Program Director Retires after 31 years
On August 2nd Al Withers will exit the Minnesota Agriculture in the
Classroom (MAITC) program after serving as the one-and-only director of
this program for the past 31 years. We have asked Al to reflect on his many years of service in this month's Teacher Feature.
Al Withers - MAITC Program Director
Why should
students be agriculturally literate? My first reaction is to simply say ‘because they
eat and wear clothes’ every day! A more complex answer centers on them being
the future! They will be our future leaders, policy-makers and career
workforce. It’s important they are taught baseline information about
agriculture throughout their formative years. This in turn will help them to
embrace some historical perspective about our ever-changing agricultural
system, allowing them to understand and communicate the source and value of
agriculture as it affects quality of life, not only in American but across the
globe.
|
|
What have been the
biggest successes in your 31 years with Minnesota
Agriculture in the Classroom? Not many education programs have had the
“staying power” that MAITC has had over the past 31 years. That is in large
part due to our unique public/private partnership, drawing on financial and
human resources from Minnesota’s great agriculture community and the long-term
commitment of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
|
|
 |
>> Read More
K-12
teachers, agricultural advocates and Agriculture in the Classroom staff
members gather in Phoenix, Arizona June 20-24, 2016 for the National
Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. Fantastic keynote speakars,
energizing break-out sessions and networking events allowed attendees to
gain insight and ideas for growing agricultural literacy.
Tom
Frericks, 5th grade teacher from Silver Bay, MN was recognized as the
Minnesota State Winning Teacher and also as a CHS Scholarship Recipient. Tom is on the far left in the photo below.
 Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) is requesting proposals from talented individuals or teams to create a 10-lesson Specialty Crop
Lesson Booklet. This is one of four projects that are in development
as part of a Specialty Crop Block Grant awarded to MAITC by the
USDA. Information on this opportunity can be found at http://www.mmd.admin.state.mn.us/process/admin/ptList.asp Reference number: PT2457.
Proposals are due August 1, 2016.
|
We were inspired and entertained by The Bug Chicks, keynote speakers at the 2016 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference! Explore their awesome videos and fantastic educational resources. http://thebugchicks.com/ |
|
 |
Congratulations to Carrie Allord
for being the first person to respond with the correct answer to
our June trivia question. Carrie knew that the average Minnesotan eats about five pounds of strawberries each year. The
other top responders were Katrine Bender, Brigid Sandager and Maureen Hauck.
July Trivia
- The first person to email the correct answer for the question below
will win a reusable bag from the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference!
In 1984 the Minnesota legislature adopted an official state drink. What is Minnesota's state drink?
Email your answer to Sue Knott to be eligible for the prize!
|
