High School Reinvented, Agriculture Re-Presented

Every once in a while, on Facebook, somebody asks, seriously:

Should Agriculture be made part of the high school curriculum?

My repeated reaction to that often-asked question had been: “Boring.” Now, let me tell you that I am an Agriculturist, a graduate of UP Los Baños, with a BSA major in Ag Ed, so I should be one of the last ones to not welcome Agriculture in High School.

(Images: Facebook sharing by Antonio D Torres; electric bulbs from Brand Reinvention[1], which I posterized; class scene from Brookings[2])

Today? Yes!

Now, how to offer agriculture in high school without boring the boys & girls? I reinvent High School. Reinvention means “the act or an instance of replacing a product, etc with an entirely new version” (Collins English Dictionary). The fluorescent light is a reinvention of the bulb, the rotavator a reinvention of the plow; and the Internet a reinvention of the library.

So now I have reinvented Agriculture in High School! AHS should now be the source of many Ohs and Ahs from high schoolers.

The most exciting news since the classroom was invented! Now, with AHS, the classroom is not a classroom (clash-room) but a plus-room, because suddenly the classroom becomes an exciting place for learning!

It should be fun, not work like digging the ground to make a garden. I am thinking of the Agriculture subjects in each year:

1st Year – Vegetables
2nd Year – Flowers
3rd Year – Fruits
4th Year – Landscape Gardening

The list is boring, right? Right! To make each class meeting exciting, here are some rules:

    (1) No structure to each class meeting

Volunteers will present materials for class discussion, that’s all. In any manner, shape or form. Wouldn’t that be exciting!

For instance: Teacher announces that tomorrow s/he will bring into class 3 roses (flowers). Why announce? So that if someone is curious enough, s/he will surf the Web about roses and bring to class the next day Questions (and Answers) – a student making the class exciting not only for oneself. If somebody asks, “What are those roses for, Teacher?” Teacher will ask the class who wants to answer the question. Ain’t that fun! And of course, anybody can ask, “What are the parts of a flower?”

(2) No exams.

Just the discussions, questions and answers, including attempts for answers – if funny, let the students laugh. The teacher should not ask any question to any student or answer any question from anyone.

(3) No failures.

Everyone will be given a good grade at the end of the school year.

(4) Specimens

Anyone can bring a part or a whole of plant. It’s the exchanges where everyone will learn something, the questions and answers (including attempts to answer) that teach thinking.

(5) Books and/or compilations

Not necessary to buy, just borrow from some library or somebody.

(6) Photographs welcome.

(7) Videos too if available.

It should be exciting, like visiting a flower pot daily and watching what has happened overnight. Like, watching a video and debating afterwards! It would make high school enjoyable too!@517

 


[1]https://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/brand-reinvention/
[2]https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2020/03/26/the-covid-19-crisis-and-reflections-on-systems-transformation/


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Knorr Of Big Business Unilever Thinks Big Business Regenerative Agriculture – My Tiny Country PH Also Should!

Image
“Knorr’s plan for 50 regenerative agriculture projects is predicted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use by an estimated 30% while improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods.” That is regenerative agriculture (RA) news by Julian Cirineo (05 Nov 2021, “Unilever Wants To Rethink How Farms Work To Secure Food And Resources For The Future,” Rappler , rappler.com ). Note: 50 (not 5 only) RA projects to improve greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and water use by 30% – plus improving biodiversity, soil health and livelihoods. Note the last 7 words in the above paragraph. How can RA improve biodiversity? RA requires that the farmer practices multiculture (a few or many crops grown at the same time in the same place), where monoculture (such as rice-only or corn-only) is the practice – the biodiversity improves crop health because of the ensuing balance of nature, such as some organisms feed on other organisms that would otherwise become pests or cause diseases. RA is your
Read more

In Looking At The Crown Of Thorns, I Found The Clowns

Image
We could use a surprise sense of humor!  Yes, especially on the wide problematic fields of Agriculture. There was this news that some high PH government officials wanted to probe Vice President Leni Robredo for “competing against” PH agencies in providing much-needed assistances during this coronavirus lockdown, and Marigs Laririt shared a picture-story on Facebook quoting Ms Leni as saying, “I didn’t know it was competition. I didn’t see any competitors!” Ms Marigs says, “Ay, parang friends ko kung sumagot si Mam.” (Ay, with Mam, it’s just like my friends answering back.) That is a two-handed backslap, and you can imagine the lady laughing! She is the humor-monger; they are the clowns. Today is Friday, 03 April 2020 and in one account ( Wikipedia ), Friday the 3 rd of April was crucifixion of Jesus and his crowning of thorns [1] . (images: Crown of Thorns [2]  from St Anthony Messenger , 1 st clown [3]  from The Guardian , 2 nd clown [4]  from Shutterstock ) About the living clowns I
Read more

“Natural Farming” – Aggie Journalists, We Must Be Careful With The Terms We Use!

Image
Look at the contrasting images: Which one is correct in claiming what is being practiced is “natural farming”? Top Image: This one accompanies the Anonymous WWF-Philippines story, “Mindanao Farmers Start Off the Year with Natural Farming Systems Technology” published online December 2019 [1] . The World Wide Fund, WWF, is a very credible international source of knowledge on conservation, right? Not this time. Very clearly, you can see the white plastic mulch covering the furrows and bare soil in-between them. Mr or Ms Anonymous, the plastic mulch is not natural. The soil not covered in-between furrows is not natural. So much soil bare, not natural, allowing so much natural water wasted because it had evaporated from the unprotected, hot soil surface! That is not conservation; that is not natural. The term “natural” is used here very carelessly . Aggie journalists, wake up! How come I noticed all that immediately when I saw the photograph? Because I learned my organic farming more t
Read more