Blaine County Beacon: Finding Joy and Value in a Crazy Life

 

March 10, 2021

Assistant Football Coach for the Central High School Golden Eagles, Kent Hansen reviews a play with two of his football players.

In late December 2021, Kent Hansen, who has taught social studies and Advanced Placement courses at Central High School in Aberdeen, South Dakota, for the past sixteen years, was invited to be a guest on Brodie Mueller's podcast, The Rural Revolution. The tagline that Mueller uses to describe his podcast claims that he is "having conversations with awesome people [who are] making their small communities great."

Hansen's invitation came after he was nominated by a sophomore student who had been a previous guest on the show. That student described Hansen as "such a nice guy; he's so kind and one of the smartest people I know."

According to Mueller's description, the episode, "Rural Education with Kent Hansen" focuses on "the teaching of today's youth, [which] shouldn't be left to just anyone!" The conversation not only explores "what it takes to teach today's kids, but the struggles and wins that come with it."


Hansen told Mueller and his co-host Carly Pochop, "I love teaching, coaching, and working with kids. Living this crazy life is not something we do for the money. Teaching is a passion. If you start doing it for the paycheck, set the egg timer."

As is often the case in a rural community, Hansen wears many hats. In addition to classroom teaching, he serves as the Assistant Football Coach for the Central High School Golden Eagles, Assistant Track Coach for Pole Vault, and the National Honor Society Advisor.

Reinforcing positivity in school and community, Hansen described himself as purpose driven. "The reason we're here is for the kids, so before I act, I'm asking myself: 'Is this the best thing for the kids?' Teaching and coaching is about trust, preparation, and caring about them and their successes. It's not just assessment and pedagogical frameworks."


He also lamented that teacher retention and recruitment are challenges. Hansen recalled a college professor's description of teaching as "a high strung babysitting service." Although at the time he found that remark rather cynical, COVID reinforced that concept.

"When I see a kid achieve a goal or perform as I taught them, it is so rewarding. I live for this! But if we value education, how do we get some of our best students to enter the profession, and then how do we get them to teach in rural communities?"

The talk show hosts led the conversation to how frequently young people leave their rural communities-whether for an education or a job-looking for a future beyond the confines of what is familiar. For rural communities, two of the biggest challenges to keeping youth are competitive salaries and accessibility to travel. Given those hurdles, how do we welcome them back after they've gone out to explore the world?


All three agreed that what draws each of them to small town life is the personal service and the focus on family. "Economically, we have to be wondering if we are developing career fields that cater to a higher level," Mueller suggested. "We have to promote ourselves and tell our stories. We have to be appreciative of what we have."

Hansen asked the hosts, who are both entrepreneurial individuals in Aberdeen, what role the schools might play in creating contributing and satisfied community members?

Some of the ideas shared included offering internships, listening to entrepreneurial stories, and getting young people out of their comfort zones into a space where they can take chances and problem-solve.

"I think educators may have a risk aversion," Hansen replied. "Education doesn't encourage taking risks. So, the question becomes, how can I-a person working in a system that virtually punishes risk-taking-create a climate that is safe for trying something new or for experimenting without the penalty of a poor grade? Actually, I tell my students that most of the time, 80% of your best effort is probably good enough."

Hansen said he got some push back on that comment, with one person saying, "I hope my surgeon wasn't educated that way!"

"What I was trying to say when I said that during the interview," Hansen explained, "is that these kids (Advanced Placement and honors students) are often held to an unachievable standard of perfection that no one can sustain all the time, and I try to teach them that their best at that moment is almost always enough."

The trio spoke for a time about entrepreneurial maturity and how failures are part of the learning process. "You have to find your one thing," Mueller said.

"And going through that discovery will involve failures. Where better than a safe place like school to learn what excites you and to identify your strengths? We learn more from our failures than from our successes, so if we can normalize failure, that would help. After all, failure is part of life."

Hansen added, "With all of the pressures on students to perform so that they earn the test scores, the scholarships, and admission to the school of their choice, it's hard to experiment. I agree that a mistake is a memory and that the impact can be more positive than negative, but the kids don't always see that."

Although Hansen insisted that he values "giving kids a chance," he stressed the difference between financial risk and that of human collateral. The stakes are simply different when working with young people's brains, egos, and futures.

Pochop confirmed that getting young people out of their comfort zones is key. One of her current business ventures is Colorful Creations, an art studio in Aberdeen that invites a person "to explore, create, make a mess, or learn something new" using pottery or paints. "Failure teaches you what makes you happy. In the process, you learn YOU," she said.

Hansen responded, "I wonder to what extent we're devaluing certain aspects of education-like many of the liberal arts. Some people will call art or other humanities courses 'wastes of time,' yet in those spaces, students are often finding something they're passionate about. They're finding joy and value in what they're doing. I'm afraid that to devalue the liberal arts, we are sacrificing creativity, and students are losing a chance to grow. Are we just growing people for economics, dealing with authority, adapting to various teaching styles, and getting cut from a team or group-those hidden curriculum aspects of education? Or are we developing kids who can analyze an argument, identify a point of view, or recognize the effects of perspective?"

Hansen, who comes by his rural roots honestly, is the son of Kraig and Renlla Hansen and a 2001 graduate of Chinook High School. He holds a Master's Degree in Teaching and Learning from Northern State University in Aberdeen and is currently working on his administration endorsement.

He and his wife Jenna have two sons, a seven-year-old and a twenty-month- old. "That younger one is a rodeo every day," Hansen said. "They add to my crazy life!"

Anyone interested in hearing the podcast that features Hansen can find it among the episodes on Brodie Mueller's podcast, The Rural Revolution.

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/09/2024 09:28