Scope Of Ag Ed Law Under Scrutiny At Meeting
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
Since the implementation of
Act 26 in the state’s public schools
in 1995, formulated to help edu
cate young Pennsylvanians about
the significance of agriculture to
the commonwealth and the world,
no funds have been put in place to
implement the law. according to
Carol Ann Gregg, education coor
dinator for the Agriculture Aware
ness Foundation of Pennsylvania.
Gregg, along with several other
agri-industry educators and rep
resentatives, testified Wednesday
afternoon during a special Agricul
tural Education Update meeting of
the House Education Committee at
the state capitol.
The meeting was selected to
gauge the effectiveness of the act
and what affects it has had on edu
cational sectors throughout the
suite. It was also held to provide
information on corollary programs
being conducted to reach out to the
schools and to help schools recom
mend and formulate agricultural
education programs.
Gregg noted that the
hugest project for the
Foundation is a summer
training program “to
provide teachers with
the tools to teach their
students about the
importance of agricul
ture in their lives and to
die economy of our state
and nation.” Acting
simply unlike another
“piece to the regular
curriculum,” the Found
ation hopes that agricul
tural examples should
be used in a typical
school’s regular sub
jects of science, math,
social studies, language
arts, and other prog
rams. The Ag In the
Classroom workshops
have proven largely a
success.
Under Section 8 of
the law, the act is
amended by adding a
section to read that the
General Assembly
declares a purpose of the
section to require the
education department to
“develop and dissemi
nate agricultural educa
tion materials” for
schools. The key is
under section b, para
graph 2, to “provide for
distribution” of said
materials about
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agriculture and the vagueness
of that wording could be under
question. In section d, paragraph 1,
section ii. it is noted that the secret
ary of education shall consult with
the secretary of agriculture and a
cross section of the ag and educa
tion communities to “consider the
manner in which any funds are
used to support agricultural educa
tion activities.”
“We worked very hard to see
that Act 26 became law and were
disappointed when the Pennsylva
nia Department of-Education took
such a narrow view of the
implementation of die law,” she
said.
Gregg noted the implementa
tion was focused on the “environ
mental component of agriculture.
As I see agriculture, this initiative
could have and should have been
implemented with science, social
studies, or other disciplines
involved”
Gregg indicated that a position
should have been created at the
department of education to liaison
with the department of agriculture.
“Such a position would bring cre
dibility to agriculture within the
department and the education
community,” she said.
Carol Sizemore, first grade
teacher in the Dover Elementary
School (who will soon be teaching
at the Lcib Elementary School in
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Dover), spoke about the teacher
training workshop and the impor
tance of the materials to the school
curriculum.
Sizemore said that many stu
dents lack the life experiences that
many of those involved in agricul
ture have. The students believe ice
cream cones come from plastic
bags and “milk from plastic jugs”
that are purchased in a store —and
that’s as much as they know.
Before, if teachers such as Size
more wanted to implement ag into
their regular classroom activities,
she would have to dig up informa
tion from bodes in the library.
How much the information was
out of date or irrelevant to today’s
issues was in question.
But the workshops proved to be
“an eye-opener for me." said Size
more. allowing ag experts and edu
cators to share knowledge of the
field
“Teachers need to be given the
resources and materials,” said
Sizemore, to do the work.
In 1996, the Ag In The Class
room Workshop provided enough
information for teachers to “easily
tie agriculture into practically any
topic” being discussed in the
schools. The students learn “more
from doing activities than by hear
ing how it’s done,” she said.
This year, instead of wondering
about where french fries and pota-
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Carol Ann Gregg, far left, along with several other agri
industry educators and representatives, testified Wednes
day afternoon during a special Agricultural Education
Update meeting of the House Education Committee at the
state capitol. In center Is Mlml Lufkin, project director of the
Vision tor Pennsylvania Agricultural Education Project, and
at right is Carol Sizemore, first grade teacher at Dover
Elementary School.
to chips come from, students have based philosophy of the program, a
been growing potatoes in a 10-gal- project of the Solanco School Dis
lon flowerpot. The marble-sized trict in partnership with the state
potatoes gives them some indica- departments of education and agri
tion of where potatoes come from, culture, Penn State, and the sate
and they “didn’t know that vocational agriculture teachers
before,” said Sizemore. awnriarinn
Gregg pointed out that some Seven sites were selected to par*
schools use glass aquariums with ticipate in a statewide field test of
the seed potatoes up against the the process and materials outlined
glass to show how they root and in a program planning and curricu
grow. lum development handbook. The
Mimi Lufkin, project director of extent of 'the program was
the Vision for Pennsylvania Agri- reviewed in the Jan. 3,1998 issue
cultural Education Project, said, of LancasUr Farming.
“We all eat food and we are all Also testifying at the meeting
directly impacted by ag, and we all was Frederick C. Brown, a lob
need to be educated.” byist representing the Pennsylva-
She spoke about the broad- ( Tun > to Pa ß« A3S)
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