By Shala Watson
Staff Writer
Engaged. Eager. Excited. That describes students in Hillarie Rollins’ first grade classroom at Forest Ridge Elementary in College Station.
Through much planning, organization and coordination, Rollins is fostering a love for agriculture in a school full of urban students.
Inspiring and cultivating a passion for agricultural education in an urban setting is the challenge Rollins is taking on with passion and determination.
Her efforts to incorporate agriculture into her classroom earned Rollins the Agriculture in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher award from Texas Farm Bureau (TFB).
Nominated by Brazos County Farm Bureau, Rollins accepted the award at TFB’s 83rd Annual Meeting in San Antonio this month.
Like many of her students, Rollins grew up in an urban community. She didn’t realize how agriculture intertwined with almost all facets of daily life until she continued her education as an adult.
Rollins uses her non-traditional agricultural experiences to expose her students to agriculture from a young age. She cultivates eager learners by incorporating hands-on activities and experiences into her classroom throughout the school year.
She takes on a special role at her school and goes above and beyond to help bridge the gap between the farm and the classroom by integrating agricultural concepts into her lesson plans.
As a new teacher, she noticed many of her students were not aware of where their food comes from.
“It surprised me how many kids didn’t know where their milk even came from,” Rollins said in interview with the TFB Radio Network. “We would be in the lunch line, we’d start talking about milk and one of my students said, ‘Where does that come from?’ And somebody else popped off and said, ‘The grocery store.’ I’m like, whoa, it comes from a cow.”
This experience prompted her to do something. She realized how imperative it is for children to understand and have exposure to the impact American agriculture has on their lives and their communities.
“They really need that exposure and those experiences in class at an early age,” Rollins said. “I do teach first grade, so what better way to have them become more aware of who’s providing their food, how it’s grown and what impact farmers and the food and fiber industry are just in their daily life.”
Rollins facilitated the creation of a schoolwide flower garden that her students manage. Her students also plant and care for a small vegetable garden during the fall and spring.
They get to be part of every step of the process and learn about different types of soil.
“We work in the gardens during the week, many giving up their recess time to help water and weed,” Rollins said in her application. “For students to truly witness firsthand the plant life cycle, and then to harvest the fruit of their labor, is priceless.”
Her students also learn the value of responsibility and how to nurture and care for plants and animals. They study the life cycle of chicks inside the egg and how to best care for them while they incubate and watch them hatch.
“Not only are my kids learning by teaching them about how a plant grows, they’re witnessing and experiencing it for themselves,” Rollins said. “So when they do that, it just imprints it in their brain that much deeper, that understanding of the topic they’re talking about really reaches them. They can apply it in other ways.”
She also has a saltwater aquarium in her classroom that provides a glimpse into the ocean for students to begin understanding its value as a natural resource.
Guest speakers also bring agriculture to life in her classroom and engage her students.
Rollins credits TFB’s Summer Agricultural Institute and the Planting the Seed program with her accomplishments in the classroom.
“They provided me with not only the lessons plans, but the teachers got to do it,” Rollins said. “And that’s really powerful because once you learn how to do something, you teach it to somebody. That’s just real proof in the learning…that’s what I try to instill in my students every day.”
Rollins will attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Missouri next summer as part of winning the award at the state level.
She’ll also receive a $600 cash award, and the Brazos County Farm Bureau will receive a