Master Gardeners graduates become part of Texas Cooperative Extension as volunteers, and even after they complete their classroom instruction and 50 hours of volunteer work, they must do 12 hours of volunteer work every year to maintain their certified Master Gardener status.

We're looking for people who have the inclination and the time to learn about horticulture from experts, then go out into the community to seek the resources they need to teach gardening and landscaping to school kids, youth organizations, civic groups, city beautification efforts, or anybody that calls into our office wanting gardening or landscaping advice.

These highly trained and talented volunteers have become the ?first responders' for horticultural education across the state, including here in the Valley.

We'll accept applications through Feb. 10, or until the class of 15 fills up, whichever comes first.

I've come to the frightening conclusioin that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.

You're not going to learn the most tangible, applied processes in a book, or a classroom, or a lecture. It's not rocket science. All you need is good eyesight, a strong back, and good shipboard balance.