Laura Ringler, GrowNextGen teacher leader

What about teaching excites you?

Did you know that much of the American public is one or more generations removed from agriculture? That makes educating American citizens about agriculture a larger and more complicated task. We are preparing our students for jobs which will use technology that hasn’t even been created yet. It is an exciting time in agriculture where we are facing the challenge of feeding 9 billion by 2050 while being the most ecologically and socially acceptable than we have ever been. It is our job to help educate; when everyone is better educated, they can make better decisions.

How do you help students make the industry or real-world connection to what they’re learning?

Everything we teach is linked to industry standards and career skills for our students. In the classroom I use real-world examples from local farmers and business owners, outside of the classroom I utilize our 27-acre farm field and nearly 4,000-square-foot garden area to teach students hands-on concepts about plant growth and soil sustainability. To make it real, we use real…and agriculture is as real as it gets!

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