It’s hard to get an understanding of farming and food production to all of Manitoba’s 186,000 school students.
But with teachers on board, that herculean task becomes more manageable.
“Maybe we could reach all 13,000 teachers in one way or another,” said Katharine Cherewyk, executive director of Manitoba’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.
Working with teachers is at the core of the program’s approach, Cherewyk told the Keystone Agricultural Producers annual meeting. Producing teaching materials that dovetail with existing curricula makes the teacher’s life easier, she said.
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“Teachers are the people who decide whether or not they’re going to use our resources or attend our program,” said Cherewyk.
“If we can get a teacher on board to be our champion, then they will champion our message every year to the new crop of students coming through their classroom.”
Ag in the Classroom provides materials to teachers, speakers to talk to students, instruction and support. It organizes volunteers such as farmers to meet with students.
Over the years, it has built up a loyal base of participating teachers, who Cherewyk said have a common request: they want more stuff.
Much of the program’s activities occur in the city, but farmers need to realize how directly some of these students could end up becoming in farmers’ lives.
“These kids are in high school,” said Cherewyk, referring to a photograph from a Winnipeg school.
“Seven years from now they could be writing the next briefing note at (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) or Health Canada. They might be your next employee.”
Piggybacking on the school system has made Ag in the Classroom keenly aware of teachers’ and students’ wants and needs.
“We have to be fun. We’re educational. We have to make things easy for teachers. They don’t need us. We need them,” said Cherewyk.
