The Citizen, 1986-10-08, Page 5Agriculture subject of PD day
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1986. PAGE 5.
Bruce Whitmore of RR 4, Walton, displays some of the model farm
equipment he collected as part of the teaching kits to be presented to
Huron elementary schools at the Agriculture in the Classroom
professional development day October 24. Mr. Whitmore said that
every farm equipment dealer in Huron, and a few outsiders, donated
the farm toys or cash in support of the project.
Even a complete disaster for the
bean crop in Huron could bring
some long-term benefit to farmers,
a Walton-area farmer says.
Bruce Whitmore of RR 4,
Walton, feels that it will take a
disaster of this magnitude to jolt
the general public into realizing
the true worth of the farmer to the
prosperity of the nation, and into
taking steps to save the family farm
before it is too late.
“Because we are not going to
haveabean harvest, the farmer
will have nothing to spend on
goods, and the industry will have
nothing to process, nothing to
truck, nothing to package, and
nothing to mark up,” he explains.
‘ ‘The impact of the country and its
importance to the nation will very
quickly become evident.”
Because of this unique position
as both a farmer and a teacher, and
because he feels so strongly that it
is imperative that “upcoming
voters and consumers” be made
aware of the economic importance
of agriculture. Mr. Whitmore has
been one of the driving forces
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behind the “Agriculture in the
Classroom’ ’ professional develop
ment day to be held at the end of the
month for 350 Huron county
elementary school teachers.
The objective of the day-long
seminar is to give teachers a solid
background in agriculture, as well
as to supply them with the tools
needed to teach it to kids from
kindergarten to Grade 8. From its
beginning, the project has receiv
ed strong support from the coun
ty’s main agricultural interests, as
well as from teachers and from the
Huron County Board of Education.
The germ of the idea came from
the publication two years ago of a
booklet called “Food Systems and
Agriculture” which was placed at
the disposal of all school boards by
the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Added to a growing list of other
farm-related resource material
available to county teachers, the
booklet was not widely used
because of a lack of agricultural
background in most teachers, and
the consequent problem of how to
present the material to students.
Increasingly aware of this situa
tion, a concerned Huron Federa
tion of Agriculture began an
investigation into the matter last
Spring, an investigation which was
enthusiasically supported by the
school board as well as by the
Clinton office of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food. The result
was the formation of a new
Education Committee by the Fed
eration, with Brenda Macintosh of
RR4, Seaforth, first vice-president
of the Huron Federation, serving
as chairman.
The new five-man committee
met last June with the school
board’s professional development
committee to plan a course of
action, and after only four months
of intensive work, has put together
the seminar which will be present
ed to teachers October 24 in
Exeter.
“We think that this will be an
excellent program, and are very
enthusiastic about the whole
idea,” said Arnold Mathers,
superintendent of programs with
the Huron board of education. He
added that elementary students in
the county already get a grounding
in agriculture in science, social
studies and family life programs,
butadmittedthattheBoard had
“no specific policy” in presenting
the material.
From the beginning, the Huron
South Women’s Institute, under
the guidance of president Shirley
Cooper of RR 3, Exeter, has been
deeply interested and involved in
the project. The group has under
taken the major task of putting
together teaching kits called “The
Fairfield Family Farm” which
form the basis of the material to be
presented by teachers.
Consisting of hand puppets and
felt figures of the family, animals,
farm implements, soil samples,
seeds, board games and other
resource material, the kits are
designed to make learning about
agriculture and its place in society
an enjoyable and exciting experi
ence for county students.
Four complete kits will be
formally presented to the Huron
county Board of Education during
the day, in the expectation that the
teachers who have seen their use
demonstrated at the workshop will
make use of them to promote the
agricultural industry, as have the
teachers in several other Ontario
counties which have used similar
material.
Dateline
October 6-13 - Agri-Food Week
Monday, October 13 - Huron-
Bruce 4-H Calf Thanksgiving Show
and Sale, Brussels Stockyards,
Limited, Brussels, Showtime -
10:30 a.m., Sale time - 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 15 - Huron
County Junior Farmers Meeting,
OMAF Boardroom, Clinton 8:30
p.m.
The professional development
day will also include several
speakers, including Jack Wilkin
son of the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture and Ross Daley of
CFPL-TV, London. Women of the
Huron South W.I. will also cater
the noon dinner, a smorgasbord on
the theme “Eat the Food your
Neighbour Grows,” featuring
county products.
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524-2773
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NOTICE
West Wawanosh
Township
Planning Workshop
Meeting
at
Dungannon United Church (basement)
on
Wednesday,
October 8,1986
at 8:00 p.m.
INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP
West Wawanosh Township Council
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