Quincy man wins Teacher of the Year award

QUINCY - Agriculture teacher Mike Wallace circled the room as the sophomores worked, serving as the sounding board for the various ideas flung his way.

The assignment is to build a diorama showing an agriculture or natural resources development and how that development impacts the ecosystem. The group over in the corner has come up with the idea of a field of irrigated crop circles. "And it's an awesome idea," Wallace said. But they need to remember that farmers and irrigation districts need to regulate the water used, and take that into account in their design.

The group at the center table was working on their map. "Wow. You put a lot of time in on that," Wallace said. The map actually accounts for a sizable chunk of the grade. "It might be worth more than just a scribble," he said.

That's what teachers are supposed to do, of course, teach kids about things like ecosystems and development while encouraging some habits and discouraging others. Wallace does his job well enough that he was named the Outstanding Agriculture Education Teacher for Washington by the National Association of Agriculture Educators.

"It's pretty neat," Wallace said. But in his opinion the award reflects the students, the district and the community, he said.

Wallace has been teaching agriculture at Quincy High School for 19 years. He has stayed because the ag program receives "excellent support," he said.

"Our school board, they get it. They understand the education process," he said. Board members and administrators know that while achievement tests are important, there's more to education than the tests, he said. Superintendent Burton Dickerson changed district policy to support FFA and other clubs the way sports teams are supported, Wallace said. The FFA is encouraged to attend competitions and conferences.

The Quincy community supports the ag program and has rallied around in personal emergencies, like the time Wallace was injured during hay harvest. "I got back from the hospital and my neighbor was cutting my hay." Quincy residents offered their help during the illness of one of his sons, and both the program and his family have been the beneficiaries of a lot of kindness, he said. "People do things and they don't even let you know who did it."

Wallace said ag education is important everywhere, because everyone is impacted by agriculture. In addition, the old picture of agriculture jobs as mostly production-based is out of date. Agriculture sector jobs count for about 20 percent of all American jobs, but only about three percent of agriculture jobs are in production, he said.

"Agriculture is definitely my passion. I love it." But the biggest thing kids need to know is how to learn, he said. It won't matter what profession kids pursue, as long as they know how to obtain and process the information they need to be successful, Wallace said.

Wallace is the son of an agriculture teacher, but his first choice for a career was physical therapy, he said. That didn't work out so well, so he went to work using his welding experience. Wallace said he liked welding, but his dad pushed him to find a long term career.

That sent him back to college to obtain teaching certification. He worked at Moses Lake one year before moving to Quincy.

Teaching turned out to be a good career choice, he said. It's always changing, and teachers are always looking for different angles to get the information across. "Every day is different." Wallace said.