Wow, this has been an amazing week for me, a little second grade student at East Milton Elementary School.

I have been to several places in Florida, including the State Capitol in Tallahassee, the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, and then to be welcomed back home by students at Bennett C. Russell Elementary School.

Now if you can’t tell by the pictures, I am not your typical second grader.

I weigh 1,200 pounds with a pretty long nose and I am one of the few guys around Santa Rosa County who doesn’t get criticized too much for long hair or my brown ponytail.

My adventure this week started near the steps of the state capitol where Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson read a book to students about me.

Why was I in Tallahasse instead of school like most of my classmates?

Well I was invited to Tallahassee to help kick off the first annual Campaign for Literacy Week in the state of Florida and help promote, “Just Read, Florida!”

It was kind of embarrassing to the point I hid in my trailer on more than one occasion while the commissioner read to all those students from Gadsden and Leon counties.

Now you would think a kid from East Milton Elementary would be excited about hearing their story being told to several fellow students.

But I don’t just represent the students of East Milton Elementary or Santa Rosa County. I just happen to be one of 14,000 horses who call Santa Rosa County home.

It was great to see all the kids from other schools as well as the Agriculture Commissioner.

My guardians told me when we got there that Commissioner Bronson really likes horses so that makes him okay in my book.

But all the attention was nothing compared to what I was going to get on Tuesday.

I was nervous at first because the school in St. Augustine was a completely different experience for me.

I have worked with students with disabilities before, but Tuesday was an awesome experience for me.

Once again I got a little shy as teachers and aides at the School for the Deaf and Blind were reading my book to the students using various means of communication including American Sign Language and Braille, but I soon found out I was going to help them as well.

Now all I can do is whinny and nhay, but that didn’t matter to the students in St. Augustine.

My guardian whispered to me to be steady and careful as several of the students came up and touched me.

Now there have been many times and many a school or fair visits where people have come up to rub my coat or even pet me on my old long nose, but Tuesday was a real treat.

Some people don’t pay attention to how rough they are when they pet me, but these students were very gentle and kind when they rubbed my Sorrel coat and rubbed me between my ears.

Even though I was a new student at the school, for just one day, I felt like I made hundreds of new friends.

I was even tempted to see if I could stay the night with my new school friends.

While the students were touching me and the blind students were getting a mental image of what a horse might look like with a long tail, main, and how big we actually can be, I heard my guardians talking about how the students were taking everything in.

I had so much fun in St. Augustine I am even thinking about writing the school to see if I could visit as an exchange student.

But unfortunately the day came to an end and I had to say goodbye to all my new friends at the school.

My guardians got everything ready and we headed back home to Milton and on the trip back I was fed a good snack but more importantly I had to do my homework.

Now some might wonder why I miss so much school, and granted I don’t go every day, but I have taken it upon myself with the blessings of my guardians to try to help my fellow students.

I do this by working with the Santa Rosa Education Foundation, and its efforts in the Teacher Grant Program.

My guardians and I do this with my book and visiting various schools, fairs, and other events we are invited to in an effort to promote literacy skill development.

You would be surprised at how many friends I have made and how they in turn have helped the education foundation to award grants.

Those grants are given to teachers all across Santa Rosa County to help my fellow students get a top notch education and also teach them lessons that my guardians have instilled in me.

I can tell you I have been thousand of miles across Florida and other places, but I am looking forward to going back to St. Augustine and helping my friends I have here at home as they enjoy the gift of reading.

Tuffy, an equine ‘student’ at East Milton Elementary School travels to schools all over Santa Rosa County bringing messages of acceptance, tolerance, and citizenship. On Thursday, for the first time, teachers integrated his new book with lesson plans in their classrooms. 

Some who have not heard of Tuffy may ask what does a horse have in common with education and why Tuffy is enrolled in school.

According to Tuffy’s guardian Kyle Holley, Tuffy is a progressive teaching tool and advertising campaign that works cooperatively with the Santa Rosa Education Foundation (SREF), a nonprofit educational organization.

Tuffy, whose full name is Otoes Tough Man Go, enrolled as a first-grade student at East Milton Elementary in 2004.The most important of Tuffy’s jobs is to encourage literacy through a holistic educational program based on his life and his new book.

“Tuffy's life is used to illustrate concepts like respect, responsibility, caring for all life, empathy, anger management and impulse control,” says Holley. "We try to redefine what tough means. Being tough doesn't mean to be a bully. It's tough to wait your turn. It's tough to be nice.”

Tuffy’s new book, “Tuffy – A Real American Quarter Horse Hero,” is based on the true story of Tuffy’s life and some of the hardships he has endured.

In the classroom, the lessons reinforce values such as citizenship, trustworthiness, and fairness, as well as encourage comprehension, fluency, and writing skills.

“The book is used in the classroom for reading and then activities are integrated that involve art, writing, and just a wide range of skills. The approach is a holistic one,” says Holley.

According to Tuffy’s biography, Tuffy was born in East Milton at Blue Ribbon Farms, in the section of East Milton called American Farms. Joe and Tammy Brown own Blue Ribbon Farms. Tuffy’s mother, Helen, resides at Blue Ribbon Farms and his father lives in Montgomery, Ala.  Helen is blind in one eye and was handpicked by Tammy Brown because Helen comes from a line of fast racehorses.

Tuffy's dad has a job that takes him away from Tuffy’s home. His father’s name is Toebars Pep. His grandfather, Toebars, was a famous calf- roping horse in the 1970s. Tuffy’s grandfather represents hard work and teamwork along with respect, trust, and dedication. Tuffy sees his grandfather as a hero - a horse that, because of his values and respect for others, emulates the kind of horse Tuffy wants to be.

Holley says that Tuffy’s goal is to increase literacy, both oral and written, to facilitate character education and provide a positive role model, available and accessible to students. Tuffy’s primary focus is children. He believes every child has the right to an opportunity allowing that child to succeed - and every child deserves the best education available.

“His ideas and his book have been developed to incorporate all areas of school curriculum, thus allowing for endless possibilities for lesson plans, etc.  Tuffy implements reading and writing through each subject area and touches on key issues from each of the required disciplines. His book can be used to enhance concepts of different subjects, as well as implement oral and written language. The possibilities of written expression are quite vast and cover the spectrum from kindergarten to high school. His lessons and messages allow for journal writing, letter writing skills and additional sequel writing,” says Holley.

One of Tuffy’s jobs is to raise funds and awareness for the Santa Rosa Education Foundation. The foundation provides many services for teachers and students throughout the county including Take Stock in Children, Teacher Mini-Grants, and Teacher of the Year.

Teacher grants, which are provided by the foundation, allow county educators to purchase equipment, supplies, or implement ideas in the classrooms.

Holley says the funds raised by Tuffy are cycled back into the school system through teacher grants and the Santa Rosa Education Foundation.

“The money is not used to feed or house Tuffy. I pay for all of that myself,” he says.

“The foundation builds celebrity through Tuffy in cooperation with the schools with the intent to leverage products and sell them nationally to generate major revenue,” Holley explains.  “ In short, the plan includes short-term payoffs for the schools and long term payoffs for the educational foundation, which in turn supports the schools through teacher grants and scholarships.”

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More than something to whinny about