Mary James, science teacher at McCormick Junior High School, talks about what she saw at this year’s Commodity Classic:
The 2019 Commodity Classic conference was this school year’s most valuable experience for impacting teaching and learning in my classroom. Teaching a STEM curriculum is an ever-evolving set of lessons. Helping students to find connections to the world they now live in, and will live in 20 or 50 years from now, is a daily challenge. The CC experience revealed a whole new area of opportunity to bring in an industry that remains a phantom to most of my students. I am excited to prepare them for the journey of seed to consumer and everything in between.
The science of agriculture and the career pathways are truly endless. We are surrounded by agriculture and products that we couldn’t have without farming. Sustainability and environmental awareness are also important in our local area and globally, so agriculture can pave pathways to learning in this arena as well. I am ready to get started with a 3D printing project for creating effective nozzles for specific uses in my Design and Modeling class and to explore soil characteristics and their impacts on seed germination with our STEAM club and my teaching pals, Leah LaCrosse (8th grade Science) and Josh Haplea (Jr. High and High School Art). The benefits of bringing more agriculture into the classroom are going to energize learning! What a privilege to be a part of this educational initiative! Thanks, Ohio Soybean Council, for this opportunity!
