Rubber Baby

I always thought that my first grandkid would be dark headed because both of my girls entered this world with loads of black hair. Little did I know, my first grandchild would be bald headed and made out of plastic. I’ve e been around vocational education for close to 35 years and have always been a proponent of life skills and as an old Ag. teacher I’ve seen lots of young ladies carrying around those little faux babies. You know the kind, they send them home from school and their grade is dependent on how well they respond to the little rubber babies needs. Kelsey, my youngest, who will graduate in just a couple of short weeks, brought one home over the weekend. She’s very grade conscious and so each time the baby made any kind of noise, she reached for the set of keys you stick in it’s back to make it stop crying or whatever the malfunction of the moment seemed to be. I was on the road last weekend for some auction business and I was headed home Sunday morning thinking I’d be home in time for church but when I text “grandma” she said “ no, we’re not going to church, Kelsey has the baby”. What a difference a generation makes. I responded back “I remember taking babies to church, what about their spiritual health” I guess there’s not a church key that comes with that little rascal. Anyway, it was quite comical to watch Kelsey be tied down and uber responsible where this little fake baby was concerned. I know exactly her motivation, it was for a grade but I think the little rubber baby assignment is valuable because I believe if a student takes it serious it does make them think about the responsibility of a child. I can’t remember whether free spirited Katy, our older child ever brought one of these home or not. I would think that big sister probably just threw the little tike in her locker and said here’s a bag of M&M’s and a Dr. Pepper we’ll see ya’ Monday junior. I think that what this little assignment reminded me of was that our vocational programs still focus on real life skills whether its agriculture or home economics or a host of other options, these programs still have a very important function and try to provide opportunities for kids to learn. I started down this road telling this story somewhat tongue and cheek but I have to tell ya’, I was extremely proud last week at the state FFA convention to watch Kelsey, the second of the Armes’ girls, walk across the stage at the Cox Center and receive her state FFA degree. As a product of an FFA program and then having spent 13 years as an Ag. teacher I have helped numerous kids fill out State FFA degree applications, taught them how to keep records and numerous other real life skills. I know the value of the program and even though my oldest daughter Katy is not directly related to agriculture in her profession, I know that she is doing well and that a great deal of her success is because she has a work ethic that I hope I had some hand in instilling in her but I also have to give credit to the FFA program and all the great things it taught. To all those vocational teachers out there whether you taught my kids or someone else’s kids, thanks for being in the trench where the rubber meets the road and trying to provide real life examples for kids across this state so they can get out and have a decent shot at making a living and hopefully become more productive citizens. So, until the real grandkids come along our family will always laugh about the weekend that the rubber baby came to stay with Kelsey. If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email donarmes@okhouse.gov And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road: Life is not a final, it’s daily pop quizzes~~ Author Unknown.