the contest because he was forced by
his teacher but also wanted to go outside of his comfort zone. When
I was conducting my interview with Mr. McGown I asked him the question, “In
your opinion do you think it is important for every FFA member to memorize the
creed and why?” I absolutely loved his response. He included Jimmy Carter and
how he was just like us and didn’t have more power over any FFA member. To
really listen to Mr. McGown’s answer was truly amazing. Jimmy Carter, the president of
the United States is just like us. He participated in the FFA creed contest and
grew peanuts. The world truly is a small place to live and really understand
that everyone is alike in one way or another. My
interviews with Nick, Josh, and Mr. McGown were very interesting. Although none
of my interviewers were from the same school they all had one thing in common. What
they had in common was that they are all FFA members in the state of Indiana. I
really enjoyed talking with others who share the same passion I do for the National FFA Organization. FFA is not just an organization that deals with farming
or agriculture, it is so much more than that. The FFA creed is something that
symbolizes a lot for the National FFA Organization. The creed talks about the
past, present, and future of agriculture in just 5 paragraphs. Every paragraph
starts out the same, “I believe in the future of agriculture.” The FFA is an
organization that is composed of premier leadership, personal growth, and
career success. All the students have to do is go out of their comfort zone and
compete in a contest like freshman creed speaking and discover so much more
about FFA. Before
doing this ethnography I had my own opinion on what the FFA creed meant to me. My
opinion was, the FFA creed is a symbol to FFA members around the world of a new
era in agriculture. The FFA creed is not just 5 paragraphs but a meaning of
life. After the interviewing all three of my interviewers I have developed a
new opinion with the combining of some of their words and some of mine. What
the FFA creed means to me is, it gives all students a 5 paragraph creed about
agriculture, past, present, and future all members should have memorized. The
FFA creed is something I strive to live up to each and every day. My favorite
paragraph is, “I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to my
national life and that I can exert an influence in my home and community which
will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task.” This is my all-time
favorite because it describes how no matter what agriculture will always be an
important part of the everyday life. As a future FFA advisor and agricultural
teachers I hope to inspire and influence students to be the best they can be. With
the conclusions of my discourse community there are many questions I had
answered as well as some questions that are still unanswered. One question I
have unanswered is, “Will the freshman FFA creed speaking contest continue to
grow in numbers?” Another question I have is, "Does competing in this contest
have an advantage over other public speaking contests? " If
I were to do this in the future for more study there are a couple of things I
would like to answer. Does it matter your background in the FFA to do well in
the FFA creed speaking contest? If I were to do this again I would like to
interview more people with a wider range. For example, I would like to
interview a state officer, national officer, and maybe even the Chief Operating
Officer (COO) of National FFA organization to see how alike their answers to
the questions are. Overall, I really enjoyed interviewing these contestants in the Freshman FFA creed contest because it is something I am very passionate about and will continue
years down the road.