The Rural Voice, 1993-02, Page 24committee to develop programs for
the match. In Huron, the committee
organizing "A Slice of Huron", the
program that will give 1400 students
a hands-on introduction to
agriculture, has included representa-
tives from the Huron -Perth Roman
Catholic Separate School system as
well as the Huron County public
board and the Clinton Christian
School.
Once upon a time several high
schools had agricultural programs as
part of their curricula but now, says
Stewart Brown, who teaches the
Agriculture/Agribusiness Co-op
program at Walkerton District
Secondary School, the agricultural
content can be part of several
different programs. Jack Morgan
explains that under guidelines issued
by the Ministry of Education,
agriculture can be a component of
three different areas: science,
technology and family studies. How
much agriculture ends up in these
study areas depends on the interests
of the individual teacher, says Brown.
The environmental science compo-
nent, for instance, could involve a
good deal of agriculture if the teacher
was so inclined but the direction of
the course could go more toward
landfill sites and waste management.
At Walkerton, he says, students use
the greenhouse as part of their
environmental science program.
Jack Morgan says that there are
optional components in the curri-
culum which are school-based, even
teacher -based decisions. "The empha-
sis that we place on integrated, cross -
curricular themes is such that a theme
like the apple industry or Roberta
Bondar's space flight can be
U. S. inner city kids learn about agriculture
The face of U.S. agribusiness
could literally change in the next
few decades as a whole new source
of young professionals opens up.
The leaders of tomorrow may
come from urban -based agricul-
tural high schools like Chicago
High School for Agricultural
Sciences(CHSAS). The small
school has been one of the success
stories of the often -troubled U.S.
education system. It has a large
number of students, 81 per cent
from minority groups, clamoring
to get in (there were 752
applicants for 110 openings last
year). CHSAS has the lowest
dropout rate in the city's public
school system (one per cent) and
one of the highest attendance rates
(92 per cent). Students are spurred
on by the knowledge that 25 per
cent of all jobs in the Chicago area
are agriculture -related.
It's hard work for the students.
"It's a long day for the kids," says
Marcia Warman, master teacher at
the school."Nothing is taken out
(of the curriculum), we just add
agriculture." Students attend 11
periods a day and graduate with 32
credit hours, although only 20 are
required. Horticulture, aqua-
culture, plant and animal sciences,
leadership, agribusiness, agri-
cultural communications, market-
ing and landscaping design as just
a few of the courses offered to
students. But the agriculture
doesn't leave the curriculum when
they switch to regular academic
classes. Agricultural examples
crop up in math, science, art,
history and literature courses.
At the same time, the
agricultural courses require
students to write compositions,
solve equations and perform lab
experiments.
The school is a "land
laboratory" located on 72 acres.
There are garden plots, each
managed by a small group of
students who are responsible for
all aspects of production for their
plot and must keep detailed
records. In return they can take the
produce home or sell it through the
school's farm stand for a profit.
"It's tiring, it's stressful, but
that's part of it. It's really good
preparation for later on," one
graduate said. Part of the stress is
just getting to the school for many
students. Another typical graduate
climbed out of bed at 4:50 a.m.
each morning for four years so she
would be on a city bus by 6:05
and, after transferring to the
subway, arrived at the suburban
school in time for her first class at
7:20 a.m. Many of the students are
inner city residents who wouldn't
normally even think about a
farming -related future. "A lot of
people say, 'Chicago school for
what kind of sciences? You're
going to be a farmer?"' says one
student. "I usually say something
like, 'Hey, you like to eat and
you're wearing clothes aren't you?
You owe that to people like me
who want to learn more to
improve things for you in the
future.'"
Agri -industry leaders agree.
Companies like Monsanto's
Agricultural Group, the Chicago
Board of Trade, Kraft General
Foods, Sandoz Agro Ltd. and The
Quaker Oats Co. have helped out
by providing everything from
internships and scholarships to
guest speakers.
Aided by more than $1 million
in scholarships, three-quarters of
the school's graduates go on to
university, good news for U.S.
agribusiness because there's an 11
per cent overall shortage in
qualified personnel above the
baccalaureate (BA) level
according to a report by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. "We
need an influx of bright young
people with a wide variety of
interests, skills and potential to
help meet today's and tomorrow's
challenges," said Valentino
Martinez, manager of the
Monsanto Agricultural Group's
Office of Professional Staffing
and University Relations.
Other business leaders sit on
the advisory committee for the
school. Monsanto's Martinez also
chairs the Friends of the Chicago
High School for Agricultural
Sciences Foundation which
secures funding for the 58 -acre
land laboratory at the school.
There are other schools of
agricultural science in New York,
Philadelphia, Los Angeles and
other cities, all of which means
that in future, agribusiness in the
U.S. is as likely to be shaped by
youngsters who grew up in the
inner city as it is by the sons and
daughters of midwest farm
families.0
Source:agri marketing magazine, Sept. 1992
20 THE RURAL VOICE