By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Teachers are headed back to the classroom equipped with more knowledge about agriculture and curriculum to implement in their classroom, thanks to summer programs hosted by Texas Farm Bureau (TFB).
Over the summer, TFB hosted four Summer Ag Academies (SAA), which are one- and two-day professional development workshops to immerse teachers into agriculture.
This year’s SAAs were held in Burleson, New Braunfels, Fort Bend and Lubbock.
“Teachers who attended the SAAs had the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning, such as plant identification activities, egg characteristic identification, butter making and microscope observations of bees and other pollinators,” said Jordan Walker, TFB associate director of Organization Division, Educational Outreach.
Site visits were also part of the SAAs to give teachers a chance to see agriculture in action.
“The site visits that teachers experienced truly set the SAAs apart as each site visit offered a unique view into agriculture. Teachers visited with farmers at their shops and in their fields about corn, cotton, wheat, sunflowers and rice, as well as the increasing amount of technology that is used in agriculture. They also had the opportunity to see the technology up close and personal as they climbed into tractors and combines,” she said. “They saw plant samples at different stages of growth and had the opportunity to ask the farmers questions as they sought to learn more about the ins and outs of agriculture.”
Teachers received curriculum that is aligned with Texas teaching standards to help them better incorporate the material in the classroom.
“So many teachers are eager to incorporate agriculture into the classroom, but they often aren’t aware of what takes place on a farm and how that does connect with what needs to be taught in the classroom,” Walker said. “They also aren’t always aware of where to find resources and curriculum to help them do it. The SAAs provide the opportunity to actually step on farm, talk to a farmer and learn how the information learned can be used in the classroom.”
Teachers who attended this year’s workshops have a potential direct impact to over 5,030 students, which helps cultivate a better understanding of agriculture in the next generation.
For more than 25 years, TFB has hosted professional development events in the summer to help Texas teachers make the connection with agriculture, providing them engaging techniques to incorporate the subject into their curriculum.
For more information about educational opportunities for teachers and Ag in the Classroom activities, visit https://texasfarmbureau.org/aitc.