GAIL STROCK
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
“You can see the kids enjoy
what they’re doing. It shows on
their faces.” commented one su
burban teacher at Penn State’s Ag
Arena recently. Nearly 100 teach
ers took part in the Ag in the
Classroom program and spent two
hours on Saturday at the Ag Arena
meeting up close and personal
all types of farm animals.
“A lot of these people have not
had any experience at all being
around a farm animal or a live
stock species, and we felt before
they could go back to the class
room and (each about it, they
needed to be exposed and have the
experience themselves,” Carrie
Stufft said about why she planned
this event for the teachers.
A third-grade teacher at East
Deny Elementary School in the
Mifflin County School District.
Stufft attended Ag in the Class
room three years ago and returned
these past two years as a presenter.
“In the past, I did as much as I
could in an hour’s time to educate
them about how important animal
agriculture is and how it’s a vital
role in their daily lives —so they
could take that back to their class
rooms. Now this year. I’ve taken
the extra step and brought the ani
mals to them so they could be ex
posed to them.”
Stufft asked 21 4-H and FFA
students from Mifflin County to
transport their projects and to sta
tion them separately around the
arena. Overall, the teachers saw a
beef steer, a pig, a sheep, a horse,
a goat, a fawn, two dairy cows and
nine different breeds of rabbits.
The teachers divided into groups
of 12, then rotated from station to
station every IS minutes to learn.
While most 4-H’ers and FFAers
don’t hesitate to talk about their
animals, most of these students
jumped at the chance to do some
thing they rarely get to do to
teach teachers.
“It’s a good program,” said
Matt Kline, an 8-year veteran of
both 4-H and FFA. “Many have
never had the chance to see and be
with agricultural animals.”
Matt, from McVeytown,
brought his Holstein while Chris
Uhland, of Ferguson Valley and
an 11th grader at Lewistown Area
High School, presented his Brown
Swiss milk cow.
Teachers Taught How To
Incorporate Ag In The Classroom
“I wanted to show them my ani
mal and to tell them about her,”
Chris commented. Both said it
was a good experience for them
and were pleased with how inter
ested the teachers were in learning
about each animal.
“I didn’t know deer farms ex
isted,” said Sandra Handy, a 6th
grade teacher in Lehigh County.
“I’ve been to a dairy farm, but I’ve
never seen a pig up close. I admire
the kids. It’s a lot of work, but
more kids should have this oppor
tunity.”
“I am learning a lot,” added
Suzanne McMullen, a first grade
teacher in the same county. “I’m
fascinated by the goat! How tame
it is and how much affection there
for these animals. It’s like farmers
themselves —the dedication these
students show.”
While students and teachers (in
reversed roles) did their part, par
ents, leaders and planners milled
around enjoying the product of
their hard work. In addition to
Carrie Stufft, Dr. Don Evans, Car
ol Ann Gregg, Pat Sueck, and a
host of committeepersons worked
toward this event.
Dr. Don Evans serves on the
board of the Ag Awareness
Foundation, the sponsoring group
for Ag in the Classroom. Evans is
a faculty member in the agricul
tural and extension education de
partment at Penn State and had
served as assistant dean of exten
sion for 10 years.
“The sole purpose is to help
people better understand agricul
ture. Only one percent farm in
Pennsylvania today. Our founda
tion is nonprofit, has a speakers
bureau, sponsors the development
of videos, submits grants, but Ag
in the Classroom is our most ac
tive project”
Pat Sueck of York County
serves as executive director of the
Ag Awareness Foundation. Pat
said the sponsorship of teachers
for Ag in the Classroom comes
from agribusiness, individuals and
tl'M
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other organizations. Many farm
organizations such as Farm Bur
eau and the Grange sponsor teach
ers in their area for Ag in the
Classroom. One of two teachers
attending this year from Mifflin
County had their tuition paid by
her school’s home and school as
sociation. Evans says there are tax
credits for donors. At the end of
this session, mote than 400 teach
ers will have participated in Ag in
die Classroom in the past five
years.
Carol Ann Gregg of Grove
City, is education coordinator for
the Foundation. In her role, she
plans what the teachers will eat,
where they will stay, how they’ll
get from point A to point B, and
all the other details.
“We provide boxes of materials
for teachers to take back to the
classrooms it’s ready to use.
Teachers also earn graduate cred
its or in-service credits for their
six days here.”
The Foundation received a
grant to produce a video. Produc
tion starts this week in State Col
lege. In it, three children, an ac
tress. and a farmer will talk about
plants and animals, and farmers as
stewards of the land. Teachers
who participated in Ag in the
Classroom arc developing curri
culum to supplement it.
Carol Ann Gragg, education coordinator for the AG Awareness Foundation which
sponsors Ag In the Classroom, addresses about 100 teachers before they break into
smaller groups to “meet” a variety of farm animals at Penn State’s Ag Arena.
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