With Grapevine teacher’s help, her students ‘can do anything they want in this world’

Kristin Barton teaches youngsters about life — and what better way to do that than to use her own life experiences.

Barton grew up on a farm in upstate New York near a small town called Owego. Now, as a pre-kindergarten teacher at Grapevine’s Dove Elementary School, she is using her memories of growing up to teach her students a different way of looking at life.

“I grew up on a dairy farm. My family still owns and runs the longest-running farm in the county,” Barton said. “My family has been farming there since the late 1700s. Owego means ‘Where the valley widens.’ It is located between Ithaca and Binghamton. It is in the Finger Lakes region.

“I love telling the students about my life growing up on a farm. When we read ‘The Little Red Hen’ I talked to them about how bread is made from wheat. I told them that I’ve driven and rode on a combine before. I have milked cows and I was a member of 4-H and raised market lambs.”

Barton, in her 19th year of teaching, said the students love hearing her stories and when she shows them photos of the farm where she grew up. Her brother, Donny, runs the farm now and has an Instagram account where he always has pictures of balers, combines, and tractors.

Military background a teaching tool

Another aspect of Barton’s life that she has incorporated into her teaching is her time in the military. She served in the U.S. Army for one tour in the late 1980s, working in Military Intelligence. She also has a college degree in criminal justice to go with her bachelor’s in education and master’s in early childhood education.

“The military has taught me so much. I never thought it could help me be a teacher, but it does,” she said. “My military career has helped me to be collaborative, persevere, and teach about veterans. In basic training, it doesn’t matter how much money people have, where they are from or the color of their skin. We all worked together.

“Basic Training was combat duty training. We needed to work together for our country, freedom and our life could depend upon it. It’s a bond that can never be replaced. I am still great friends with my ranger buddy.”

Barton also tells her students that solving problems is another thing she learned from the military and that it is important in any organization. She noted that teachers need to think fast and solve problems, including going above and beyond during COVID.

“Three years ago no one knew about virtual or online learning. We all agree that in-person education is the best, but I did see how hard every teacher worked to make it successful,” she said. “Teachers are natural problem solvers.”

And on Veterans Day, she loves talking to her students about what a veteran is and asking if they know a veteran — which, of course, they all do.

“I get to teach them the definition and I tell them they all know one — me!” she said. “I show them pictures of me in my uniform and talk to them about some of my training. I tell them they can be in the military someday when they grow up. We talk about all branches of the service and some of the jobs they do.”

Through all of her teachings, from farming roots to military experience, and even life today, Barton’s goal is to show students what they can become. And though they are young, she strives to help them begin to chart a path for their future.

Arming students with superpowers

Barton is an avid bird watcher, something else she uses as a tool in teaching.

“In class, we have talked about the different birds here in Texas and the same (as back in New York). We watched for the spring robins to return,” she said, adding that she incorporates other animals as well. “We learned about groundhogs in February and that they don’t live in Texas.”

She often refers to the differences in weather from where she grew up to that locally, teaching her students about different climates. Also, being from a small town, she educates them on the differences of country life and city life.

“I talk with the students about the differences between living in the country versus the city. There are so many parks and restaurants to choose from,” she said.

Barton doesn’t limit her teaching to her school students. She has also started a nonprofit organization called Family Reading Partnership of Owego Appalachian. Its mission is to promote family literacy and provide books to children and families.

“I tell all my students that reading is a superpower, and if they can read, they can do anything they want in this world,” she said.