Breaking the Barrier with Bedard

A new school year means new students, new opportunities and different classes, but most importantly, new teachers. Mr. Bedard is the newest addition to the agriculture program; here is a look at how this new teacher is settling into Woodford.

Bedard is a southern Ohio native, where he spent many of his days in the outdoors. While growing up, a young Bedard used his free time to train horses. Bedard attended the University of Kentucky where he obtained his career and technical Ed/AS Ed degrees.

Woodford County High School is Bedard’s first-ever teaching job, but he had the opportunity during college to work with a  “veteran teacher” in Mercer County where he student-taught classes such as shop and welding, giving him the experience of what his future teaching career might hold. Bedard teaches the following courses at WCHS: Small Animal Technology, Agriculture Construction Skills, and Principles of Agriscience.

When asked why he decided to become a teacher and what made him want to work in his field, Bedard said, “Actually, when I was in high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. When I graduated my Ag teacher was like, ‘Hey you should be an Ag teacher.’ And I was like, I guess so. So that’s what I decided to do and I went to school and fell in love with it. And here I am now.” Bedard hopes to be teaching for a long time. In five years he pictures himself  “still teaching. I would like to be still teaching at that point. I really enjoy it here, so still looking to be here in five years.”

Many teachers want their students to be able to grow and succeed. Teachers often leave a lesson or impact their students in some positive way. When asked what lesson he would like to leave his students with, Bedard said, “That there is always more than one way to look at things. Always another viewpoint. Another side to every story when you start to look at a lot of different subjects.” Bedard’s favorite aspect of teaching is the “aha” moment when everything comes together.