Welcome to the Agricultural Education Panel Discussion!
The First Topic
Five well-rounded volunteers are participating, bringing a wealth of knowledge, information, and encouragement to the world of Agricultural Education and its importance in educational curriculums.
There are five topics that the panel discusses. Before beginning our first discussion, let’s introduce the panel…each hand-picked to represent a variety of educators and a variety of learning environments.
Ryan, Debra, and Karlee are teachers that work closely with students, developing and delivering comprehensive lessons in the traditional setting. Melissa is a homeschool educator, managing lesson plans while creating and tailoring the best educational environment for her children. Katie is an educator for a community youth group who focuses on bringing agriculture close-to-home for kids that do not have agricultural education within their schools.
[[Click Here to read an in-depth introduction of each of the educators participating in our panel discussion.]]
The first topic: Agriculture and its’ potential and actual impact in an educational curriculum.
The wide variety of topics the agriculture encompasses can range from biology to chemistry and from finance to legal. Livestock, crops, soil health, watershed conservation, and forestry are typical subjects when students are learning about agriculture. Chemistry is a hot topic as well. Monoculture farms utilize the chemistry field to determine the type of chemical needed to cover miles of acreage and to continue to keep their cropland producing high yields. Those in the agricultural education field know that ag. ed. teaches other aspects such as finances; grant writing and book keeping are only a few of those items. The legal side of agriculture is another important component: companies such as Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund protect small farmers across the United States against unnecessary regulations.
With the wide variety of subjects that agriculture touches, it is a surprise that agricultural education isn’t a part of every schools curriculum. Our panel explores this idea and whether formal agriculture education would benefit or detract from their students education.
(NTF asked): Why do you believe Agricultural Education and/or FFA is a part of the formal education within your school?
Should the above be a mandatory subject(s), even for a short time)?
Agricultural Education and/or FFA are not usually offered outside of high school-aged youth. Should it be available for other age groups?
Terms used:
Ag and/or Ag Ed may be used interchangeable for Agricultural Education
The term FFA is used below. FFA, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, is a national organization that is implemented in schools throughout the U.S. It prepares students for an education and career in leadership, science, and business for agricultural pursuits. Learn more at https://www.ffa.org
4H refers to the community-based national organization that promotes a multitude of education and skills. In rural communities, 4H groups usually focus on agricultural topics. Learn more at https://4-h.org/about/what-is-4-
Ryan – Middle School Science Teacher in a Rural School District
“Coming from a rural school district, agriculture plays a vital part to my town’s economy and work force. Many of my students are involved with family farming or participate in FFA and 4H. While these students are aware with the ‘ins and outs’ of farming, those students who are not from an agricultural background probably know very little about the importance of agriculture as a practice.”
“As an educator in a middle school, I know that with all of the standards we are required to meet, it would be very hard to incorporate a mandatory agricultural class into the everyday curriculum. With that said, I do feel that every single subject has an opportunity to include education in agricultural practices. Our school does require students to take a health/nutrition class but that mainly deals with ‘what’ food they are eating. I do think it would be very beneficial to also teach our students about ‘where’ their food is coming from and teach them that the foods we eat are not all produced in the same way -- some are healthy, others are unhealthy. As a 7th grade science teacher, I introduce topics to students such as the food web and chemistry. Both of these topics provide me opportunities to relate the content to agricultural practices as well.”
Debra – High school Agricultural Education and FFA teacher in a rural school district
“Agricultural Education and FFA [for our school] is a formal part of the education in our school! We are very proud to be Home of the FFA Jacket… Which gives us a rich heritage for our program unlike any other program in the country. Agricultural Education has something to offer to everyone!!”
“I do think it should be mandatory for at least 9 weeks for all students. Ideally, I would love to teach a life skills class but unfortunately, we don't offer such a class. I would like to teach things such as basic tool use, changing oil in your car, checking fluids or tire pressure, sewing on a button or sewing a hole in your pants, how to process your own food (can green beans or tomato sauce, etc).”
Karlee – High school Spanish teach in a suburban/densely populated school district
“Agricultural Education should be a class in all schools, but not a graduation requirement at this time. Much like my class, Spanish, it is considered an elective. If it were required you may have a large group of students forced to take a class they have no interest in. Regardless of the benefit of learning about Agriculture, you may be sacrificing the quality of your course by making everyone take it. I believe by including it into a graduation pathway much like STEAM, or career center, students would be able to build a small portfolio prior to graduation that would allow them to seek Agriculture related education or jobs after graduation.”
“There are courses that have Ag components in them, such as biology, and zoology. Students are able to utilize the land lab at the back of the school, a large pond with a diverse ecosystem that the students and teachers help to maintain and grow. Some general education teachers grow fish in their classroom to populate the ecosystem. I myself have a large fish tank with about 10 fish that we take care of and help grow. (see https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190102/aquariums-latest-learning-environments-at-westerville-north) Students in Biology courses take part in growing produce for the local food shelter, W.A.R.M and growing flowers and plants outside of school building. (see https://www.smore.com/32nvm ) Some Biology students take part in hatching chicks and learning how to identify their sex and track growth. Some students have the opportunity to work with Monarch butterflies. I think that any of these existing projects could also be covered in an Agriculture or Sustainability course at the High School level.”
Melissa – Home school educator in a rural area
“I don't believe there is/are any Ohio homeschooling requirements that state that agriculture must be taught. We live on a few acres, so teaching agriculture has become a normal part of our everyday lives. The kids know what it’s like to be a part of butchering days, they understand that our food doesn't come from packages in a store, we teach them what time of year to plant and harvest, and the reasons why it's important to grow your own food. They don't always care or want to participate, but I am thankful to give them a basis for understanding.”
Katie – Lead educator for youth program, Highland Youth Gardens, located within the city of Columbus, Ohio
“Classes and curriculum dedicated specifically to agriculture are not available in the formal education of the participating schools at Highland Youth Garden, nor at any public school that I know of in Columbus; that said, I notice some of our teachers using basic gardening/plants as a learning tool, especially in science classes.”
“Should it be mandatory? In my opinion, students should absolutely be able to opt into classes and topics that interest them. In the same way that not everyone will be a mathematician, but everyone must learn some basic forms of math in school, I think that, while not everyone will grow up to be farmers and gardeners, everyone should learn about their food: where it comes from, how it’s produced, the dangers of certain types of food, and how to make healthy eating choices. In the same way that there are higher math courses for students who have special interest, so too should there be advanced courses in high school for students to learn more about sustainable agriculture and our food systems. The biggest difference between math & food systems: poorly designed math problems aren’t causing irreversible global warming and severe destruction to our only home, poorly designed food systems on a national and global scale certainly do.”
“What may be even better than one specific “class” on agriculture or food systems is project-based, interdisciplinary teachings that cover several subjects, including agriculture! As the lead educator at Highland Youth Garden, I strive to design curriculum that is food & garden-based, but that supports the already existing public-school curriculum. For example: my 6th grade class did an entire project on hydroponics. They learned how to read seed packets (practicing critical reading skills & deducing conclusions from limited information), set up & cared for the seeds in a hydroponics tower (how to follow complex directions & spatial reasoning), and tracked the seeds’ progress on sprouting and harvesting (charting skills, mathematics). All the while, these students were learning not only about ancient Mesopotamia as apart of their common core classes, but also how Mesopotamia had incredibly advanced forms of irrigation and hydroponics for their crops. This is a “project-based” lesson that incorporated reading, spatial reasoning, mathematics, food studies, agriculture, and history, all rolled into one
The second topic to discuss is what views and opinions do students have regarding Agricultural Education.
Click Here to read more about our panel participants.
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Third discussion topic
Fourth discussion topic