That Ag Guy--so what do you exactly do? Agriculture in the Classroom(AITC) is often called a part of the Agriculture Literacy movement. I spent 10 years teaching Junior High English and Social Studies. I worked for a publishing company for 2 years before coming to AITC a little over 11 years ago. When I first took the job at AITC I explained to someone, who knew my background, that I would be working in Agricultural Literacy----they paused and thought reflectively upon my background---and said---"So you are going to teach farmers how to read?" I guess they took the words too literally.
What does it mean to be AGRICULTURALLY LITERATE? Seriously, have you ever thought about it?
I firmly believe that you can hold the attention of about anyone for 30 seconds----People may ask you a question and patiently and politely wait for an answer for about 30 seconds. In a job where people don't understand what you are doing--I've found those 30 seconds count!!
What do I do? Simply put--I help students and teachers make a connection to their food, fiber and fuel systems and see the connection to agriculture. Our society is so far removed from the origin of their food--that many people believe that food comes from the store. FFA Students often wear a t-shirt that says 'Naked and Hungry' on the front---and on the back "Where you would be without Agriculture". It is a simple, startling statement that can make people pause and think about how agriculture impacts them.
Bringing that connection home is what we work on in the AITC Program. We have the added benefit of working with teachers. If we can show teachers the basics of how they consume agricultural products, they can pass that on to student. The students can pass that on to parents. Perhaps we'll build a ground swell of support where more students know, understand and appreciate where there food comes from.......perhaps.
Think about your 30 seconds how wisely will you use them to explain the importance of what you do?
No comments:
Post a Comment