Who is Mr. Decker?

An interview the the AG departments animal student teacher.

By Holland Scruggs

Who Is Mr. Decker?

Mr. Decker is a student teacher in the Agriculture Department at Greenwood High School.  He is from Broadway, Kentucky and went to high school in Edmonson County, at Edmonson County High School. My mom actually went there, so he knows my family and my mom knows his, which I thought was pretty cool. He has one sibling who is part of Bowling Green PD. My mom even knows his brother, Ethan, because she worked for Kentucky State Police and now the Commonwealth attorney’s office.  

Mr. Decker currently goes to Western Kentucky University, where he is majoring in Agriculture with dual concentrations with agriculture education and a horticulture minor in biology. Motivation can be hard sometimes for anyone, especially for someone going to school and student teaching. ¨I enjoy my time here at Greenwood and I get most of my motivation knowing that I am gaining experience teaching our future agriculturalists,¨ he said, while smiling. 

Teaching in the pandemic for student teachers can be super difficult. ¨I am glad that I am not teaching during the online time because I believe that the best learning happens in a classroom,¨ he said. 

¨I love doing things with the FFA outside of the classroom. I help them with their speeches and with parli pro,¨ He said. Being in the Ag department, He will want to be a part of the FFA. FFA member and Madam Vice President, Jaylyn Brady, explains that she really likes having Mr. Decker help in the Greenwood FFA chapter. 

Decker grew up on a beef cattle farm and showed poultry in high school. His family then started hay production. He is applying his first hand experience to others in the classroom. 

¨I know he will be a great teacher because he relates to students in a special way, ¨ explained Paul Goins, Ag teacher . Mr. Goins mentors and coaches Mr. Decker through teaching. ¨I have never had a student teacher before, and it has been a great experience to go through. I get to listen to him teach and watch his style of teaching. It is a privilege to watch him grow into a great teacher.¨

Did you know that when a teacher has a student teacher, they can get free classes at Western Kentucky University? Goins can get a free class at western for his Rank 1, thanks to Mr. Decker. 

It is clear that Mr. Decker has already made an impact here at Greenwood. I wanted to hear from some of his students who had him in class and see what they had to say. 

FFA Member and committee chairman, Audrey Cowan, says that Mr. Decker relates to us in a way that no other teacher would. He is younger, like us ,and understands where we are coming from when we have ¨high school drama¨ situations. I love Mr.  Decker because he is now a part of our daily lives.

Ellie Fields, an FFA member and committee chair, ¨I love his sense of humor and how much fun he makes everything.¨ She said that she enjoys having him teach in class because they do a lot of fun things. 

Mr. Decker is impacting students here and he likes what he is doing. He would like to teach here. Even if he does not teach here, I am positive that he will remain remembered here because of his teaching skills and the friendly vibe he spread all around the school.