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Consultants for Ag In The Classroom recently met to prepare for the upcoming teacher workshops. These consultants explain why Ag In The Classroom is so important.
Grace Powell: Teaching the Teachers: Welcome and Hello to Tennessee Home and Farm Radio. I’m Grace Powell
Valerie Teal: As an an educator and also as an agriculturalist. I’m trying to merge those two things together because many of my students don’t have an idea of where their food or fiber comes from.
Grace Powell: Agriculture is taught every day in classrooms across Tennessee. The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation Ag in the Classroom provides content that teaches kids where their food comes from. Consultants recently met to prepare for Ag in the Classroom workshops where teachers are introduced to AG based education materials. Coffee County teacher Valerie Teal hopes to show other teachers the importance of Ag in the Classroom
Valerie Teal: Living on the farm is is like nothing else. And if I can help other educators get excited about agriculture, then that is my goal. I love living on a farm and I’ll hope that my excitement can come out through these sessions that we will have this summer
Grace Powell: With June being dairy month the teacher and dairy farmer Laura Purtle of Murray County says teaching kids about the importance of dairy is one of her top priorities.
Laura Purtle: That’s one of the things that teachers in this group of consultants really enjoys doing is being able to help students understand exactly where their milk comes from cows and that all milk that comes out as white like brown cows don’t make brown milk. And we like to help our students understand that the apple came from a tree and it didn’t just come from a grocery store.
Grace Powell: Knox County’s Executive Principal, Tanna Nicely has been involved with the Ag in the Classroom for years and wants it to continue and grow.
Tanna Nicely: We are making a difference. I just think our impact could be more in that. I think that’s what we’re trying to do is just grab those pre-service teachers before they get out of college and give them some tools to take into the classroom and integrate. That’s that’s the key. I feel. I feel like this the work that we do around Ag in the Classroom is not work. It’s it’s a mission. It’s really and so I don’t feel like it’s work. I feel like it’s just almost like spreading the gospel in the church. We’re spreading the gospel of Ag
Grace Powell: The Tennessee Ag in the Classroom teacher workshops will be held across the state beginning next week. For Tennessee Home and Farm Radio. I’m Grace Powell.
